BlendTec vs Cuisinart PowerEdge 700 vs KitchenAid Blender Comparison Test

[This review was recorded with the HTC Evo 3D]

I couldn't find any blender comparisons comparing these three models of blenders, so I bought all three and compared them myself. This is a REAL WORLD comparison. None of these companies sponsored me, I used my own money to buy these blenders, so there's NO BIAS. I also DO NOT SELL any of these blenders.

I didn't want to do a comparison of BlendTec vs VItamix because everyone has done those and this guy has done the best test between the two:

http://www.youtube.com/user/blenderdudeTV

His conclusion is that they are both pretty much equal. I wanted to compare standard blenders vs high end blenders. I wanted to find out if we really do get more for our money!

The BlendTec is from Costco and goes for $440. It uses metal couplings for both the base and the jar. It uses a 2 blade design that's dull on one side and slightly sharp on the other. Its sharpness is somewhere between a paring knife and a butter knife. It uses a polycarbonate jar, the same jar used at Jamba Juice and Starbuck's. Starbuck's uses this same model. The jar and blade assembly is a sealed design that cannot be taken apart for cleaning. So, you just use warm water and a drop of dishwasher soap for cleaning.

The KitchenAid is from Amazon and goes for $150. It uses a plastic coupling for the base and a metal coupling for the jar. It uses a 4 blade design which is dull on both sides, which makes it very safe for cleaning. It uses a glass jar that can be taken apart for cleaning. It uses 2 o-rings on top and bottom of the blade assembly to prevent leaking.

The Cuisinart PowerEdge 700 is from Costco and goes for $90. It uses a plastic coupling for the base and a plastic coupling for the jar. At first, this made me worry about the longevity of this model, but since you can buy 5 of these for the cost of 1 BlendTec, if it performed equally as good as the BlendTec, it would be a very good buy despite this flaw. It uses a 6 blade design which is dull on one side and VERY SHARP on the other, which makes it not very safe for cleaning. It uses a glass jar that can be taken apart for cleaning. It uses 1 o-ring on top of the blade assembly to prevent leaking. This model tends to create a pocket of air around the blades and has a hard time creating a suction force to draw the ingredients into the blades.

This blender test uses frozen fruit ingredients, juice and no ice. It's not really a speed test because, honestly, who gives a crap if one blender can blend 30 seconds faster? I was really just looking for a blender that could do the best job blending w/o having to shake the jar a ton or having to add too much liquid. Again, any cheap blender can blend frozen fruit if you give it enough liquid, but then you'll end up with a liquidie instead of a smoothie. =)

So, each blender has the same count of frozen fruit chunks (watermelon, nectarines, strawberries). I purposefully started out w/just 3/4 cup of liquid to create a "torture test" condition for the blenders to see which would do the best with the least amount of liquid. As expected, NONE of the blenders were able to create a smoothie under those conditions. However, you can see in the video which one does the best and which one does the worst job.

Then, I added another 1/2 cup of liquid. This was enough liquid for the blenders to finish the job. Well, 2 of them at least. The Cuisineart still failed.

In both test runs, BlendTec was the clear winner. However, the BlendTec is EXTREMELY loud! You seriously need ear plugs to use this machine. I was really rooting for the Cuisinart but it actually did the worst. I did this test 3 times over a weekend and recorded the last time. The results were the same all 3 times.

UPDATE:
Here are links to the blenders used in this review. Thanks for watching!

BlendTec (black):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GIGZXM/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF...

BlendTec (red):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ILIKZI/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF...

KitchenAid:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CSNVEM/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF...

Cuisineart:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UD5I5A/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF...

