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: Blendtec TB-621-20 Blender
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me preface the comments with the statement that I rarely cook. I have only had the blender about 1 month, but have used it 18 times and would have used it more except for the need for groceries. We make mostly fruit and ice smoothies. By adding a cup of raw spinich and some carrots, we have increased fruit and vegetable consumption, reduced chain-store yogurt consumption, and reduced calorie intake from processed snacks. This can be done in the time of a TV commercial. I am still trying new recipes (mostly whatever I have) each time. I never owned a really nice blender before and used my previous blender (a 30-year-old wedding present) for egg custards, but not for more powerful uses. With the Blentec, I've made soups. As winter approaches, we will use more often. I probably will not use for salsa, because I love CHUNKY onion, cilantra, and tomato salsa. The Blentec might be too smooth. This purchase is worth the money. By following the directions of a cup of warm water and a drop of dishwashing detergent immediately following use, I have had no problems cleaning the container. However, I do see that eventually, the polycarbonate jar will need replacing, which is not cheap. I cannot yet predict that amount of uses before replacement. I would re-purchase this item.Customer Review: Good, but needs water
Summary: 5 Stars
I am new to blending and this is my first professional grade machine. I am happy with it, but one thing I was not expecting is that often I have to add water to my fruits and veggies. Even if I am just doing a frozen fruit juice. Its okay I guess, this is perhaps elementary, I was just not aware. If I don't add water, it will just spin at the bottom like a $20 blender. I am getting better, I bought an additional book with recipes and online there is a lot of stuff too. I make a great Jamba Juice drink now that is really good, which is not necessarily a healthy drink but great drink on a hot summer. And concerning healthy drinks, which is what we bought it for, you do need to read up on it. You can't just throw in 5 fruits and 5 veggies. It will be just about undrinkable and you are not supposed to really mix fruits and veggies. After about a month's worth of use, we expect to use this regularly, every other day for the long term.
Finally, the machine itself is very good. Quality is good, easy to use and clean. Durability is high and machine overall seems very solid. Looks pretty good in the kitchen too. Certainly better than a deep frying machine. As I am writing this, my 8 year old daughter overlooking my shoulder insisted that I add that even she likes it.
Customer Review: Great blender, but buy hearing protection to go with it!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an awesome blender. It blends stuff like you've never seen before and I am really pleased with it. But holy cow is it LOUD!! The cat hates me. I got a pair of earmuffs from the shooting supply place to wear while using it. Maybe overkill, but I think that using it twice a day without them would result in hearing damage eventually. I wish they sold an enclosure for this one like they do for the commercial ones....I'd definitely buy one.
I bought this because I had a juicer and liked it. But I felt that tossing all that pulp and fiber had to be making me miss out on a lot of health benefits. And just trying to spoon some of it back into the juice doesn't work, it's gross. This blender blends whole fruits and vegetables wonderfully, I can still get the fiber and in a drinkable form.
After I bought this, I read a webpage where they talked about blending an avocado WITH the pit, and I tried it. It works, I ended up with an amazingly smooth mousse-like creamy pudding. Not something I'd do every day, but it was very interesting. I have been making kale banana blueberry smoothies for breakfast and it blends everything into one homogenous shake. No bits of leaves, chunks of stuff, etc. I'm enjoying it. I just wish it wasn't so loud.
Customer Review: A Kitchen Essential
Summary: 5 Stars
After about 2 months of comparing and searching, I decided to get a Blendtec. At first, I was slightly disappointed with my new blender. I had previously used a Vitamix, and I was used to the plunger. I threw in half an apple and some other fruit to make a smoothie. To my surprise, the apple was not blended up. Since the blender was a gift, I decided that I would give it another chance. Since that time, I have not had any more complaints. The harder fruits and vegetables need to be cut once or twice to help them get sucked into the blades. This amazing machine is a must for anyone who is in need of extra fruit and vegetable consumption. (That is just about everyone) I have used the blender over 70 times in the last 3 weeks. It works flawlessly. I highly recommend a high power blender for every kitchen, and the Blendtec is a very good choice.
Pros: Flawlessly blends, easy to clean, easy to run, automatic shutoff, ultimate power!
Cons: slight food prep needed (nothing larger than 2 or 3 inches for harder items is ideal), loud, (FYI any blender that is high power is going to be making some noise), the accompanying recipe book has a few typos.
Overall, I highly recommend this blender.
Customer Review: Good blender, Made in USA, get the Wildside jar
Summary: 5 Stars
This blender is okay, but you really want the upgraded bundle with the "Wildside" jar. The Wildside jar is better than the standard jar, not only because it's larger (96 oz vs. 64 oz.) but because it simply blends better, with less cavitation (a pocket of air so that the blades spin uselessly, cutting air instead of food). My smaller jar occasionally messes up and needs a "love tap" or re-loading so the blades hit fruit instead of air, but the big Wildside jar eats up everything without complaint.
How is this possible?
The reason can be found on youtube; search for "The Accidental Innovator" for the video. This blender's inventor, Tom Dickson, talks about how he came up with the Wildside design by trial and error. I have lost all respect for Vitamix after seeing that clip, where Tom shows us just how closely Vitamix copied Blendtec's designs in order to win back the Jamba Juice and Starbucks accounts. So those of you who use that as evidence of Vitamix's alleged superiority over Blendtec ought to know that Vitamix STOLE those accounts using pirated technology. (Blendtec recently won a $24 million patent lawsuit against Vitamix for stealing the Wildside design.)