Frequently Asked Questions About My Blendtec Total Blender

I am the proud owner of a Blendtec Total Blender! It has been faithfully blending my green smoothies every day since I got it on August 29, 2009.

In the past nine months, I’ve put this powerful blender to work on a lot of tasty creations.

• Daily green smoothies
• Soups
• Salsas
• Nut butters
• Sauces
• Raw, vegan ice creams and more.

The counter indicates that it’s made 1588 blends since I purchased it. That’s about six blends per day!

I get a lot of questions about my Blendtec blender, so here’s a list of some top questions that I will answer with over nine months of experience using this product extensively.

Which is better, Vita-Mix or Blendtec?

I’ve written an extensive article on this a while ago that compares these two blenders in detail. I have used the Vita-Mix before and I have to say that I prefer the user experience of a Blendtec. I’m not a fan of the switch and dial interface on the Vita-Mix.

I almost purchased a Vita-Mix, but ended up with a Blendtec after watching a demo at Costco. After using a Vita-Mix a couple months later, I was so glad that I purchased the Blendtec!

Some of the things I really like about the Total Blender is it’s size, design and simplicity. The preset buttons are handy for blending up perfectly rich smoothies, soups or whatever you want with just one touch of a button. The blender runs it’s cycle and then it stops when the cycle is over. You can walk away and prepare something else. You can’t really do that on a Vita-Mix.

The manual “Pulse” button and the speed controls on the Blendtec Total Blender are responsive and precise. I’ve never had a problem getting what I want out of this blender and I’m a big control freak when it comes to manual settings.

Does The Blendtec Total Blender Really Make Better Smoothies?

Yes it does! An average blender that you get at a department store will have a 500-watt motor at best.

• The Blendtec Total Blender has a 1500-watt motor and a blade that spins much, much faster.
• You’ll get richer, creamier smoothies with no chunks of fruit or bits of greens to get stuck in your teeth. 
• You can blend pineapples, core and all.  Add whole fruit, seeds and all.
• I can toss in whole flax or sesame seeds and even cacao (nibs or beans) and have them pulverized and thoroughly blended in a single 30-second smoothie blend cycle!

Does Blendtec blend well without a tamper tool?

In my experience, I haven’t wished I had a tamper tool for my Blendtec. The large blade and square pitcher design does, for the most part, just what the sales literature says. It pulls the ingredients into the blades with a powerful vortex.

If you get the WildSide or upgrade to the WildSide pitcher, you won’t need a tamper. Not even for green smoothies made with lots of greens. I simply stuff my pitcher full, hit the “Smoothie” button and watch in amazement as my smoothie makes itself. No tamper needed.

The basic FourSide pitcher does a great job too. It’s doesn’t handle green smoothies with the same ease as the WildSide pitcher does, but it certainly does the job and you won’t feel the need to use a tamper. Simply hit the “Pulse” button a couple times, then hit the “Smoothie” button.

All in all, I’ve never wished Blendtec made a tamper tool and I never felt the need to get an aftermarket one on eBay…even though it’s just $10 and I use the standard sized pitcher.

Does it really make hot soup?

The Blendtec Total Blender heats soup with friction from blades that spin up to 300 miles per hour. There is no heating element in the blender. You should add warm water to the blender as it will heat it up further to a satisfactory, steamy soup by the end of the 90-second “Soup” cycle. If you put cold water in, you’ll have to run the “Soup” cycle twice to get hot soup. Based on the superior motor power and speed of the blade, I would say the Blendtec does a better job at heating soup.

Would you buy another Blendtec after using this one?

YES!! I would definitely purchase another Blendtec blender. In fact, I’d probably get the Tom Dickson Extreme Blender by Blendtec. It’s a blender with a ridiculously, delightfully powerful 20-amp, 2400 watt motor (the Total Blender has a 1500 watt motor, which is still super powerful). It costs a lot more but I’d be comfortable putting just about anything in that blender and knowing for sure that yes, it will blend!

Is the Blendtec Total Blender worth the cost?

At just under $400, the Blendtec Total Blender isn’t cheap, but it’s designed to be a professional-level blender that you will use regularly for a long, long time. It’s worth the price because it will make better smoothies, which leads to better nutrition and health. It also saves you a lot of time. You won’t spend so much time chopping fruit and greens before adding them (just throw large chunks in) and you won’t be “fighting” with it like you will with a cheap blender.

Cleanup is a breeze too. Just add some hot water and a drop of soap or a piece of fresh lemon and run the smoothie cycle. Thirty seconds later you have a clean, fresh-smelling blender pitcher with no disassembly required.

On time savings alone, the cost of a Blendtec blender is worth it for me. I calculated that I save 182.5 hours a year using a Blendtec blender over my old blender.

You won’t get a smoother, creamier green smoothie from any department store blender. Check out the Blendtec Total Blender for yourself and experience better green smoothies plus so much more!

Tags: blender, Blendtec, Vita-Mix