About — artisan

Our Story

2009
It all started when two Computer Scientists, Rafael and Marko, connected via a post on a home roasting forum and decided to work together to develop an app for coffee lovers to track their roasts. By 2010, the two had released the first roasting software that could draw rate-of-rise curves for bean and environmental temperatures while roasting.
2010-12
Over the years that followed, the app, Roaster Scope, also known simply as artisan, became a mainstay for roasters all over the world, with tens of thousands of downloads and a global community of users. Open-source enthusiasts gathered on GitHub to suggest features, submit code, and, most importantly, to financially support the development of this free software.
2013
Energized by the success of artisan, Marko and his friend Paul decided to start a hardware company based on a device they had co-developed for colour measurement of roasted coffee. Their creation, the Tonino, was designed to be simple, affordable, and open-source. Later they would introduce a greatly improved version of the Tonino, a green coffee sorting tray called the Colino, and set up a small web shop, selling the probes and other tools roasters need to get started.
2014
Soon thereafter, an artisan power user from the US, Dave Baxter, began contributing ideas, fixes, and improvements that helped shape the direction the app would take. Through the years he conceived of and built many features, and even today he continues as a core contributor and maintainer.
2019
One long-requested feature for artisan users was an inventory management system. So Marko and Paul created a web platform that could sync roast and inventory data from the app. Over time, more features were added, like roast scheduling, maintenance reminders, and reporting.
2026
The team got its third official employee when Liam, a Canadian coffee roaster, green buyer, and Q-grader with a Diploma in Graphic Design, joined the team to lead a visual refresh, introduce new features, and help build community and brand trust.
Today
More than 15 years after Marko and Rafael came up with the idea for artisan, the project continues, supported by a small but dedicated team, an open-source community's contributions, and the financial support of user subscriptions and donations.