The Flick prediction is only available for roast machines able to track Gas automatically via the RI.
If your roast machine is able to track the "Gas" measurement automatically, the measurement must be set up from the RI's Machine preferences before you are able to activate the Flick prediction.
Activating Smart predictions
Cropster's Smart predictions can be enabled from Roasting Intelligence (RI), by going to Account > Preferences > General tab, then scroll down to the Smart predictions section.
Learn more about Using Smart predictions.
Flick prediction
What is the "Flick"?
The Flick is a rise in the Bean temperature RoR at the end of a roast (usually after 16% of development time) and usually follows a RoR crash (but not always). The Flick adds a layer of roasty flavor to a batch; the larger the Flick is, the greater the effects are on the batch.
The Flick indicates an acceleration in the Bean temperature RoR, and several factors may contribute to it, such as a crash in the RoR early in the first crack, drying of the beans, and/or overheating of the roasting environment.
Predicting the Flick early enough to take countermeasures to avoid it would have a huge impact on roasting quality, as a roast with a flick will taste more roasted, and less delicate than a similar roast without a flick.
Learn more about the flick from our blog post by Scott Rao.
Preventing the Flick
In a typical 10 - 14 minute roast, the Flick occurs approximately 90-120 seconds after the onset of first crack. Usually when you see the Flick in the RoR, it is already too late to take a counter action.
To prevent a Flick, Scott Rao recommends lowering the gas between 12% and 16% Development Time Ratio (DTR).
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Cut gas in half at 12% DTR
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Cut gas in half at 14% DTR
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Cut gas in half again at 16% DTR, or possibly turn off the gas
To prevent an RoR crash, the gas should not be lowered between 0% and 12% DTR. These gas changes could give a roaster an additional indication if a RoR crash, or a flick, are likely to occur.
A flick most likely happens if:
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The gas is lowered after first crack (between 0% and 12%)
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The gas is not lowered after first crack (between 12% - 16%)
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How does Flick Prediction work?
Note: A flick can be influenced by gas management around the first crack. For this reason, First crack prediction must also be activated before you can enable Flick prediction.
Two minutes before the First crack, or after (whenever the prediction detects that the flick might happen), Roasting Intelligence (RI) prompts a modal on the roasting chart to alert you about the flick's possibility during the roast (i.e. Flick possibility detected).
- Click the double-sided arrow (
) button to expand the pop-up.
- (optional) Click the information button (
) to be directed to this article and learn more about how to prevent the flick.
- Dismiss the modal by clicking the Dismiss button (
), in which case the modal won’t show up again unless:
- The tendency changes after a prediction update.
For example: If you dismiss the modal when it displays "Flick possibly detected", the modal will show up again when the tendency indicates "Flick possibility avoided") - A new roast is started and the prediction is triggered again.
- The tendency changes after a prediction update.
- If you leave it as is and continue roasting, the content of the modal will update itself if the scenario changes (e.g. From "Flick possibility detected" to "Flick possibility avoided").
You are now ready to roast using our Flick prediction!
Thanks for being a Cropster customer! If you have feedback, questions, or concerns, please feel free to send it to your representative or directly via 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!