Read First Before Buy Breville BBL605XL Hemisphere Control Blender
I have considered several blenders that could make green smoothies. The Ninja is a good price ~$120.00 but has a terrible design with lots of plastic to break, a lid that's difficult to remove and interior corners for food to stick. The VitaMix sounds great and it should for ~$500.00!
The Breville has a cost of ~$200.00 but is designed very well with ring holds to remove the top and the plug from the wall, a cylindrical, one piece, lightweight, crystal clear, scratch resistant (so far no scratches), pitcher that doesn't trap food and is easy to clean and many choices of speeds. The size is also great: compact, streamlined and fits easily underneath kitchen cabinets.
It has done an excellent job on green smoothies and can chew up an apple, a pear, a hunk of fresh ginger, ice cubes (with a little water) and several handfuls of greens without any hesitation.
The things I like best about this blender are its wide bottom hugging blade design and the wide based BPA-free jar that makes easier to get blended concoctions out of the container. The unique blade system means that you won't have to stop the blender and resituate the ingredients often if at all like with a lot of other blenders. I make green smoothies with about a half pound of fresh spinach, a cup of water, a few ice cubes, frozen berries, a few leaves of kale, a couple cups of cabbage, a peeled banana and lemon and flax seed. Before getting this blender, the only one that could handle this type of smoothie is the Vitamix 4500. But with the Vitamix I had to use the tamper several times or turn it off and rearrange the ingredients that were stuck down at the bottom to get it to start blending again. With the Breville, I don't have to use a tamper and don't have to resituate the ingredients because they don't have a tendency to get stuck.
BalasHapusThis blender has a smart, sturdy looking design that looks good on my kitchen counter. It feels substantial and you can tell that a lot of thought went into the design. It is a 750-Watt blender with LCD timer. It has a 48 oz. BPA-free jug. There are 5 speed buttons: Snow, Mix, Blend, Liquefy, and Puree, plus Pulse, Ice Crush and Smoothie buttons. The Ice Crush and Smoothie buttons are minute long pre-programmed blender settings which include a variety of speeds to optimize the process of crushing ice or making smoothies. The first time I used this blender I just used the #5 or Purify button and it did a good job of making all the fruits and veggies into a smooth icy drink. In subsequent trials, I used the Smoothie button and found it to work well, but I used the Purify button afterwards to make my drinks really smooth being that I use so much spinach and other leafy greens.
The instructions advise that when blending a heavy load, to run the blender in 10 second increments to keep it from overheating. I thought that "heavy" meant ingredients like those in my smoothie, but a call to customer service indicated that those ingredients weren't "heavy" and by heavy they meant something like cake mixes or peanuts that you're making into peanut butter. They also told me that the machine would show a warning and turn off if it was really overheated. I have not been able to produce that warning with anything I've tried so far.
This blender is relatively quiet when making blended drinks or blending soft foods. It can be really noise when using ice or harder foods. I would say it comes pretty close to the noise level of my Vitamix on ice or hard foods but much quieter on soft ingredients. This is expected. It will crush a cup or two of ice into snow and make great slushies or snow cones. When I tried to put several cups of ice into the machine at a time it left some chunks of ice in the bowl. The instructions say not to put hot foods into the blender but warm foods are OK. The blender will run in 60 second increments and then stop as a safety feature and to restrict wear on the motor. I didn't find this to be a problem; I just started it again a minute or so after it stopped. I rather like this feature because I'm usually multitasking when it comes to meal preparation and there have been times when I forgot about the Vitamix and left it going much longer than necessary when I left the room to get something.
I'm impressed with this blender and am giving it 5 stars because I think at this price point it is a good deal. It is much better than your average inexpensive blender and can do many of the jobs of the super-premium high priced ones. It does some things, like keeping the ingredients moving without getting stuck in the bottom of the container better. It comes with a 1 year warranty.
-very tight well fitting lid and easy locking port on top
BalasHapus-designed for easy cleaning, bottom part is well sealed and protected by inter-locking bowl,
- but effective blades work well hemi-spherical bottom.
-the automated ice crushing cycle created very smooth crushed ice.
-the motor is very powerful, -
- lid and power cord are easy to remove with finger hooks,
-the cord wraps neatly under the blender
-it has features that make it more a food processor than a blender, but much easier to use and clean.
-the controls are easy to use with a variety of cycles and speeds.
-the bowl is made of a very sturdy material, both impact resistant, while holding-up well in the dishwasher.
This is a beautiful blender, with every type of cutting-edge engineering and style that one expects from Breville. It is a beautifully designed piece, but, - the drinks and cocktails that it produces are superb. I have NEVER had a blender that would reduce ice to snow, no big chunks, just a perfect texture for Margarita's, smoothies, and anything else that needs to be finely ground. I had been using a very expensive Cuisinart blender, but, not anymore. This Breville has set a new standard for appliances ( I have their coffee maker, it is also pretty amazing.)
I can safely recommend this to everyone, in spite of the price. It truly is worth the money.
