How to use the Flick prediction
Table of Contents
Overview
This article will explain how to activate and use the Flick prediction. The Flick is a sudden spike in the Rate of Rise (RoR) toward the end of a roast, typically occurring after 16% development time and often following an earlier RoR crash. A more pronounced Flick results in a more significant impact on the coffee's flavor profile.
Why use Flick prediction?
Predictive roasting helps you roast more consistently and produce higher-quality coffee, ensuring your customers' satisfaction.
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.
By using Flick prediction, you have more control over the roasting process and the overall outcome, saving yourself wasted coffee, time, and money.
Instructions
Activating the Flick prediction
Flick prediction is only available for machines that automatically track gas via Roasting Intelligence. If your machine is compatible, you must first enable gas measurement in Machine Preferences within Roasting Intelligence to activate this feature.
- Log in to Roasting Intelligence.
- Navigate to the
Preferences. - Select the Roasting tab and Smart features.
-
Click the respective checkbox to show the Flick prediction.
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. -
Click on Save to confirm the changes.
Preventing the Flick
In a standard 10–14 minute roast, the Flick typically appears 90–120 seconds after First crack begins. Because the Rate of Rise (RoR) reacts slowly, once you see the Flick on your screen, it is usually too late to correct it.
To prevent a Flick, Scott Rao recommends lowering the gas between 12% and 16% Development Time Ratio (DTR).
- Cut gas in half at 12% DTR
- Cut gas in half at 14% DTR
- Cut gas in half again at 16% DTR, or possibly turn off the gas
To prevent a RoR crash, the gas should not be lowered between 0% and 12% DTR. Monitoring gas changes helps you anticipate a potential RoR crash or Flick before it happens.
A Flick most likely happens if:
- The gas is lowered after the first crack (between 0% and 12%)
- The gas is not lowered after the first crack (between 12% - 16%)
When the system identifies a potential Flick, it displays a real-time warning on the roasting screen. This allows you to adjust gas and airflow in advance to prevent the spike.
The prediction tool also provides immediate feedback, confirming whether your adjustments successfully neutralized the Flick.
FAQs
When will the warning message pop up on the screen?
Whenever the Flick Prediction detects that the Flick might happen, the Roasting Intelligence (RI) prompts a modal on the Roasting Chart to alert you about the Flick's possibility during the roast.
How can I dismiss the warning message?
Clicking Dismiss hides the warning. It will only reappear if the Flick tendency changes during the current roast or when a new roast triggers a fresh prediction.
What happens if I leave the message as it 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").
If you have further questions, feedback, or concerns, please submit a support ticket directly from support.cropster.com.