In this manual you will learn about Cropster's Between batch protocols (BBPs).
Between Batch Protocols (BBPs)
Between batch protocols (BBPs) are one of the most important factors for consistent roasting.
The main goal of a BBP is to reset the thermal energy of your machine from the last batch to the start of the next batch. You want to reset the thermal energy to get to the exact same starting conditions that you had for the last batch (in the same batch size). To do this, you need to follow a specific procedure over multiple minutes between batches.
Between batch timer
To help you with consistency, after stopping a roast, you can track the time elapsed between roasted batches. This will help you stay within the time boundaries of defined between-batch protocols.
The Between batch timer starts from the moment you Stop the roast, and will continue to count until the next roast is Started.
Viewing the BBP
During a roast (from RI)
Enabling BBPs
First, you must enable BBPs from Roasting Intelligence (RI) by following the steps below:
- From RI, then go to Account > Preferences > General.
- Scroll down to the Between batch protocol section.
- Check the checkbox next to Display "Between batch "curves and timer...
- Save the preferences.
Commenting from the BBP window
From the BBP window available from the RI's pre-roast screen, you can set comments by clicking anywhere on the BBP graph to track Gas/Airflow manually, or set a comment to mark specific events in your BBP (i.e. "Removing coffee from the cooling tray").
Note: The BBP's comment functionality is similar to commenting during a roast from the RI graph.
Comments from the BBP window's graph can only be marked by Time.
To comment from the BBP graph, follow the steps below:
- From the Pre-roast screen's BBP window, click anywhere on the chart to open the comment box.
- The time stops at the moment you open the comment box and can be manually reviewed if needed.
- Track Gas/Airflow by inputting the value in the respective field. Then to submit the change, click the respective button. Note: Only enter numerical values under Gas and Airflow so a graph can be generated within C-sar.
- To enter a personal note, use the text field at the bottom and click the Text comment button.
- Once you have made a comment, use the Comments button (
) available from the top-right corner of the BBP window to open up the BBP comments interface.
Viewing a recorded BBP from RI
After your first roast is logged, we now display the Between batch protocol (BBP) directly from Roasting Intelligence (RI), and display temperature data while in between batches in real time.
Upon entering RI for your first roast of the day, the BBP window will display the following:
The BBP window only displays when a Profile is selected from the RI "Profile" drop-down menu. If a profile is deselected, the BBP window will disappear until another profile is selected.
The BBP is tracked from the moment the roast is stopped, upon which you can view the beginning of your roast machine's cool-down phase directly from the RI's Post-roast screen.
After having Saved the roast, the recorded BBP will continue to display in the BBP window* from the RI's Pre-roast screen for up to 15 minutes.
From the moment your BBP window is displayed, to help guide you during your BBP, if your set profile has a reference curve with a recorded BBP we also take the reference BBP curve data and display it in the background from your BBP window.
To learn more about reference curves and how to establish them for a profile, visit the following manual: Setting a Reference Curve
If you have a reference roast set for your profile with recorded BBP data, the BBP window's graph will have predetermined (Time) length corresponding to the duration of the reference roast set for the profile.
Tip: If you want to see more of your BBP from the RI's post-roast screen, use the zoom function to focus on what you want to see.
The zoom function can also be used from the BBP window's graph from the Pre-roast screen.
Click the Restart button to reset the timer from 00:00, and the between batch data recorded; BBP data recorded so far will be lost upon confirming.
Upon abortion of a roast not yet recognized as started (indicated by the display of the Stop button instead of the Force start button), RI will continue tracking your previous roast's BBP until another roast is effectively started.
If you abort a roast after the roast has been recognized as started (by our Automatic start detection, or it has been manually started via the clicking of the Force start button), RI restarts the recording of the BBP. The BBP timer**, and the BBP window* will reset to 00:00 and start recording from the moment you aborted the roast.
During post-roast analysis (from C-sar)
Via Roast overview
- From C-sar, go to the Roasts section.
- Click on the ID-tag for the roast in question.
- From the right-hand side under the Display tab, enable the Show between batch data on charts checkbox (1).
- Enable the Between batch RoR checkbox (2) to enable the recorded RoR.
Note: Please be aware that the RoR range from the BBP is very different from the one in the Roast, that is why the full Roast chart will adapt to the new range upon enabling the "between batch data on charts" checkbox.
After enabling BBP data on charts, the BBP (3) will be displayed from the left-hand side, while the roast (4) is displayed from the right-hand side.
The Between batch protocol box, displays important BBP statistics (5). Scroll down to the section BBP statistics to learn more.
Via Roast compare
The longest BBP selected defines the starting value of the x-axis in the chart for the roasts selected.
- From C-sar, go to Roasts.
- Select one or more finished roasts you would like to compare from the list, by checking the box corresponding to the lots in question.
- Click on the Roast Compare button.
- Enable the Show between batch data on charts checkbox.
- To compare BBPs from your selected roasts, you may also scroll down to the Between batch protocol section from the Roast compare to review the roasts' BBP statistics.
If you decide to mark a new roast as your reference for a profile, the recorded BBP of this roast will show up next time in the RI.
BBP Statistics
In addition to the BBP curve(s) from the Roast compare, you can also view important BBP statistics recorded from your roasts.
Time between batches
Derived from the BBP timer, which measures the elapsed time between the stop of a roast and the start of the next roast.
Gas/airflow changes (at specific bean temperature/time)
The % value entered for the measurement, as well as the time when the value was registered, and the value for Bean temperature at the time the temperature was registered.
Lowest temperature
Consisting of the lowest temperature reached during the elapsed time recorded for the BBP, and a timestamp for when the temperature was recorded.
Highest temperature
Consisting of the highest temperature reached during the elapsed time recorded for the BBP, and a timestamp for when the temperature was recorded.
Time to reach start temp after last gas change
The elapsed time from the last gas change recorded until reaching the start temperature of the next roast
Click on the BBP statistics drop-down menu to customize the information available from your BBP statistics section.
Congratulations! You are ready to review your BBP data!
Thanks for being a Cropster customer! If you have feedback, questions, or concerns, please feel free to reach out by submitting a support ticket directly from support.cropster.com.
We design and make alterations to our software based on user feedback, so we look forward to seeing what you have to say!