I ordered my Blendtec Total blender a couple of days ago and they delivered this morning. With 1100 five star ratings and an overal score of 4.2 it’s one of the best rated high speed blenders on the market, and I’m really looking forward to getting it out of the box and giving it a good examination…
Overview
The Blendtec Total blender is touted as a multipurpose professional grade appliance that replaces nine others around the kitchen! So does it?
- High Performance Blending!
- Professional grade blender has stood the test of time.
- Multipurpose appliance that replaces nine others around the kitchen.
- Ice Crusher Blender
- Cooks your Soups and Ice Cream in 90 seconds!
- Breaks down whole foods for maximum nutritional value.
Blendtec is actually a division of K-TEC and has been around for a long time now, its flagship product the ‘Blendtec Total Blender’ really has stood the test of time. It’s extra power, along with the patented blade and jar design is made to produce very impressive results.
It’s certainly one of the best machines available and worth considering as a valuable addition to your home. Especially when I’ve seen lots of certified refurbished Blendtec blenders on Amazon lately.
- Easy Blending Cycles: 1 touch buttons, 6 pre-programmed cycles, pulse, and 10 speed manual control with the ability to achieve a variety of textures. Complete control to adjust your blending at any time while blending
- Patented Blade/80% Thicker: Stainless Steel forged blade, with wings, for amazingly smooth blends (10X stronger than other blender blades). Note: Blade is not sharp, blade is dull. No more cuts and pokes
- Self Cleaning: Add a little soap and water, your jar can clean itself in less than 1 minute
My Blendtec Total Blender Review
Out Of The Box
I purchased the Blendtec classic package, which comes with the new Wildside jar plus the original jar (more on the options a little later).
Ok, so the box comes clearly marked with the guarantee, along with some photos of various foods that I will be able to make with my new Blendtec. The muffins and ice cream look pretty good, so I guess I will be putting them on the menu at some point 😉
The first things that I removed upon opening the box were the recipe book, the manual, the DVD and guarantee. Flicking though the recipe book, apart from containing heaps of recipes I notice there’s an ingredient substitution section which is going to come in very handy… And each recipe gives a breakdown of the calories, fibre, fats and sugars etc..!
The Blendtec blenders base looks and feels extremely sturdy, it’s a good weight to, not too heavy but heavy enough to know it’s not going to be bouncing around the kitchen surface like many other high powered blenders do.
The style of the buttons fit nicely with the base, they are clearly marked and are almost flush to the surface, and in fact this whole area is coated with a wipe clean exterior which means no more food stuck in around the buttons.
Both the jars are a good size especially the Wildside, its huge! I’m impressed with the squareness of the jars, there’s quite a lot of room around the blade area so I should be able to remove any bits of food from around them with very little trouble, so this ought to make cleaning it a breeze. The blades are easily handled with no sharp bits at all.
Each jar is clearly marked with measurements (oz, cups, cls and mls) and comes with a thick flexible lid with a more than adequate removable filling cap.
I’ve just placed one of the jars onto the motor base to get an overall feel for the blender. I must say I’m very pleased with the way it just sits on top without having to screw or clip into place, no more holding the base whilst twisting the jar, this is now a ‘grab and go job’.
I’ve paid more than $400 for the Blendtec classic and expect perfection for that! And so far I’m not disappointed I love everything about this blender right now so I pray that its performance is not going to let me down.
Features and Advantages
The Blendtec Total blender is incredibly versatile in its many, varied uses. It can replace up to nine different appliances around the kitchen giving you more space and time.
The 1500 watt, 3 horsepower motor on the Blendtec ‘Total Blender’ will grind coffee, crush ice for cool slushies, mix professional quality drinks, create fruit juice, blend creamy soups, mix frothy milkshakes or frappes, chop or puree vegetables, liquefy foods and even knead dough to make bread, pasta or pizza bases.
The base on a Blendtec blender measures 8 inches deep by 7 inches wide and just around 15 1/2 inches high. This means it will fit under most cupboards in the kitchen, and because it has the capability to replace up to nine different kitchen appliances, leaves you with a lot less clutter.
