BraunTriForce Power Blender - Powerful 1600 Watt Countertop Blender with 10 Manual Speeds, 3 Texture & 6 Food Settings, Stainless Steel Blades, Auto-Clean, Heated Blending Function for Soups

BACKSTORY: Was in the market for a new blender when my Ninja finally gave out after a rapid decline rounding the third year of ownership with daily use. I didn’t want to depart from the $250-ish price range of the Ninja but I knew I wanted some specifics in my next blender: better ice crushing, smoother finish, easy to clean, no frills.Well, after some healthy research I was presented with the following “best” blenders: Vitamix, KitchenAid, and Oster.Have personally experienced leaking with the Osters so was a no for me. The Vitamix is outrageously priced, a no for me. The KitchenAid seemed okay but nothing special.Unsatisfied, I dig through countless reviews and videos on Amazon. So many people seem perfectly content with so little. Not I. I needed the best blender for the buck, cause why not?I happened to stumble on this beast. While not a listed contender on the usual review sites, it is a name brand. I own a different product of this brand and had a terrific experience with their customer service once… I figured I’d give it the time of day. Watched a few videos and had it in the cart moments later.PRODUCT REVIEWThe item arrives, next day of course. Simple packaging, mostly recycled paper.One instruction booklet and a product registration page included.You receive one muddler, the jar and lid, and the base.The base is quite large, maybe 30% bigger than that of the ninja. The jar, while holding the same measurements, is a little wider and shorter than the ninja so fits better under cabinets.The use of this machine is a breeze. Lots of preset modes that actually seem to make a difference. Was skeptical but have yet to use the manual modes yet.Extremely smooth smoothies come out of this thing. Not a berry seed nor fleck of ice will survive on the “smooth” setting.It is a little loud but well worth it for the power provided.The blades are sharp.It’s easy to clean.10/10

I bought multiple units and initially one came defective out of the box. The blade mechanism wouldn't rotate. The replacement was fine.PROSFLOURS: I have done chickpea, lentils, rice and other legumes with no difficulty. Do not overfill the jar. Then sift. Put the unsifted stuff back in for another pounding cycle and you will get most of what you put in as a fine flour. Keep anything that refuse to breakdown further for soups.SPICES: Does everything including coffee, however be warned that you should NEVER grind up cloves and anise type of spices with a blender or any grinder that features a non-glass jar. The compounds from the oil in the spices will eat into the jar and permanently stick to the jar. It creates an impossible to get rid of cloudiness.HERBS: You can finely cut herbs but you have to add a bit of liquid to it. You can then use the water in your cooking or filter it out. But essentially you can turn the unit into a food processor.COMPARISON TO NINJAI've come to Braun from Ninja model Ninja BL660 and BL770 after finding out that their nasty gasket ring made of silicone that goes into the cavity around the blender's jar base to create a seal is subject to heavy black mold that penetrates deeply into the silicone, releasing poison into the food. Because it is in an out of sight place, you wouldn't know that it even exists unless you make a point of taking it out for through cleaning. It is also non-replaceable meaning that you have to buy a new base at a cost half the unit itself. The plastic base from Ninja is also subject to scratches and dents from rotating ingredients at great speed and force, which means constant micro plastic shavings are released into the food on a regular basis, worsening with time.The design of the main big jar of this model by Braun, not the smaller smoothie jars that goes with this unit, doesn't feature a grooved cavity around the base that requires sealing with a gasket ring. That was the design I was looking for. The blender's options also cover a wide range of tasks and it is super powerful.The smoothie jars compatible with this unit (not included with this listing and available separately) feature that same dreadful design as Ninja. So if you get it make a note of taking the gasket out and cleaning it regularly to prevent out of sight buildup of mold overtime.CONSBecause of a groove free design, which I totally appreciate, the cleaning can be difficult at times but not a big deal. I much rather not see that dreadful groove design.The jar is not a cheap acrylic but I wish it was made of glass. Glass is the ideal material for food that is pounded at great force and speed and cleaning and long term maintenance is far superior to that of thick acrylic or whatever the material is.

I have no words to describe how good is this product. Robust, heavy, excellent material, versatile, easy to use. Powerful. Its triangular shape make it easy to scrape the cake batter before clean it. Wonderful!

I use a blender daily for making smoothies. This is my third blender. Previous two were a kitchen aid, which I used for two years and liked and a ninja “professional” which I used for 6 months and hated. This one is easily the best of the three. It’s bigger than it looks in the picture but still fits under cabinets. The pitcher is wider than others. That width, combined with the triangular design, creates a lot of movement quickly and produces a very smooth and appealing product on a single 60 second cycle, even when using apples with skin, core, and seeds. The wide vessel makes loading much quicker and safer than the ninja, and I’ve never needed the included tamper. Noise level is moderate and less of an issue because it does its work quickly. Only issue so far… with frozen fruit, while the overall consistency is very smooth, a few pieces will bounce around and not get blended at all. After experimenting for a couple of weeks I determined that 5 or 6 short pulses at the end of the smoothie cycle solves the issue. Overall build quality is very solid- I particularly like that the drive linkage on the base and pitcher is metal on both sides and not rubber. Weight is slightly heavier than the ninja, but it doesn’t use the ninja’s annoying suction cups. We’ll see how it holds up over time but so far very pleased with this purchase.

Excellent jet engine disguised as a blender! Pulverizes most things in three seconds, which is great because it's terribly loud! I do like it though.

Great powerful blender, with a smoothie function!Loud, but not louder than others.