HE BUILT A SEE-THROUGH COFFEE ROASTER FOR 300 DOLLARS AND RUNS IT ON FREE SOFTWARE
Free software that logs and controls coffee roasts the way commercial gear does, and works with home-built fluid-bed roasters for under 300 dollars.
by Marko Luther and contributors
HomeAutomation
- difficulty
- ●●●●○
- time
- a weekend-plus
- license
- AGPL-3.0
- repo
- repo ACTIVE1,202 stars
●●●●○ · a weekend-plus · AGPL-3.0 · 1,202 stars · repo ACTIVE
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- Dev board / microcontroller — runs the project firmware
Partner
COMPAREE VERDICT
Artisan is production-grade roasting software used by home roasters and small commercial operations. It plots bean temperature and environment temperature in real time, lets you design and replay profiles, and logs every roast for later comparison. The interface looks dated but the functionality is deep — PID tuning, alarm triggers, Modbus and serial device support, export to CSV or JSON. The software itself is straightforward to install on Windows, macOS, or Linux. The hard part is building or buying compatible hardware. The featured fluid-bed roaster (a borosilicate glass tube with a heating element scavenged from a hot air gun, a blower, and an Arduino UNO with a TC4 shield reading thermocouples) is a beautiful proof of concept, but it is not a step-by-step kit. You will need to wire a zero-crossing detector for AC power control, source a suitable blower and heating element rated for continuous kilowatt-level operation, and handle mains voltage safely. The glass tube and live heating element also mean real burn risk if you touch the wrong part mid-roast. If you already roast coffee and want better control than a popcorn popper or a heat gun pointed at a bowl, this is the software to run. If you have never wired a thermocouple or a zero-crossing SSR, start with a simpler build first. The single most likely trap: underestimating the current draw of the heating element and blower, then tripping breakers or melting connectors during the first test roast.
IN THE REPO
NOT IN THE REPO
- —Artisan is the software only — it logs temperature curves and drives profiles, but does not include hardware plans.
- —The featured fluid-bed roaster (glass tube, hot air gun element, blower, Arduino UNO with TC4 shield) is a separate community build, not documented in the Artisan repository.
- —The TC4 shield and thermocouple wiring are shown in the Artisan wiki, but you are expected to source and wire the heating element, blower, zero-crossing detector, and enclosure yourself.
- —Bill of materials for the roaster hardware comes from community builds and forum posts, not a single canonical list.
- —Licence is AGPL-3.0, which permits commercial use but requires you to share modifications if you distribute the software or run it as a service.
- —The software works with many roaster types (drum, fluid-bed, popcorn popper conversions) and supports PID control if your hardware has it.
Can I build this?
This build involves mains voltage — for adults comfortable with electrical work only.
Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.
Partner · KickstarterBluHub reads and burns Blu-ray/DVD/CD, adds USB-C, USB-A, SD/TF and 10 Gbps data — plug and play, grand-piano finish.
Videos
Homebuilt Arduino Controlled Coffee Roaster - Technical Overview
no official tutorial video in the payload
Gallery
Start here
Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.
- 1.Install Artisan from the releases page (Windows, macOS, and Linux binaries are provided; follow the wiki for device setup)
- 2.Read the TC4 shield documentation(the Artisan wiki covers TC4 wiring and thermocouple placement, but hardware sourcing is up to you)
- 3.Source a heating element and blower rated for continuous operation(scavenging from a hot air gun works if the element is rated for the duty cycle; check current draw and breaker capacity before testing)
- 4.Wire the zero-crossing detector or SSR for power control(this is the step where mains-voltage mistakes happen; if you are not confident, find a local maker who has done it before)
Resources
Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.
KNOWN ISSUES
- Buying a heating element or blower not rated for continuous high-wattage operation — popcorn popper elements and cheap heat guns are designed for short bursts, not ten-minute roasts, and will fail or overheat.
- Underestimating the current draw and discovering mid-roast that the circuit breaker trips or the connectors get warm — a 1.5 kW element on a 15 A circuit leaves almost no headroom if other devices are on the same breaker.
- Touching the glass tube or heating element during or immediately after a roast — borosilicate stays hot for minutes, and burn risk is real.
- Wiring the zero-crossing detector or SSR incorrectly and getting either no heating or uncontrolled heating — test with a low-power load first, and double-check polarity and grounding.
- Expecting a single canonical hardware build guide — the Artisan repository is software-focused, and the fluid-bed roaster in the reel is a community build documented in forum posts, not a step-by-step repo.
- Skipping thermocouple calibration and discovering your bean temperature reading is off by 20°C — cheap K-type thermocouples drift, and profiles tuned on one sensor will not transfer directly to another.
Can I use Artisan with a popcorn popper or a heat gun pointed at a bowl?
Yes, if you add a thermocouple to read bean temperature. Many home roasters start this way. The software will log and graph the roast even if you are controlling heat manually.
Do I need the TC4 shield, or can I use a different thermocouple interface?
Artisan supports many devices — Phidgets, Modbus controllers, serial interfaces. The TC4 is popular because it is Arduino-based and well-documented in the Artisan wiki, but it is not the only option.
What is the actual power draw of the featured roaster?
The reel says the element draws kilowatts — a typical hot air gun heating element is 1.5 to 2 kW, and the blower adds another 100-200 W. Check your circuit breaker rating before building.
Can I roast indoors?
Roasting produces smoke and chaff. Many people roast outdoors or in a well-ventilated garage. If you roast indoors, expect to set off smoke detectors unless you have serious ventilation.
Community builds
No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.
Discussion1
FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM
Artisan has 1,200 stars and an active release cycle, and the fluid-bed roaster in the reel uses parts you can source in a weekend for roughly $250-300. If you were building this, would you start with a popcorn popper conversion to learn the software first, or go straight to the glass-tube fluid-bed build?
Marko Luther and contributors
Artisan began as a tool for home roasters who wanted the control and logging of commercial software without the commercial price. It has grown into a widely-used open-source project with contributions from roasters around the world, and it now supports hardware from simple Arduino setups to industrial Modbus controllers. The transparent fluid-bed roaster in our reel is a separate community build by CK (YouTube @cooffeestuuff), who runs it from Artisan over an Arduino UNO with a TC4 board and a zero-cross detector for phase-angle control of the blower.
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DISCLAIMER
- Comparee is not the author of the projects featured here. All rights to each project belong to its creator — every page links to the original source, and we never host creators’ files.
- Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
- Building and operating any project is at your own responsibility. Protective equipment, safe workshop practice and compliance with local regulations are the builder’s responsibility.
CompareeTEAM20d agoedited
Practical notes from our verification: the repository is well-maintained with a release two days before this page was written, the wiki is thorough on software and TC4 wiring but does not include a bill of materials or assembly guide for the fluid-bed roaster hardware shown in the reel — that build is a community example, not an official project document. The heating element and blower are not listed by part number anywhere in the Artisan repo; you are expected to source those yourself and match the wiring to your chosen thermocouple interface. The single biggest surprise is that chaff management is barely mentioned — roasting indoors without a plan for chaff and smoke is a fast way to set off every alarm in the house.