looking for a blender

[dsc]

Hi everyone,

My lovely girlfriend drinks a lot of funny looking and sometimes weird tasting fruit/veg drinks and usually prepares them in a blender. Heck even I like to drink a nice strawberry milk shake from time to time or a glass of orange juice with all the bits floating in it. Currently we are using a small crappy blender made by Philips and we would like to do a small upgradeitis to something better looking, better working, with a glass top and removable knife. I googled a bit yesterday and found out that there are two pretty cool US companies that make good blenders:

- BlendTec

- Waring

Both available in the UK.

The main problem is they are rather pricey, BlendTecs costing around 500-700£ and Warings somewhere around 120-200£. Now this is a lot to spend on a blender, but I already bought a lot of more expensive coffee equip. so I'm ready to spend some cash here as well . Of course not as much as 500£, but those Warings look quite good and should work for a good couple of years. Before I order anything though I was wondering whether you know any other brands that make blenders? I mean it is the sort of equipement that gets used in caffes pretty often so some of you might know:)

Regards,
dsc.

[lukas]

Will it blend - something for Steve here

(sorry, nothing else to add)

[AlexV]

If you want to blend ice, it has to be a blendtec. If not, then Hamilton Beach make some cheaper ones.

http://commercial.hamiltonbeach.com/pro ... /blenders/

[kingseven]

Agree with AlexV - I'd stay away from the Blendtec unless you are going commercial. I have a Waring at home and have been very happy with it, was just over £100 I think. Heard plenty of good things about Hamilton Beach stuff.

[crphillips]

I bought a Vita-Mix blender..........a lot of big coffee chains use these. Very robust with a very powerful motor. It's got some pretty funky, chunky, retro-ish looking buttons and switches. Totallly variable speed control too.....it'll set you back around £350ish. It's sat next to the Champion Juicer.....also a fantastic bit of kit..........My favourite is the espresso machine though.

[Jaanus]

if You`re just looking to make milk shakes and fruit smoothies then a KitchenAid might do it..
http://www.kitchenaid.com/catalog/category.jsp?categoryId=171
not enough power fr long term ice crushing job, though

[dsc]

Hi guys,

thanks for all the replies. The 'Will it blend' series is in fact Blendtec being used for various weird stuff.

I like the looks of Hamilton Beach, but they are rather pricey here in the UK (found the most simple model for around 100$ in the US and here it costs 150£). I think I will go with a Waring, but I'm not 100% sure so I have to think it through.

Regards,
dsc.

[petikas]

How about a Macap to match with your grinder!

[leecb]

I wouldn't go for the Hamilton Beach, the new ones are pretty bad in my experience especially for crushing ice in drinks eg. smoothies. I have had nothing but trouble with my new one. The blades are no longer sharp and the motor isn't as strong as they used to be. At a price of around £200 they're not what they used to be.