Even if you’re adept at counting the calories in your food, tracking the nutritional information of beverages can be a little trickier. Mark One and Fuseproject have teamed up to create a cup that’s not only smart enough to tell you what you’re drinking – it can analyze its contents down to the calories, grams of sugar, and amount of caffeine inside.
The Vessyl is a brilliant device that perfectly melds high technology, eye-pleasing design, and ease of use. It looks a lot like a regular cup, but with a few subtle differences. The exterior is faceted, and these facets indicate where your consumption information will be displayed. The body is sturdy but not so heavy that it feels like a burden to carry around.
The lid is a beautiful design accomplishment on its own. It’s spill-proof and seamlessly covers the Vessyl’s opening when you need it to. When you want to take a sip, it smoothly slides out of the way with nothing more than a nudge from your thumb. The carefully designed lid lets you take the Vessyl anywhere without worrying about drips and spills.
When you fill up the Vessyl and then tip it slightly, the display shows you what is inside and gives basic information like calories, sugar, sodium, and protein content. The Vessyl app gives even more detailed information – seemingly impossible information, in fact. It can tell you whether you’re drinking Coke or Pepsi, whether there’s ice in your drink, and what your hydration level is at for the day (and where it should be).
Besides being a really cool gadget that can tell you how much caffeine is really in your cup of coffee, the Vessyl can play a huge role in improving your overall health. The app will keep track of how many calories you drink in a day (a number that is typically far higher than most people realize), and how hydrated you are. The app interacts with most popular fitness trackers and can integrate your fluid consumption into your picture of overall health.
You’ve only got to charge the Vessyl every 5-7 days or so, and it charges on a small saucer-like pad. The only wire involved is the micro-USB cable that attaches the charging coaster to a power source. The special non-stick glass-coated interior means that you’ll never have to try to reach in to scrub the very bottom of the cup, and you can even stick it in the fridge if you want to take a protein shake to work to drink later. No one cup can do everything, though, so the Vessyl does have one weakness: you can’t put it in the microwave. But since it has excellent insulation to keep your warm drinks warm, that shouldn’t be a problem in the first place.