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For our previous interviews, we met with the industry leaders and champions to gain insights into how they implement technology in their roasting flows. Today, we sit down with Jong Sun Lim and Sang Hyeok Woo, two roasters who recently began their journey at Wecoffee to become better roasters. (Read more about Wecoffee here!)
Firescope is a powerful coffee roasting software that caters to seasoned professionals and those just starting their roasting journey. While it offers advanced features for experts, Firescope's accessibility allows newcomers to easily track, analyze, and improve their roasting skills from day one. Let’s hear more from them!
Jong Sun
I first learned roasting when I was 19 years old. I started studying for roasting certifications and received training at an academy using a Fuji Royal Discovery roaster.
Sang Hyeok
When I first learned roasting, I focused on understanding how different discharge temperatures affected the colors of the beans. Then, I began exploring how these roasting points influenced the taste, concentrating on adjusting discharge temperatures. As I developed my skills, I discovered that Development Time (DT) and Development Time Ratio (DTR) impacted the flavor as well. I used these points as the benchmarks, experimenting by cupping the coffee and adjusting to refine the roast.
Jong Sun
At that time, the Fuji Royal Discovery roaster didn't have roasting programs like Artisan or Firescope, so we had to manually write roasting profiles. To calculate the RoR value, I had to manually record the roasting machine’s temperature on paper every minute and calculate the differences. This process was inconvenient and required a lot of effort. Additionally, I couldn't visually check the important points like gas pressure, damper, and cracks on a graph, which I believe reduced the consistency and accuracy of the profiles. Storing profiles only on paper also risked contamination or loss, making it challenging to refer back to previous profiles when needed.
Sang Hyeok
I experienced roasting in three different situations: Each situation had its own challenges:
So to share a little bit about each situation, without a logging program, it was impossible to calculate DT or DTR. Although I kept manual records, I couldn't check the RoR in subsequent roasts, essentially only referencing roasting time and discharge temperature.
Then with Stronghold S7 Pro, I could roast more precisely, with its clean interface and real time recording. However, the temperature curves resulting from the variables I controlled on the roasting machine were all too similar, offering little value to my roasting learning process. It was also challenging to identify issues after cupping, sometimes leading to frustration. Since Stronghold uses its own platform, it was difficult to compare roasting curves with other roasting machines, limiting the insights I could analyze.
When using Artisan, connecting the program to the roaster was the tricky part, and there were too many configurable options, which was confusing. While I could change the settings, it was difficult to understand how each setting affected the roast, making experimentation challenging. Interpreting post-roast data was also tricky due to all indicators being overlapped on one page.
Jong Sun:
The most significant improvement was definitely the convenience. Now, I can check data in real-time, online, and it's much easier to compare with previous profiles, making it far more straightforward to maintain roasting consistency. I can also input and manage elements like gas pressure, damper, crack, and drum speed in real-time, enabling a more professional and precise roasting. Being able to visually check the RoR and quickly apply feedback based on stored data was extremely useful.
Sang Hyeok:
Firescope's excellent roasting record search function made it easy to set a direction even for unfamiliar green beans. Seeing the graph quickly reflecting the roasting allowed for real-time adjustments, and the intuitive UI made it easy to get accustomed to.
Being able to change the background (reference) graphs during roasting was useful, and having the temperature curves and controlling variables separated made it easier to distinguish between them.
Jong Sun
The biggest differences are convenience and practicality. Switching from manual logging to a digital program has made roasting management much more manageable for me.
Sang Hyeok
After completing roasting, there are times when I want to modify the events and measurements recorded while reviewing the roasting log. While this adjustment is difficult to make afterward in other roasting software, it was much easier in Firescope.
With Stronghold, all control values were automatically recorded which was convenient, but when using Easyster at Wecoffee, it was inconvenient as values weren't automatically recorded due to the roasting machine's limitations. However, even when manually entering control values, Firescope made it simple to input them. Additionally, the automatic detection and recording of events like charge and drop helped reduce the workload.
Other roasting-related information, such as green bean moisture and density data, could all be viewed at a glance on one page, which simplified the process of having to check different information each time.
