Hello all,

I just wanted to let you know about a project we have been working on, and have now completed. The project is called Coffee Tools and is an application for iphone users, that allows you to enter the parameters of an extraction and then file and share via social media. you can see more info on the coffeetoolsapp.com site, as well in the itunes store.

Our basic idea was to get away from the reliance of the current use of number sets to determine coffee brewing, as we started to notice a decline in people tasting coffee, and simply getting wrapped up in the numbers. 20% is cool, but what does it taste like? With Coffee Tools, you to simply enter in the parameters used. No refractometers are required, as we want you to use your sense of taste as your decision maker. A back to basics approach that we hope people will embrace. Again, numbers are nice, but taste is the goal, not a number.

Please take a look, and as always feedback is much appreciated!


Cheers,

I wanted to give my quick impression. I hope Terry keeps this app up to date because as of now, it is awesome! I am now easily able to keep track of my coffees and extraction parameters that worked. There is a picture that you can add to the coffee's profile. Instead of using a picture of the pull, I used the oportunity to take a pic of my grinder's collar setting so if I get the same beans later, I can quickly see where I had the best grind previously and start from there.

Great job and well worth the minimal cost!

Thanks Terry as always!

Maybe you could add a Freeze date and thaw date to the app too? I would like that as I freeze almost everything I buy (to save on shipping). That would make it much easier to keep track of how freezing affects my perception of tastiness.

You mean now I have to buy an iPhone!?

Mitch, Thanks for the feedback. We will provide updates as we get more feedback for sure.

Mike, Yes, an iphone must be in your future!

HB wrote:Ian has some ideas on the subject: Frozen Coffee Storage Calculator.

Yup, I've used that calculator. The app however, is for information storage and it would be useful to keep track of all the steps that took place before brewing to keep notes.

RegulatorJohnson wrote:Maybe you could add some notes to the tasting notes section. There is a lot of space in there.

I do see your point about wanting to know about freeze dates and what not. It is not something that I typically was using myself and I did not find anyone until you that wanted any features around freezing coffee.

Thanks for the great feedback. I hope you are enjoying CoffeeTools App.

Jon

Jon, thanks for the reply. Yes, you are absolutely right! There is plenty of room in the notes section and that's what I'll use!

So far, I love this app!

Very cool! Sure beats the little black notebook I keep in the cabinet above the espresso bar (and that I often fail to update. )

I love the photo fields and I think the best use for the photo field for the coffee is to take a picture of the label on the bag!

I would like to see a space for grinder setting among the key parameters. I know it can be put in the notes section, but it's such an important item for re-dialing the next batch of the same coffee that it should receive more prominence. I realize choosing a format to fit all popular grinders may be difficult, especially something like the Baratza Vario that has two numbers for each setting. Maybe the user could choose between configuring the field for numeric (0-100 by .5) or text entry.

Freeze and thaw dates would be nice. I usually write these on the label of the Mason jars I throw into the freezer, so it would save quite a bit of time to have to enter them only once for a given batch. I can do the calculations in my head (time between roast and freeze, time in freezer, time since thaw), but it would be cool to have the app do that for me.

You might consider having a field for brew method. It looks like the app is currently geared for espresso, but there's no reason it couldn't be used for other methods like drip, pour over, vac pot, French press, etc. Some of the fields might change with the method, of course. One should be able to display the last extractions for all brew methods or the last extraction for all the coffees for a particular brew method.

Finally, I suggest that the brew ratio be settable, so that if you enter any two of the three fields (dose, beverage weight and brew ratio), the app will compute and fill in the missing third value. How nice to be able to enter, for example, 18g for the dose and 66% for the brew ratio and know instantly that you're looking for a beverage weight of about 27g.