A Smart Pot o' Joe: Melitta Smart Mill & Brew

Last Gadget Standing Finalist

It's called Last GADGET Standing, right? So why not include a kitchen gadget that aims to tech up your kitchen just a tad. We are: the Melitta Smart Mill & Brew Coffee Maker.

Why is it "smart?" Because it serves up-to-the-minute weather information along with a hot pot of freshly ground and brewed coffee.

I plugged in the 10-cup coffeemaker, and within four minutes the day's high and low temperatures were visible a two-inch, bright blue backlit LCD screen. Intermittently, a three-day forecast appears. How? MSN Direct regional weather information is transmitted via an FM signal; no Internet connection or subscription is required. The screen also scrolls updates on visibility, the UV index, and sunrise/sunset times.

The screen blinks when there's a weather bulletin, which there was this morning: "Severe weather is active in multiple counties." What that means exactly, I'm not sure, especially since I looked out my kitchen window to see a bright, sunny day. (To be fair, when I checked in with the Weather Channel local weather report on My Yahoo!, I learned counties in southern New Jersey are expecting a cold front and snow showers later today.)

I like that a coffee mill is tucked inside the coffeemaker, out of view without creating a mammoth coffeemaker that eats up counter space. It's nice to be able to grind and brew coffee all in one appliance.

The design is simple and good-looking, black with a stainless steel panel for the LCD screen and buttons to choose grinding levels and brewing options. It's less rounded than other coffeemakers, so it can sit flush with a wall on your counter.

But does it make good coffee, you ask? Yes. And the coffee's hot! Truly. One of my pet peeves about automatic drip coffeemakers is that often the coffee is just not that hot, even when first brewed. When I went for my second cup, it was still hot. Third cup, too. (Yep, I'm revved and writing this post really fast.)

Of course, you'll pay dearly for good, freshly ground and brewed coffee served with accurate weather information: $200. It's a lot considering that other top-of-the-line coffeemakers can be had for half that price.

As for the little blue screen offering weather info, do we need it? Not really. But the kids think it's very cool. My husband and I are not avid weather watchers; the thermometer hanging outside our mudroom doors aptly tells the kids whether they need to wear hats and gloves to the bus stop in the morning.

Clearly, this is one of the less high-tech offerings in our CES Last Gadget Standing lineup. But it's something that would get good use every day in many homes, and it provides a peek into what we can expect from kitchen gadgets going forward. I like it. What do you think?

For more on smart kitchen gadgets:

Since When Is Weather Info a Killer App?
High-Tech Kitchen Gear for the Holidays and Beyond