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• BlendTec
• Cuisinart
• PowerEdge
• 700
• KitchenAid
• Blender
• Comparison
• Test
• Smoothie
• Jamba
• Juice
• Starbucks
• VitaMix
• Oster
• Hamilton
• Beach
• Black
• Decker
• Ninja
• NJ600
• XL

[blenderdudeTV]

I appreciate the mention of my video. Just for clarification on this one, the "Smoothie" cycle you selected on the Blendtec is a pre-programmed cycle designed for specific recipes, not for general blending such as the test you designed here. This is a common mistake many Blendtec owners make. Using the manual controls (Speed Up/Down), gradually working the speeds from slower to faster, the original 3/4 cup of liquid you used would have been sufficient for this test. Nice job on the comaparison

[n33oh]

@blenderdudeTV Thanks BlenderDude!  That's good info to know and I'll re-work my testing process for the next review!

[n33oh]

@blenderdudeTV Hey BDTV, I tried using the manual mode instead of the preset mode and I can make a really nice Jamba like smoothie from just 12oz of liquid + 30-36oz of rock hard frozen fruit.

However, it does take 2 blending cycles to do this.

Cycle 1: Start out speed 1, until blade spins freely from cavitation. Then, speed 10. Cycle will stop on its own.

Cycle 2: Take jar off and shake the air cavity out. Start off at speed 10 and when cycle finishes, smoothie is done.

[n33oh]

@n33oh Caveats:

About 2/3's of the time, I'll still get 2-3 marble sized chunks of frozen fruit. I could try to blend it longer, but then I don't want heat build up to melt the smoothie, then we'd lose the Jamba quality of it.

My fruit aren't big, the round fruit are sliced into 8 wedges, each wedge is cut in half and frozen. Watermelon are cut into ~1.5" cubes.

Any suggestions? I want to rework this video, but want a proven formula to test all the blenders on. Thanks!

[TheLoserKingdom]

You should do a test with Vitamix. Though the narrow base might make this test hard. Do a test on green smoothies. I'd like to see how they blend tough leafy vegetables.

[n33oh]

@TheLoserKingdom Hi! I didn't want to do a comparison of BlendTec vs VItamix because everyone has done those and this guy has done the best test between the two:

youtube.com/user/blenderdudeTV

His conclusion is that they are both pretty much equal. I wanted to compare standard blenders vs high end blenders. I wanted to find out if we really do get more for our money!

[RestaurantEquipment]

@ecliptic1101 We sell Blendtec blenders. If your on a budget, entry-level commercial blenders from Hamilton Beach, Vitamix, and Waring also are great.

[RestaurantEquipment]

Don't take it from me, though. Check out product demonstrations at Blendtec's site for their commercial blenders, or Hamilton Beach, Waring, or Vitamix - any of the fine manufacturer's in which we sell. Then get back to us on whether the investment is worth it. Thanks for reading this long reply!

[RestaurantEquipment]

@fantard100 Generally speaking, commercial blenders make a huge difference. They can have as much as 3 HP! That's as much as a good weedwacker. The issue is that these blenders are not commercial blenders - high end consumer blenders, definitely, but not commercial. Blendtec makes fine blenders, and I would vouch for their consumer ones, but there really is a difference. Check out Blender World (dot) com for real, honest-to-goodness commercial blenders.

[RestaurantEquipment]

If anybody finds the Amazon prices a bit steep, they can always head on over to Blender World (dot) com to see if prices are cheaper there.

[blenderdudeTV]

@n33oh Not sure if this was directed at me, but contrary to what might seem logical, blending at slower-to-medium speeds helps break down frozen fruits. Then once they are incorporated the higher speeds will achieve the desired texture for you. Going straight to high isn't always the best method for frozen ingredients. For other recipes it's fine. Really tough to give you exact instructions. You kind of develop a "feel" for the right speeds with experience. Sounds like you're on the right path

[blenderdudeTV]

@n33oh Nice work. Keep experimenting with different blade speeds to cut down on that time.

[fantard100]

Wow, looks like they all suck. I mean, I just used my $30 blender today for frozen fruit, & the results were similar to blendtec but the motor started to burn. It pisses me off how most blenders advertise that they can crush ice, there is even a button on my blender for ice crushing, yet they can't even blend frozen fruit. Thanks for the review, those are all out of my price range, but i thought if the results were really good i might invest in one of them. After watching this, i'll pass. Thx!!!