A few months ago Wabilogic sent me the Melitta Luxe Vision 12-cup coffeemaker to sample and review. As I shared in the previous post, I have been using an automatic coffeemaker fairly often over the last few years. While this is primarily a manual coffee brewer blog, I would imagine most of you own an automatic drip coffeemaker, brew coffee in it and might be interested in my perspective on this unit.
The Quick Verdict: The Melitta Luxe Vision Coffeemaker is an aesthetic and design forward machine. The downsides I see are the slightly higher price and the fact that there is no option to completely turn off the heating plate. The visual design elements are what make this coffeemaker stand out as I would put the brewing performance on par with other non SCA-certified conical drip coffeemakers. If you like how this brewer looks, can afford it and want a coffeemaker that brews consistent coffee, this is a good choice. I cannot speak to the longevity of the Luxe Vision as I have only used it for a few months.
It can be purchased directly from Wabilogic here or through Amazon here.
First Impressions
My first impressions when receiving this coffeemaker were that the packaging and presentation line up perfectly with its name. This gives the impression of being a “Luxe” product.
The Vision Luxe Coffeemaker is a bit larger than most automatic brewers but the fact that the control panel swivels around makes the size seem less of an issue. The coffee maker has the ability to have the carafe at the right, left, in front or at an angle. It can be oriented anyway you see fit.
Although the visual design of the Vision Luxe might not be the particular style I would typically gravitate towards, I can see the appeal and the thought process behind it. This is a form forward brewer that functions. Or to put it another way, I think this brewer is for people who love design and like coffee.
One design element that I enjoyed was the orange light that flickers in the water reservoir during the brewing cycle. This light gives a suggestion of a flame and visually indicates the heating element is running. I thought it was a fun extra feature and a good example of how this was designed with intentional visual elements.
What is in the Box?
- The Melitta Vision Luxe Coffeemaker
- 5 Melitta #4 Unbleached Cone Filters
- An Instruction Manual
- A Safety Manual
- A Small (5 g) Coffee Scoop
General Overview
After snapping a few pictures and inspecting the Vision Luxe, I fired up the coffeemaker to make some coffee. I started a little confused by the markings on the reservoir as the markings for 10 and 12 cups are on the inside of the chamber. I figured this out fairly quickly though and was off and running.
I should mention that the manual included with the coffeemaker is a design forward item in itself. Overall the manual is very light on information. There is not much technical information besides how to set the clock, the auto brew and the hot plate timer. The instructions for the use of the brewing part of the coffeemaker are very simple and straightforward. Some will see this as a positive (it is an easy to operate machine). The tinkerers among us will crave a little more detail.
A good example of this simplicity can be found when the instructions state “Press [The Bold Button] to select bold flavored coffee.” Those of us who are curious about brewing mechanics and coffee recipes will desire to know what the button actually does. What is changing in the process when using the bold button? How does it make a bolder cup? We know that the dosage doesn’t change, this means the setting will probably change the rate, pattern or temperature of the brew water. When I ran a few tests it seems like the brewing time is about a minute longer on the bold setting so perhaps it attempts to increase extraction and pull out some of those darker notes at the end of the brew.
Regardless how the button works, I enjoyed the coffee on the bold setting and that has been my default.
For brewing time on a 12 cup pot of coffee, you can expect around 11 minutes on regular brew and 12 minutes on the bold setting.
One setting I was unhappy about was the lack of ability to completely turn off the heating plate. I am not a fan of how heating plates can change the taste of coffee and would appreciate the ability to simply turn it off. My go-to workflow with this coffeemaker has been to brew my desired amount, turn off the device once it is finished brewing and pour the coffee into two cups (for me and for my wife). I pour the rest of the brewed coffee into my Hario thermal carafe.
I should note that this hot plate issue is not unique to the Melitta Vision Luxe. Most of the competitors to this coffeemaker will have the same problem. As such, I don’t fault them for having this feature. It is just a missed opportunity to provide a little more innovation. You can already set the amount of time you would like the hot plate to run ( :30, 1:00, 1:30 or 2:00), I assume they could make zero minutes also an option.
How did it brew?
The brewed coffee was good and exactly what you would expect from a conical autodrip. I have used it nearly every morning since I have unpacked it and it delivers consistent results.
