VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad vs IKAWA Pro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad
This professional software assists baristas, roasters, and café operators in designing and analyzing coffee and espresso beverages. It offers a simple drag-and-drop interface for recipe creation, supports various brewing methods, and provides detailed calculations for extraction and strength.
- 2-Step design process
- Drag-and-drop recipe creation
- Supports all brewing methods
- Works with or without refractometer
- Unit conversions (US/Metric)
- Extraction Yield normalization
- Full recipe details database
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PROFESSIONAL COFFEE TOOLS DESIGN SOFTWARE for the BARISTA, SPECIALTY ROASTER, CAFÉ and RESTAURANT OPERATOR and COFFEE & ESPRESSO BEVERAGE EQUIPMENT DESIGNER Based on MoJoToGo – Best New Product SCAA EXPO 2010 VST's UNIVERSAL BREWING CONTROL CHART SOFTWARE For Coffee, Espresso, Cupping and Equipment Design • Simple 2-Step Design Process Select the point on the Chart and the amount of Beverage, Brew Water or Coffee Dose. VST CoffeeTools™ does everything else. • Drag-and-Drop coffee recipe design works in all modes. All recipe values are automatically calculated and displayed for any brewing recipe protocol. Full conversions provided, including between brewing methods. • Works with all types of brewing methods including: drip and auto-drip; infusion and full-immersion, cupping and espresso methods. • Fully functional with or without a coffee refractometer. Refractometer measurements may be plotted separately using measured total dissolved solids (% TDS) and Beverage amounts to chart and compare actual brew results to design target values. All design and measurement data can be saved, shared, eMailed and uploaded to CoffeeMetrix, a public service that displays accumulated data in 2D and 3D formats for qualitative comparisons. • Conversions for volume and weight measurements and U.S. Standard (English) to Metric units are supported in any combination. Design recipes for Drip can be directly converted to/from Infusion/Immersion methods, while maintaining identical extraction and strength relationships. •Extraction Yield normalization is automatically provided on the VST Universal Brewing Control Chart for all brew methods: Drip, Infusion, Espresso, Cupping; brew water temperature (volume measurements); liquid retained in spent grounds; CO2 & Moisture content of the ground coffee. Water density is computed from volume measurements as a function of temperature, ensuring accurate measurements and results across different brewing methods. Defaults are provided for all preferences, and may be customized separately for all modes as required. • A wide array of Presets are provided in all modes of operation that are typical of those found in home and commercial service. Each mode provides a full set of custom Presets that are user defined. • Full recipe details database maintained separately for Coffee, Espresso and Cupping. Sorting by Date, Name and Taste Score provided. • The VST Universal Brewing Control Chart supports direct touch-screen data input, pan and zoom functions, auto-scrolling of chart with ordinate and abscissa axis and reset functions. Design points for % TDS and % EXT are step-less with snap-to-grid increments provided (TDS @ 0.05% and EXT at 0.1% increments). Region of Interest (ROI) overlays are optionally provided for SCAA, SCAE, NCA regions with taste defect labels. Custom User defined ROI is also included. • Complete calculations are displayed for: Dose, Brew Water, Beverage, Liquid Retained Ratio, Spent Grounds Weight, Coffee or Espresso Brew Ratio, Extraction Yield in both Design and Measured values. • Compatible with VST CoffeeTools™ for iPhone & iPad, VST CoffeeTools™ for macOS and VST CoffeeTools™ for Windows.
IKAWA Pro
This app enables precise, repeatable coffee sample roasting with digital control. Design, edit, and share roast profiles, and access a global library for consistent results across teams and locations. It automates heat and airflow for hands-free operation.
- Digital roast profile design and editing
- Automated heat and airflow control
- Global roast profile library access
- Profile sharing with colleagues
- Hands-free roasting execution
- Roast data logging and history
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IKAWA’s Sample Roaster is enabling consistent, repeatable roasting by using digital precision. It improves quality, saves time and encourages collaboration and learning through profile sharing. SMARTER SAMPLE ROASTING The IKAWA Sample Roaster will automatically adjust heat and airflow to match your roast profile. This means consistency between your roasts and everyone else on the team, over and over again. Design and edit roast profiles with up to 20 temperature points and 10 fan points, then repeat roasts or fine tune your roast profiles. Edit profiles for the Exhaust Temperature Sensor, Inlet Sensor, and airflow with up to 20 control points on each line. ONLINE ROAST PROFILE LIBRARY IKAWA Sample Roaster profiles are shareable, and you can access our global roast profile library or share your own with your colleagues. HANDS FREE ROASTING WITH DIGITAL PRECISION AND CONTROL The IKAWA Pro App delivers hands free roasting with the incredible precision and control. Set a profile on the app, press go and the roaster will execute that roast with precision. CREATING A COMMON LANGUAGE Not only will you have access to our Roast Profile Library with profiles from around the world, but you can create a company set of roasts. This means from location to location, day to day, the roasts you and your team sample are the same. Save and share profiles and roast history, including; Colour Change, First Crack, Development Time Ratio, Rate of Rise graph, Roast Data CSV, Photos and Notes IKAWA’s patented Sample Rosters and designed and manufactured in our London workshop. To learn more, please visit www.ikawacoffee.com/for-professionals
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad at 100% against IKAWA Pro's 35%. VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.3). IKAWA Pro's advantage is price (Free vs $49.99) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months). On ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
IKAWA Pro is free to download; VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad costs $49.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: IKAWA Pro has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad's written reviews are positive against 35% of IKAWA Pro's.
VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad ships an update every 5 months, IKAWA Pro every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad | IKAWA Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 3.3 (12 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 34.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 12 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 124 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | VST | IKAWA ltd. |
Customer experience
VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad
IKAWA Pro
In-app purchases
VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad
No in-app purchases
IKAWA Pro
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad free?
Is IKAWA Pro free?
Which has better reviews, VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad or IKAWA Pro?
Do VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad or IKAWA Pro have ads?
Which is updated more often, VST CoffeeTools™ for iPad or IKAWA Pro?
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