Ok, Im not a blender snob, but I use my blender daily. Dont know what Id do without it. I have had some good ones, couple great ones, and a lot of junk ones. This one fits in with the greats (so far).
BalasHapusI have been using a Waring blender until this arrived. Now that is awaiting a new home with the first friend who wants to take it. This blender is great. The pitcher is large, a nice change as most 'good' blenders have figured out it is easier to make it work well with a smaller pitcher, so they all come with smaller pitchers now. This one is BIG. The blade design allows for a big pitcher with a wide base, and still blends properly and keeps ingredients from clumping around the bottom. The blade has an extra set that "sweep" around the bottom of the pitcher and keep ingredients from hiding there, forcing them back up into the other blades to be crushed with the rest.
I usually start my day with a fruit smoothie. We put fruit and basic ingredients into freezer bags and store them in the freezer. That way you just dump the bag in the blender, add some juice, and blend. A minute later Im out the door with my breakfast in hand. Many blenders have a hard time with frozen fruits, basically making a frosty mess that sticks inside the blender. This one powers right on through.
The unit itself is heavy and sturdy. No wobble. Doesnt feel like it may tip over if you dont hold your hand on the top while blending. The lid is VERY secure, even the cap in the lid to add ingredients is a snug fit.
BEST OF ALL... the base even has a keeper to wrap the cord and keeps it secure and out of the way. No more blender cords everywhere, tangling under the cabinets, or excess coiled on the counter. Just uncoil what you want, the rest stays hidden. Entier cord coils nices when stored too! Its the little things that make a good product great.
I just finished making snow from a tray of ice cubes..I'm really impressed! Although this blender uses short pulsed bursts to get the job done, it DOES get the job done.
BalasHapusI made a green smoothie first..and although the Breville doesn't hold as much lettuce at one time it did an excellent job. I used the puree function though so next time I will try smoothie instead for the greens. Then I made a Strawberry smoothie using frozen strawberries with yogurt. Turned out awesome although the Vitamix's texture is thicker, this was still delicious and fast!
This blender is similar in so many ways to my Vitamix although it doesn't have the same wattage or capacity. It's easy to clean and I love the lid much better than on the Vitamix, although the Vitamix has a plunger you can put through the hole in the top to keep things moving along should they get stuck.
I did smell something burning as I crushed the ice, but I think that is normal in the first couple of uses.
For the money this is an excellent blender! I highly recommend it!
Compared to my old workhorse anniversary model Waring Blendor, this Breville BBL605XL Hemisphere Control Blender is noticeably quieter so I can use it late at night without disturbing the neighbors. The Breville does a much better job crushing ice. It has a plastic jug that is lighter and easier to handle and clean than a glass jug, the lid fits tighter, and it has a very cord storage underneath. It has thoughtfully-designed details such as grips on the lid and plug, measuring marks on both sides of the jug, and textured rubbery feet that do keep it in place on the counter.
BalasHapusOn the other hand, compared to the Waring, the electronic controls are more complicated and so perhaps more prone to break-down. It has a difficult time handling thick mixtures once they approach the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. The brushed titanium finish on the metal base almost looks like plastic in contrast to the Waring's polished chrome. It is also a bit larger than my old blender, which is important in my small kitchen where the only other countertop electric appliance is a microwave.
The controls take a minute to get used to, with a two-step process. It is necessary to first turn on the blender and then select a speed or function.
The most useful (and even amazing) button is the one that turns ice cubes into a soft snow of even consistency. Yes, it really does that! I like to make snow with it, then throw in a peeled orange and a teaspoon of sugar and make a fruit ice. It also makes a nice slushie, lassi, or daiquiri.
It will turn out a frozen smoothie or shake as long as there is enough liquid and the mixture doesn't get too thick to drink with a straw. Otherwise, an air pocket will form and it will continue spinning the blades without actually doing anything to the contents. Sometimes using the pulse will take care of the problem and if not, I have found that a tablespoon or two of hot water and a good shake of the jug will get things moving again. Surprisingly, adding the frozen fruit, blending, and then afterwards adding yogurt and milk works better than starting with liquid.
I made cream of broccoli soup with it and it did a great job. (I left the little plug in the cover out and covered the hole with a towel so pressure wouldn't build up from the warm liquid.)
The attractive packaging was both secure and recyclable except for the plastic bags.
Overall, I do prefer the new Breville even with its contemporary laboratory aesthetic. This was unexpected as I am fond of the look and simplicity of my old blender and it took a few days for me to admit this! I give it 4.5 stars but will round up to 5.
Edit 5/31/12: I have been using this blender an average of more than once a day. I still like it just as much but have noticed that sometimes the little plastic cap in the center of the lid will unlock because of the vibration. Today when I was making snow out of ice for some frosty strawberry lemonade, it actually popped out. A minor inconvenience but I think that it should be redesigned to be more secure and also that the hole should be a little bit bigger so a standard ice cube will go through it.
Edit 8/13/12: Some of the numbers are starting to wear off the buttons.