I measured the temperature of the slurry in the basket and it was running around 192 degrees Fahrenheit which is acceptable. You could possibly have a hard time getting some of the bright notes out of a light roasted coffee with this temperature. If you drink coffee that is on the darker spectrum, you will probably find this brewer pulls out a lot of the notes you appreciate in coffee.
I did find that their recommended brewing ratio (one of the included 5g scoops per cup) to be on the weaker side and would recommend upping the dosage. I have been brewing 8.75- 9 grams of coffee per cup and have enjoyed the results. This is about a 1:18 coffee to water ratio (more about coffee to water ratios here). You can certainly go higher but I found that with a full pot of coffee, a 1:16.5 ratio would be about 115 grams of coffee. That is a lot of ground coffee to put into a #4 cone filter and it is likely to overflow (something the manual warns about).This is also an issue most 12-cup coffeemakers struggle with.
I have consistently been brewing 8-10 cup brews. This is the perfect size for me to pour two mugs and put the remainder in my carafe. I do like the ability to brew a full 12 cup pot (something I was missing with the Oxo 8-cup coffeemaker) but I do not do that very often. I would rather make two smaller pots as needed most of the time.
Living With the Vision Luxe
The Melitta Vision Luxe features a unique and appealing carafe (a theme here). It is made of borosilicate glass and has a removable plastic top. This means the carafe can easily be run through a dishwasher without trying to figure out what to do with the attached lid. I really like the look and feel of the carafe, it pours well and is about everything you could hope for in a non-thermal coffeemaker carafe.
The coffeemaker filter housing removes easily and is also easy to clean. It is designed with a pressure stopper which cuts off the flow of coffee when the carafe is removed. I found that the stopper will usually drip a little bit when the carafe is removed (sizzling on the hot plate below). It is just a drip or two so I have been ready to catch the drops in a waiting mug when I remove the carafe.
The coffeemaker uses #4 cone coffee filters. I have been primarily been using Melitta #4 white cone filters during testing without issue. The brewer also includes several unbleached #4 Melitta filters in the box. If you are looking for a little more body or hoping to cut back on paper waste, you could also pair the brewer with a reusable #4 filter. Metal filters typically allow more oils and fine sediment into the final cup, resulting in a slightly fuller bodied brew.
There is also a programmable auto brew feature. It is easy to set up and maybe just a bit tedious if you change the timing a lot. This is really nitpicking as it is just cycling through the minutes and hours. (You may find yourself pushing the minute button for a handful of seconds if you are switching from :15 to :00.) I used the programmable feature for several early morning wake ups and found it dependable and useful.
Conclusion
It seems the team at Wabilogic that designed the Melitta Vision Luxe 12-cup coffeemaker did so with clear goals. If I were to speculate on what they were trying to achieve, I would guess that they wanted to match the features of competing coffee makers and introduce a design that would make it stand out from them.
If this was their mission, I think that they have accomplished it well. I did not find this coffeemaker lacking when compared to others in its class: It brews 12-cups of coffee, the water temperatures are what you would expect from a coffeemaker in this tier, it also has comparable other abilities like scheduled brewing and custom hot plate timing.
I would like to reiterate that the negatives mentioned in the post are things you will find with almost all competing automatic drip coffeemakers.
Essentially, this is a coffeemaker that performs as good as but does not exceed its competition. It offers the level of coffee you would expect from a conical autodrip and offers a look that is quite different from the other brewers out there.
The bottom line is that you are paying a bit of a premium for the aesthetics of this brewer and as long as you are getting what you are expecting that is okay. I cannot speak to the longevity or any long term problems this coffeemaker may have as I have only used it for a short period of time.
For myself, I think I will leave it on my coffee counter for the time being and continue to use it. There is something to be said for consistency, unique design and being able to wake up to a pot of coffee on a few busy mornings so I can focus on other things that are important to me.
If you are interested you can check the price at Wabilogic here and Amazon here.
What about you? Does anyone own this coffeemaker and have something to add? Can you see any pros or cons that were not mentioned above? Are they any other things I should evaluate in a review like this? Let me know in the comments below or you can contact me personally here.
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