Blendtec Total Blender Four Side, Black
by Blendtec Fine Living Products
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List Price: Our Price: $399.99 You Save: $199.01 (33%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $367.99 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Blendtec Total Blender Four Side, Black
Customer Review: Great Blender
Summary: 5 Stars
This blender does an excellent job at blending things. I love my smoothies, milkshakes, and green smoothies, and this blender does an awesome job at blending all these.
The key to getting the blender to work correctly is to make sure there is enough liquid to do what you need to do. I will admit that this blender does have a learning curve. My first few smoothies were too thick, which caused an air bubble to form around the blade. After a couple of times of this happening, I found that adding a little more liquid made this go away. It also made the smoothie less like ice cream and more like a smoothie.
The Blendtec does have pre-programmed buttons that do different tasks. Part of my problem was picking the right button. I thought "I'll make a smoothie" and add frozen fruit, ice, and milk and press the smoothie button. I found that really is ice crush/milk shake or ice cream (which has their own buttons).
Once I figured these things out, my Blendtec has been working great. I do wish I had a tamper for those learning moments, but now I'm glad that I don't have to use a tamper.
I have 2 toddlers and they love helping me make the smoothies. They just need to push the right button and they get to watch the show. The program cycles are also very helpful because I can just push a button and go back to chasing my toddlers around the house.
As far as the noise goes, I don't think it's that loud. The grinding up of the frozen ingredients is what is really loud in my opinion. But then again, I do have 2 toddlers that like to scream all the time and my wife and I find ourselves screaming at them around the house too :).
Customer Review: Finally, a blender I won't have to replace in a year!
Summary: 5 Stars
This machine is amazing. I'm convinced it will turn anything into a smooth liquid or paste. Just read the manual first for the best results. I love having a blender that I don't have to baby. I just put on the proper program setting and it speeds up and slows down to ensure the food is properly blended.
If I'm making a thick frozen fruit smoothie, sometimes I'll have to shake the container and blend again, but when that happens, it's my error since I'm making the smoothie too thick. I've never had to scrape down the sides making a smoothie, like every other cheap blender I've owned.
The container shape makes for very easy pouring, and even easier cleaning. I love that I can see under the blade to make sure the container is clean. I usually just rinse the container once or twice and run the lid under some water. Sometimes I'll blend a cup of water with a drop of dishsoap for a few seconds to clean it. It's so low-maintenance.
This will get me eating my vegetables. My favorite way to have carrot now is blended with an apple (I add water to get it more juice-like; it's very thick without). You can throw vegetables in with fruits to disguise them. If I had kids, this is how I'd trick them into eat healthily. :)
I did a lot of researching on the VitaMix and BlendTec blenders, and decided on the BlendTec because of its superior design and functionality (and it was even less expensive). Its design is much more pleasing than the VitaMix models, which look to be permanently stuck in the 70's.
This is an American-made product and the quality reflects that.
Customer Review: Power and Simplicity
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the most amazing tool for my kitchen. Flour from wheat grains in two minutes!! Try tossing a few tomatoes,a stalk of celery, half an onion, and whatever else you like with a little coconut milk, whip it up for a minute and you have a hot cream of tomato soup not to be believed.
I use it 4 or 5 times a day, have retired my stick blender and juicer as this does the job better and faster.
I like that I can push just one button, one time, and let it do its thing without supervision. I can hide spinach in banana bread and no one has a clue. It takes some experimenting to learn just how much more flavor some things have when liquified - a clove of garlic has a lot more impact when liquifed than when merely minced, for example - but with a little practice I am now winging it with very nice results.
My sense is that having the veggies broken down so completely allows
more nutrition from each piece of food than simply chewing would yield. So not only am I ingesting more fruits and vegetables than I did before because it's so fast and easy, but I'm getting more benefit from each bit. It's not costing me any less, but I'm finally getting my value from the foods where it counts.
I have diverticular problems, but now I don't have to worry about raspberry seeds in my smoothies because they disappear, flax seeds are now safe for me as are many other similar foods.
I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that I feel this to be the best money I ever spent on my health and my palate as a delicious, nutritious liquid is only 45 seconds away; a minute or two if I want it warmed.
Customer Review: Awesome Blender: Power, Performance, and Durability.
Summary: 5 Stars
Bought mine over 18 months ago and waited before writing up a review. In that period, I've used this blender daily, sometimes multiple times per day. It has held up under this constant, heavy use -- no problems with parts or performance at all. It performs as well today as when I bought it, unlike previous blenders I've owned that rely on sharpness of their blades.
I got this blender to improve my diet by adding more whole fruit and vegetable smoothies. This device supplements my juicing by allowing me to blend whole fruits and retain one of the most beneficial part of the fruit (the fiber).
This Blender is extremely powerful and does a great job creating consistent, smooth drinks from whole fruits. Yes it's VERY loud, but when I got my blood pressure and cholesterol tests back and every time I weigh myself, I consider the roar of this machine music to my ears!
Despite what some reviewers claim, this blender does NOT need a tamper. I've never felt the need for one, and as I mentioned I blend whole fruits and make thick shakes. The Blendtec is designed to oscillate or pulse rather than maintain a constant speed as other blenders do. This prevents a vacuum from being created and allows inputs to settle into the blade. On occassion when I have been too lazy to cut my fruit into smaller pieces and found some chunks, a second cycle or use of the "pulse" function is all it took to make a perfect shake.
As another reviewer mentioned, this blender is great for entertaining -- both as a functional appliance and as a conversation piece.
Customer Review: love it. i have a blender for life
Summary: 5 Stars
listen, it wasn't easy to spend $400 on a blender, but i am only 35 and over 15 yrs have already owned 2-3 cheapo blenders. they seemed to work fine, but try to drink a smoothie that was made with strawberries or blueberries and not straining it through a mesh. the seeds make it impossible to enjoy.
that's where this puppy comes in. I got it from Costco (included a longer warranty) about a year ago and will never look back.
this thing is like a jet engine with a hatch. it's loud, but man, it does the job. i frequently blend cantelopes with the seeds, whole strawberries with the green stems, tomatoes with the skins, etc, etc....it's awesome. it pulverizes everything that comes its way.
if you dont believe me, go to their website or utube and watch the videos. they will show how this thing blends hockey pucks, ipads, iphones, hard drives, etc, etc...
it can make soups, ice cream, but i did not get it for those things. i got it for the pure power and the ease of making smoothies, drinks.
i tried to make carrot juice, but did not turn out well. too pulpy.
love fact that it has a counter and it tells me how many times i have used it.
if you can spend the money, get one. you will not regret it. ever. most coffee houses have them.