Hamilton Beach Power Elite Blender for Shakes, Smoothies

This isn’t a Vitamix by any stretch of the imagination. But it’s I think it’s a decent value for the price. Where else can you get a 40oz 5 speed blender with a glass pitcher for under $40 USD? I picked this blender for a couple of reasons
1. The previous blender I had for over 15 years was a Hamilton Beach
2. The toaster I have is also a Hamilton Beach, which I’ve had for over 20 years.

Do I like it? I think so…
Short recap of below
1. For a sub $50.00 blender I like it. It works well
2. I really like the (heavy) glass pitcher. This is the main reason why I purchased it.
3. I like the base (motor) it feels solid, and it works very well
4. It’s quieter than my old Hamilton Beach blender, which is my only point of reference. For me that’s good.
5. The button feel very similar to my old blender which lasted a long time, so that too is good.
6. I REALLY don’t like how hard the top is to remove
7. I don’t like the cheap feel of the plastic bits attached to the pitcher

What I like
1. I like the glass pitcher – yes it’s heavy but it’s also made of glass thick enough to withstand crushing ice relatively quietly. Plastic pitches sound like they may shatter in the process.
2. I like that the bottom screws off making the pitcher and blades easy to clean.
3. I like the several blending options (though I use the two pulses more than the other 3 options).
4. It makes a great smoothie & crushed ice drinks such as Margarita or Daiquiri very quickly and evenly blended.
5. Worked great for making pesto & Harissa too, though the parsley had to be added in a bit at a time to ensure smooth consistency. I typically make these two items in my Cuisinart Food Processor which performs both of the above tasks in about 1/3 of the time it took in the blender. The consistency is also better in my Cuisinart. I figured I’d give the blender a go on these just as a test. I’m not gonna try making peanut butter.
6. The base and mechanical bits under the pitcher have a quality feel for the price sub $50.00 price tag. The blender stays put, and a hand isn’t required on top of the blender to keep the pitcher from walking off the spinny bits.

What I’m on the fence (can’t decide) about
it’s not particularly quiet – but quieter than my old blender, and definitely NOT quieter than my Cuisinart Food Processor. So I’m on the fence.

What I don’t like, and I mean really don’t like
The top is made of LDPE plastic making it extremely hard to get off when at room temp and especially straight out of the fridge. I’m not being a wimp; the top is extremely hard to get off. So hard I’m afraid the “lifting tab” is going to snap off in my attempts. My wife gave up getting the lid off and leaves it for me to struggle with.
I don’t even try anymore to get the lid off if its cold. I run the whole pitcher under really hot water before I attempt to get the lid off. The hot water makes the LDPE plastic top pliable, making it easier to remove. Effortless is not be a synonym I’d use to describe removing the lid from the pitcher.

This would be a deal breaker for a person with disabilities, Arthritis, weak fingers, and/or an elderly person. There is now way my Mom wouldn’t be able to get the lid off this blender.

What I mildly don’t like
1. The top has a secondary flap, for what I’m not sure. The flap doesn’t have a proper hinge. The hinge is molded into the lid of the pitcher. Being made of LDPE plastic, I’m pretty confident it’s going to snap off in time.
2. The whole top / lid to the pitcher has a ton of nooks and crannies making it a challenge to clean quickly. A brush and soaking in hot soapy water is what works for me. I use it every day, so I wash by hand instead of using the dishwasher.
3. The base that holds the blades onto the pitcher is made of thin ABS plastic which I’m quite certain if the base came into contact with counter top at an angle with a bit of force, aka dropping the pitcher onto the base or inadvertently smacked against the edge of the counter it will result in a broken base.. Maybe shatter would be a better term

Those are my thoughts and experiences with this pitcher – You decide.

