My question is aimed at people like myself who roast for themselves, not for people who are roasting for sale or other distribution.

Artisan was probably the most valuable tool in my arsenal when I started learning how to control the HUKY. I saved and examined every profile not to compare to taste, but to learn how each change of heat or air affected the shape of the roast.

Now that I have learned how to roast beans the way I want them, I have discovered that choosing a good bean is the most important factor, and that within fairly loose parameters, a general profile works all the time.

So....I watch the Artisan screen like a hawk and make adjustments as I think necessary. Then once I drop the roast I just delete the profile. It has no use to me after that anymore.

I couldn't live without it since I now have no other access to the temperatures in the various parts of my HUKY, and I still hold it in the highest regard, but it's function as my guide has changed completely since a year or two ago when I first got the HUKY.

So....how is Artisan most useful to you? Remember, the answer to this question is only relevant here if you are just roasting for yourself, which assumes you probably don't buy more than 5-10 # of the same bean at most and are under no obligation to provide the same roast over and over.

Full Disclosure: I posted this on the HUKY forum and got but one response, so I locked that thread and posted here to see if there was any more interest in the subject .....

I've followed pretty much exactly the same path. I religiously saved the first 100 or so roasts, but now just close and don't save. The point in time view of temperature gradient that Artisan provides is fantastic, and now that I've moved to a gas roaster my ability to alter trajectory is even better and Artisan is even more helpful for control purposes.

With around 8 months and 80 roasts under my belt with my first drum roaster (1 kilo - North TJ067 NG), I am still pushing myself to use my own senses (eyes, ears and nose) to guide me. Artisan lets me know how things are progressing and checking past roasts let me know when I might expect end-of-drying, 1C, etc. But, I'm heavy on the trier and it seems to be working. Haven't pooched a roast yet (i.e., all very drinkable, some excellent) nor have I turned the roaster into a crematory, but I have a long way to go in finessing the most out of the beans, consistently!

I am still learning how to control my roaster with the gas and airflow; the instant feedback I am getting from Artisan has been helping me learn much quicker than if I were flying blind. Since I installed my own thermocouples I'm also using it to help me make sure I have them positioned properly.

It's a great product, but after becoming super familiar with my roaster it became less useful. I don't use it at all anymore. If I got a new roaster, I'm sure I'd use it again. Roasting without it is less fussing too (no more setting up my laptop).

I'm an science person. I worked my way through college setting up and running an analytical chem lab for the Volcanology Department when I graduated. Old habits die hard.
I log every roast, print the graph and save it in a log book with my notes.
I just used it today on an unusual Honduran bean; very fruity and floral. I like the roast so much I wanted to duplicate what I did on my next roast. So I referred to the old roast in my lab book while I was roasting the current load. It work great.

When my family or friends like a particular roast or want something different done to the same bean, I can refer to the Artisan graph and copy or tweek the next roast.

Works for me.

I'm filling my second lab book in a few weeks.

Susan, like Dan, use only the basic. Ambient temp, bean temp and ror. It is too easy to become overly enamored with the data. Eyes, ears, nose, and profile basics. Save, cup, and make adjustments when need.

Great tool to supplement, not replace roasting attentiveness.

And great question on your part.

Like others I am using Artisan to enhance my understanding of my new Quest. Thirty roasts and I don't feel like I've hit the bottom of the rabbit hole yet! I've saved them all but not sure how useful they'd be because I didn't have time to keep any notes about what changes I made to the controls during each roast. When I get a great roast I find it very difficult to repeat(can't say I have yet) but there hasn't been anything I didn't drink.
The data is big for me as my olfactory sense is somewhat compromised, Artisan lets me see bean temp and ror and ET and MET.
Dialing it in on the Quest is proving a challenge, and I'm somewhat handicapped as most info here is for older models without the perforated drum and changes like the additional insulation and heat retention. Like I wonder if my MET might be different if it is within the new insulating skin that the other units didn't have?
Like SAS I love the science aspect of roasting, and love this little Quest and Artisan's monitoring of it!

I've been using Artisan with the Quest M3 for almost 2 years now and it was invaluable in the beginning while learning the roaster. I've settled on roasting 285 gram batches to wind up with 8 oz of roasted beans. I've painted the drum flat black so I can do this. I use Artisan for every roast because It allows me to monitor temp. between the drum and the outer shell. Without this capability I think I could easily start a fire or burn out an element. I'm constantly adjusting the heat and air flow to achieve the desired roast. Without Artisan I couldn't do this. I don't often save or print out the profiles unless something goes wrong and I can go back and analyze the profile to see how it affected the roast. I just like monitoring stuff. I upload weather data to NOAA. I have all kinds of test equipment and just can't leave well enough alone. Artisan is a great addition to my addiction.

Gene

I think Artisan is fantastic in understanding what is going on from a data perspective, in comparing to the senses (sight, smell, gut feeling), and for logging roasts for future reference. I use it pretty intensely right now but hoping that over time I'll use it less. However in pursuit of the perfect roast, which is of course different for every bean, I don't foresee a situation in which I won't use it to some degree.

In addition to Artisan, I log every roast with Airtable which is a free customizable online database that works across all devices (sounds like I work for the company but I don't ). Makes it really easy to sort and compare roasts and share with other people.

Hope I'm not getting off topic but here's an Artisan question that's bugging the hell out of me. Someone sent me one of their graphs (see attached) that shows the actual numbers for gas and fan. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to get these to show up. I'm using the latest version on my Mac (0.9.9).