Building the ultimate software tools for specialty coffee

Coffee Cupping and the iPad

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the iPad.  Specifically, I’ve been thinking a lot about how the iPad could be useful for coffee folks.  Again, I don’t spend my entire day working with coffee…I’m behind a computer entrenched in software and technology.  These are merely ideas and I’m really curious whether they’re actually good ideas, or just completely off the mark. Google “SCAA cupping form” and you find a PDF from the excellent Home Roastery blog.  The next link Read more…

By brianz, ago

On roasting data ownership

A few weeks ago we had a little Twitter banter going with @N3Roaster about data and data ownership.  It’s a very good question and one that’s come up before. so I thought I’d spell out the stance we’re planning on taking is going to be like.  This a big fat disclaimer, nothing I write here is legally binding.  We’re in the process of getting our user agreement formalized, which will be the legally binding document.  But, what we’re telling him Read more…

By brianz, ago

Sunday evening beers

Being a distributed team, it’s rare that the three of us who comprise RoastLog are all together in one geographical spot.  Email, Google Wave, Skype and a myriad of other online tools are our friends.  However, this weekend, Ryan, our user interface architect, will be in town to catch up and visit with our beta testers. We’d like to take advantage of his visit and get a little social time in while he’s here.  So, for coffee people in and Read more…

By brianz, ago

The Evolution of RoastLog

We’re starting the big march forward to our actual release date.  For those following us on Twitter, you’ve probably heard us whining about how much work we have to do.  Starting up a company while holding down day jobs has been a huge learning experience for all of us.  I think I can speak for the three of us when I say, it’s been a lot of fun and hugely rewarding so far, and we haven’t even made $1 yet. Read more…

By brianz, ago

Weekly update – Feb. 16, 2010

Well, life over here at RoastLog has been busy to say the least.  But, I’m sure folks don’t really care how busy we are…everyone is busy these days.  Here are some of the highlights which we’ve been working on the past week or so. As usual, we’ve been working very closely with our beta testers and did a few rounds of formal user feedback.  This has been really really beneficial for all parties involved.  Our general approach to these is Read more…

By brianz, ago

Weekly update – Feb. 7, 2010

Things continue to progress for myself and the guys here at RoastLog.  Since the three of us are holding down full-time jobs and normal lives, day-to-day operations have been pretty busy. This past week found us talking with our current beta testers and also meeting or talking with a few potentials.  Oh, and I also added a new feature to RoastLog which I’ll show below. Tuesday Ted and I headed up to San Rafael to talk with David and Brooke from Read more…

By brianz, ago

How RoastLog works

One thing we haven’t done a very good job of yet is actually describing how RoastLog works, and what it’s capable of.  Let’s look at a diagram. There are three pieces to the RoastLog system: The Data Bridge The RoastLogger desktop application (installed on your computer, for Mac or PC) The RoastLog website I’ll describe our architecture with an analogy.  Nowadays, we’re used to using email services such as Gmail and Yahoo! mail.  You can sit down in front of Read more…

By brianz, ago

Weekly Update – Jan. 28, 2010

Since RoastLog is fairly new in the world of coffee, it’s important for us to let folks know not only what we’re up to, but how we’re doing things.  This “Weekly Update” is my attempt to keep those who are interested, up-to-date. I realize we haven’t even really talked about the capabilities of the system, at least not in detail.  That will definitely show up here.  Until then… User Testing Our primary goal now is getting RoastLog polished and ready Read more…

By brianz, ago

Who the hell is RoastLog?

Brian provided a brief introduction to RoastLog last week, but who is he, and who the hell are these partners he suggests might exist? Brian Zambrano Brian is a geek through and through.  Originally he studied Materials Engineering at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, CA.  During his studies, he had some pretty cool internships at Space Systems Loral and NASA.  While at NASA, he worked on space shuttle thermal protection (tiles) where burning things up in really Read more…

By ryan, ago

We’re RoastLog, and here to help

In 2007 I went to the SCAA show in Minneapolis as a “consumer member”.  At that point, the coffee bug had bitten me hard enough to that I felt it necessary to drop over $1000 to rub shoulders with industry folks, but more importantly take a bunch of classes.  An engineer and software guy by trade, I’d been geeking out with home roasting for about a year, and thought some classes would be great fun and very helpful.  The conference Read more…

By brianz, ago