I m from the Caribbean ,I have known about this brand for some time so I decided to get my own despite it’s 110v and we use 220v here ,get a transformer or some houses have dual wattage already it’s truly worth the penny, the blades are thick and sturdy and will crush ice , I usually have the ice broken into chunks and dropping it into the blender and it effortlessly crushes it smoothlyband still be able to pureeban oatmeal shake or my homemade seasonings without sign of dullness. Love this blender

If you are looking for a blender to make smoothies this review might help. For the last 5 years I have been making 2 smoothies every morning, one for me and one for my wife. I used a Cuisinart emulsion blender, I made one smoothie at a time and although there are tricks to making a smoothie with a emulsion blender so that the smoothie does not blow back and get all over the place it made excellent smoothies. Nice thick consistency, not airy, smooth and not chunky to clog up the straw. Well the emulsion blender finally died after it’s storied career in the smoothie business, that’s when I decided to get a blender so I could make 2 smoothies at a time just put everything in the blender hit the button and forget it. I have to say for the most part that has been true I have only had the blender for a week and made smoothies 5 or so times but for $24 this machine has worked wonderful. The foot print is small so it’s easy to store and it is easy to clean no need to take it apart just rinse it out with water and a quick wipe with a sponge and let it air dry. The power of the motor is good 700 watts seems to churn thru anything you put in there. To make two smoothies I will put about 500 ml of liquid and 2 scoops of protein powder in the blender then add a hand full of fruit usually frozen strawberries give it a pulse or 2 then hit the button they say is for smoothies and let it do its thing. I will put more fruit in along the way stopping the blender or opening the top and throwing in another handful until I get about 38 ounces of smoothie enough for 2 drinks. It works great I use whole strawberries and the blender cuts right thru them. If you are making 2 smoothies it works like a charm as long as you add the frozen strawberries a little at a time. Today I made only one smoothie and even though I added the fruit a little at a time the fruit did not get pureed it kind of sits on top while the blade swirls I had to shake the blander a few times to make the fruit drop to the blade and get pureed, the end result was a great smoothie with a nice consistency. I put whole strawberries in the blender for both a double and single batch of smoothies and with the extra liquid of a double smoothie batch the blender worked fine you can just drop the fruit in and walk away but making a single smoothie using whole large strawberries you will have to give it a shake as the berries get stuck hovering above the blade. The smaller the fruit the easier the process works if you use frozen blueberries or cut the fruit up into smaller pieces I don’t think you will get the frozen fruit hover and have to shake the blender. The picture of the blender with the pitcher packed full of fruit is a little deceiving I don’t think you would be able to puree this into a smoothie with out a lot of shaking the blender and probably even having to sticking something in to help mix thing up. If you put the frozen fruit in a little at a time and or cut the fruit into smaller pieces for smaller volume smoothies this machine will work great. The only real downside to this blender is the cord is very short only 26″ long, I have had to use a extension cord so I can get it to a convenient place on my kitchen Island to use it. There is a slot in the bottom of the blender the cord can be pushed up and stored in but that is more of a pain then anything I just wrap it around the side thru the handle and it works fine.

Here is what I found to make a great smoothie every time.

Don’t over stuff blender like shown in the picture it will not puree to a smoothie consistency with out a lot of help.

Add frozen fruit a little at a time not all at once.

If only making a small smoothie (18 oz) cut fruit up or use small fruit and don’t forget add fruit in portions not all at once.

I was skeptical due to the reviews, but as a former smoothie/mixologist in both Cleveland and Washington DC, I am very well versed in Vitamix, Ninjas, Etc. I have done low end to very high end personal blenders and regular sized blenders.

Despite the reviews, this blender is excellent. It is giving what older blenders from 2000’s that were heavy duty and handy, like my great aunts glass blender from the 80’s-90’s.

Perhaps the bad reviews have to due with lack of knowledge, such as liquid to solid ratio. This blender blended a thick smoothie in under 8 seconds. As a former mixologist, always add liquids first then solids, gradually adding more fruit to thicken. Do not overcrowd blender blade and expect magic to happen. I actually prefer this over my previous ninja. Also, the top is awesome it a super clamped on top, make sure you remove the blender from the base before attempting to remove blenders top. 10/10 from me! ⭐️

Este producto lo compre para casa pero no es muy funcional, ya que esta diseñado para hacer FRAPES o ese tipo de alimentos, si lo que buscas es para hogar y comida, no te va a servir mucho, porque NO muele muy bien para salsas, o pures, en fin comida del hogar.

si lo que quieres son FRAPPES entones es la ideal, funciona muy bien, el producto si lo dice su descripcion que esta hecho para ese tipo de productos.