Gadgets: Great coffee maker worth the extra space

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If you’re a regular coffee drinker, you understand the importance of a great cup of coffee to start your morning. Melitta's Vision 12-Cup Automatic Drip Coffee Maker delivers that exceptional brew while serving as a stunning piece of kitchen art.

There are many great features in the Vision, and once you get past the brewed coffee, the 180-degree swivel dashboard is a unique feature that helps with the placement of the machine. It is larger, than a standard coffee maker, but you'll quickly discover that it is worth the extra counter space.

The swivel dashboard, located at the bottom of the brewing coffee carafe, can be moved to either side or to the end. Positioning the dashboard where needed allows the coffee maker to sit sideways on either side or to tuck it in a corner with easy access. It's so innovative that the adjustment makes it convenient for right-handed or left-handed users.

The dashboard has touch controls displayed on an LCD screen. Controls include start, stop, a timer, temperature settings, and a timer for how long you want it to remain on after brewing, up to two hours.

The Melitta Vision features side-by-side towers. Assuming I have it positioned sideways, the left side is the water tank with a 64-ounce capacity. There are measuring marks on the water tank, and a water boiling light indicator in the hot water riser tube that glows orange when the brewing process begins.

On the other side is the tower with a dual heating system to brew and keep the coffee warm. On top is a cone-shaped coffee filter basket using No. 4 paper filters that brews down into a 12-cup borosilicate glass carafe. My first thought after my initial brewing was if the glass handle on the glass carafe was hot to touch, and it was not.

While the features are great, and it's a conversational appliance with its attractive appearance, what's essential is the quality of the brewed coffee. With my fresh-ground French roast, I brewed a five-star cup of morning java. Like many others, I've switched to the easy-to-use coffee pods, which is fine. But having the morning brew with the aroma filling the air when I walk into the kitchen puts it in a different class.

It takes about 10 minutes to brew a whole pot. There is also a pause-and-serve feature; you can remove the carafe while it's brewing, pour a cup and then put the carafe back on to finish brewing without spilling. Cleaning is easy; many of the main parts are dishwasher safe.

https://www.wabilogic.com/collections/melitta®-vision™ $259.99, available in copper/white or black

MyFitnessPal, the leading nutrition tracking app that my wife has used for some time, has introduced several new features in its premium service.

I often struggle to maintain my eating discipline, so my wife decided to put the upgraded app to the test, and she achieved great success. She found the transition from MyFitnessPal to Premium to be significant, noting that the paid features are definitely valuable additions.

The top feature she liked and thought was a game changer is the barcode scan. Scanning lets you scan the items you eat and find an exact match to the food, along with accurate calories and nutrition information.

Other welcome additions to the premium version of the MyFitnessPal app include the option to log food using the Voice Log. You describe the food, and it gives you the No. 1 option, showing the nutrition and calories for what you have described. It works best if you are very specific and include brand names and amounts.

The Meal Scan option allows you to take a photo of a meal and then provides options for what's in it. She liked this option in places such as restaurants where the barcode scan isn’t an option.

Another feature that is particularly beneficial in the premium app is the ability to adjust your nutrition goals. If you are tracking macros, this is a feature to adjust goals by calorie, carbs, protein and fat, or set calorie goals for each meal.

The premium version also features a button that allows you to view carbs, protein, and fat by meal. Being able to see the nutrition goals immediately helps keep you on track better than before. You can also track intermittent fasting, and the premium app offers access to full workout routines.

Overall, the premium version is a worthy upgrade if you are looking to track macros and want to easily add foods accurately. The upgrade from the free app to the premium upgrade is $79.99 per year or $19.99 per month.

There is also a Premium Plus option, available for either a $99.99 annual membership or a $24.99 monthly membership. Among the features in the Plus app is a meal planner that guides you through a series of questions about your dietary preferences, then generates a weekly meal plan tailored to your preferences and goals, along with creating a grocery list for you.

https://www.myfitnesspal.com