This blender also uses smart touch Tec-nology ™. You have six preset automatic blending options, once you press one of these functions on the easy to clean touch pad, the blender takes over alternating and controlling the blade speed to create a perfect recipe.
Right now I have the Blendtec blender on the smoothie setting; it has speeded up then slowed down several times. When it slows down all of the ingredients seem to drop down further into the vortex towards the blade before the blender speeds up again. I can see how the alternating speeds along with the vortex ensures proper blending.
I don’t have to do anything I’m just watching.
Along with the six blend options I have a ‘speed up and a ‘speed down’ button. This gives me ten speeds for manual operation. So if I like I can choose my own speed and once selected it will run for 50 seconds then stop… So even on manual I can just walk away if I want to!
I also have a pulse button that is used for chopping, mincing, whipping and other short burst recipes. This button only operates while I have it pressed down.
A beautiful blue LCD screen on the front of the blender gives you all the information you need to know when blending and the blue backlight is a subtle highlight when switched on.
The Blendtec Total blender comes with a 2 quart BPA free container (or a massive 3 quarts if you choose the Wildside jar); this patented jar is square in shape allowing the user to pour the contents from any corner. It can accommodate even the largest savory sauces, soups, and any beverage you can think of without having to make multiple batches.
In its price range the Blendtec cannot be matched on power, it can spin the 3 inch stainless steel blade at up to 29,000rpm giving you one of the most powerful blenders available.
A removable cap on the lid also accommodates filling of ingredients while in a blending cycle, without having to take the lid off.
Performance and Nutrition
The Blendtec Total blenders power, along with the patented design of its blade and jar is what produces the very impressive results.
Basically, ingredients spinning around in the blender hit the square sides of the jar and are drawn down by a vortex created by the unique blade.
This efficient system ensures that all foods are well blended, giving the Blendtec its name the ‘Total blender’.
The Blendtec is so powerful that it can actually micronize raw, whole fruits and vegetables making them even more nutritious than if you were to just eat them.
Simply put, minerals and vitamins that usually remain locked in the cell walls of fruit get broken down by the power of this high performance blender.
As with the Vitamix the Blendtec package wouldn’t be complete without extensive manuals and recipe books. Included are literally hundreds of pages of recipes and instructions along with some thorough and very interesting health information.
The book has a lot of really great recipes to help you get started with high performance blending. And if do you happen to run out of ideas, you can always check back here to see latest healthy blender recipes that I’ve added to BlenderExpert.com
Are There Any Disadvantages?
This machine is a little more expensive when compared to other units, however the cost is easily offset when you consider the multiple uses and functions it can perform.
This blender can be very loud when it’s in use due to the power of the 1500 watt motor. However, as the unique blades and powerful motor work very quickly it’s all over and done before the noise becomes unbearable.
To be honest, both the Blendtec and Vitamix are noisy; you just can’t have this kind of power without some noise.
Consumer Reviews
So far the Blendtec Total blender has received an incredible 1100 five star ratings on Amazon and averages 4.2 stars overall from a total of 1500 reviews.
You just don’t get that many five star ratings unless it’s a great product. And the time spent on some of the reviews is amazing. Every-day users have a lot of respect for this machine which says so much about its quality.
My Conclusion
As you can see from the constant additions to my blender recipes section I’m absolutely thrilled with my Blendtec blender, in my opinion its the best blender on the market today.
The 3 HP, 1500 watt motor will allows me to chop, puree, liquefy, grind, mix, pulverize, knead, blend and anything else you can think of doing with food.
Other people who have reviewed this blender have stated that the Blendtec is loud, but it’s worth remembering that the short burst of time you’ll be using the machine means it shouldn’t be a problem.
I know that Blendtec vs Vitamix is always a close run battle, but right now the Blendtec price is a bit lower, and along with its many function buttons plus the ability to grind flour in its ‘standard’ jar, the Blendtec just edges it.
But before you make a final decision, check out the available options with the new Wildside Pitcher, it has a bigger five sided container and a 4inch blade, after a lot of research it was the option that I chose and I can highly recommend it.
Have fun blending and if you get a chance, drop by to let me know how you get on with your Blendtec Total blender!
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