Our review of the Melitta Vision 12-cup coffee maker.

First, many thanks to the folks at Wabilogic for sending us this coffee maker to review.

We've been using it for about two weeks now, and are finally ready to share our findings.

But first, the moment when the carrier arrived and left the box at our doorstep. My wife took a quick look, realized it was for me, and asked, “What's in this huge box?”

I told her it was a coffee maker to review. She was not impressed as we already have plenty of coffee makers on shelves in our basement. So I was left to attend to the unboxing myself.

But… once I'd unpacked and unwrapped it, and put the coffee maker on the counter, she looked up and said, "Oh, I like that."

That's win number one. The design of this coffee maker is very striking. Definitely different from the usual boxy designs you see in big stores.

It has two towers – one for heating the water, and one for brewing – with a wood-accented bridge between the two. It’s not really wood, but does look good.

A few excellent features

One great feature is the carafe, which is 100% borosilicate glass, the handle included. And in case you’re wondering, no, the glass handle doesn’t get hot. Also, it doesn’t “dribble” when I use the carafe to fill the water reservoir. No more water splashing on the counter.

As with any new brewer, you’re faced with setting it up. First, setting the clock, and then the wake-up time if you want the brewer to start brewing at a set time each morning. And the brew strength, if that’s an option.

This process is often as confusing at setting up a new TV remote. But not with the Melitta Vision. Super-simple.

And when I set everything up in the evening for the morning brew, I just have one button to touch, and I’m done. With my previous brewer, it was a three-button process.

One fun feature is the orange light that flickers in the heating tower while you’re brewing. It’s a little like a mini lava lamp signaling that the brewing process is running. Not a necessary feature, but a fun one.

Perhaps the most striking feature

This has nothing to do with the quality of the coffee, but is a recognition that not everyone has the same amount of counter space.

The Melitta Vision has a revolving display. If you have plenty of counter space, you can position the brewer side-on. Then swivel the display so it’s facing you.

If you don’t have a lot of space, position the brewer so the brewing tower is at the front and the water tower is behind. Then swivel the display by 90 degrees.

Or, if you’re left-handed, you can turn the brewer around 180 degrees, and still swivel the display to face you.

Our first few brews

It took a couple of tries before I got the exact right proportion of ground coffee to water. But I now have that dialed in, and have the Bold setting option activated through the display.

It really does make a good cup of coffee. This isn’t something you can take for granted with drip brewers. Some get the water temperature wrong, while others have a shower head that fails to disperse the water evenly.

The one thing…

Yes, there is one thing we don't love. There's a heating plate under the carafe and you can keep that hot for up to two hours.

I understand the two-hour limit. If you want to maintain the quality of your brew, you don't want it stewing on a hot plate for too long.

That said it's very frustrating as my wife and I reach for a third cup of coffee each and it's already getting cold. Our coffee drinking time each morning extends beyond just two hours.

Yes, the quality of the coffee may be diminished slightly after two hours. but I would like to be able to make that choice for myself, and not have it imposed on me.

That said, the Melitta Vision is a keeper

When we review a new brewer, there comes a moment of truth.

Do we keep it on our kitchen counter and have it replace our previous brewer? Or is it put back in the box and placed on the shelf of shame in our basement?

In spite of that one issue with the heating plate, the Melitta Vision now takes pride of place on our kitchen counter.

It looks great, and makes excellent coffee.

You can learn more about the Melitta Vision here…