A Tale of Two Blenders

We used to have one blender. One well-used, inexpensive, average blender. We used it to make smoothies and other drinks, mainly. It wasn’t so great for doing other things, so we also had a Cuisinart, and a Champion juicer with lots of attachments for making things that our blender couldn’t handle. We felt like we had things under control in our kitchen.

And then, The Blenders came into our lives.

You might be thinking, what on earth would anyone need with two blenders? If we were talking about two regular blenders, I might agree with you. But these blenders are something else entirely.

Here’s how we came to have two really fantastic blenders. We were looking into upgrading our original blender, because we found that we were kind of limited in what we could make with it. We wanted to have a blender that could handle a lot of greens well, and since there are now four of us drinking green smoothies in our household, we figured it would be great to get a blender with a larger capacity than the one we had. We were looking at two main models: The Vitamix Professional Series 300, and the Blend-tec Total Blender Classic. Both of these were undoubtedly awesome, and their features were fairly similar. We eventually chose the Blendtec for two reasons: it was a little less expensive, and it would fit under our freakishly low kitchen cabinets on our counter. Plus, Ted had enough travel points to cash in – a major benefit to how hard he’s been working lately – to cover the entire cost of the Blendtec. Decision made!

We loved the Blendtec, blending whole beets and entire bunches of kale with glee and abandon. We started to make more raw and sprouted foods like coconut and almond milks, admiring the smooth texture the Blendtec was able to achieve. In short, it was awesome. But then something amazing and very unexpected happened: we were given a Vitamix 300 for Christmas.

Our new Vitamix was a thing of wonder. It was huge, just an inch or two too large to fit under our counters, so it sat tall and proud near our sink (the only place we had room in an already crowded kitchen). The Vitamix was a beast, and we welcomed it gladly. But we still loved our Blendtec. We now had the problem of too much abundance: where before we had one measly blender, we now had two (two!) super powerful awesome blenders. Unable to decide which one to keep, we left our two blenders side by side until we were able to use them more so we could come to a decision.

It didn’t take us very long to decide to keep them both.

You see, we do a lot of blending. Like, way more than the typical US household. I make green smoothies nearly every day, plus I make a lot of household staples that require blending (such as the aforementioned coconut and almond milks). And I make a lot of soups, some of which are best blended, such as curried red lentils or root vegetable soup. Having two blenders has been awesome, because I almost always have one full of something soaking or sprouting, which saves us having to wash an extra dish. And the other blender is then free to be used for other things, like blending greens or soups.

I’m fully aware what a luxury it is to have one really nice blender, let alone two. (First World Problems, etc. etc.) I feel very lucky to have such a fantastic setup. If you can afford to have two blenders, I would highly recommend buying at least one really nice one, the nicest you can afford. These machines are really sturdy, so buying a used one should be just fine. Plus, both companies offer replacement parts if you should need them. It looks like Blendtec might offer better replacement parts (drive shaft, lid, etc.), if that’s what you’re after, though both brands offer replacement jars.

Since we upgraded our blender situation, we’ve had more fresh greens and produce in our lives than ever before. I used our Champion juicer at least a couple of times a week before, so we were drinking lots of fresh veggie juice; but having two small kids, it’s so much quicker and easier to throw it all in the Vitamix instead. Less prep, easier cleanup. We still have our other machines, like our Cuisinart, but we don’t use them as much as we used to.

If you’re wondering which blender I prefer, the truth is that I don’t have a preference. I like each one better for different things. I’ll be posting a comparison review between the two models in the near future, so I’ll detail the pros and cons of each blender. For now, I’ll just say that they’re both amazing blenders, and either one would be a great addition to your kitchen. Keep an eye out for an upcoming side-by-side review!