There’s lots to like about BlendJet 2, a 16-ounce blender powered by a rechargeable battery. The company’s PR folks sent me one to review, and I’ve spent a week experimenting with smoothies. Here are my findings.
Intro to BlendJet 2
BlendJet 2 is a lightweight, portable blender. It doubles as a glass you can drink your smoothie straight out of. You charge it up with a USB cord, which promises to last for at least 15 blends and to quickly recharge. To clean, you add water, a drop of soap and blend. It claims to be the world’s most convenient blender.
What I like about BlendJet 2
First off, I love a cute product. And BlendJet 2 is remarkably cute for a kitchen appliance. For the base and top, you can choose from bold colors like purple or orange. Or get a print like rainbow, leopard or camo (but how will you ever find it?!). Or be classy with walnut or marble. Mine is an attractive mint green.
Then there’s the weight. My old blender is so heavy I think it has a car motor in its base. For some reason, it lives atop our fridge, so I have to do an overhead press every time I put it away. BlendJet 2 is light and slender, and takes up less space.
It feels funny to be recharging my micro blender where I usually charge my phone. But it’s kind of cool to have a futuristic blender.
But sometimes Blendjet is a total diva
Despite my affection for Blendjet 2 now, we got off to a rough start. I’ll take some responsibility here—I’m not always one to read directions before diving in to test a product.
First, I skipped the part about aligning the arrows on the base and the cylinder. Turns out, they mean it! Soy milk seeped through the gap. That’s when I consulted my troubleshooting guide and noticed the arrows. I tightened the blender, then hit start. Nothing. The arrows weren’t that easy to align. So I unscrewed the two parts, to see what was going on. That’s when I realized that, unlike my regular blender, the glass was a cylinder rather than closed at the bottom. Soymilk and frozen bananas everywhere! I cleaned up the mess, then spent at least a minute trying to get the arrows lined up. I had to really wrench the thing together, but eventually they were close enough to work.
According to the marketing, “Patented TurboJet technology powers through anything in 20 seconds flat: ice, frozen fruit, leafy greens & more.” Well, my little diva isn’t fond of crunching ice cubes, and is keener on mashing frozen blueberries than something as large as a strawberry. I get a lot of error messages—the start button turns red, which means the blades are blocked. During the creation of some smoothies, it’s like BlendJet 2 wants to overtake the horrid printer as the household’s most high-maintenance electronic device.
Eventually, after a couple of cycles, I get a smoothie. Usually with some ice chunks.
Jetpacks
BlendJet also makes smoothie powder packs. Eight ounces of non-dairy milk, four ounces of ice and one packet, and you have a complete smoothie. You can buy fruit powders, protein packs or lattes.
The PR folks sent me some latte packets to try out along with my BlendJet 2. Obviously these aren’t health food—they’re mainly sugar—but they’re vegan and delicious. The flavors are mocha, caramel, chai, cinnamon dolce, vanilla and matcha green tea, and have 65 to 90 milligrams of caffeine per serving. They cost three or four dollars each, depending on the quantity you choose, plus you have to buy your milk product, so it’s not a lot cheaper than going to the coffee store. But you don’t have to get dressed, which is a big plus. And if you live in the country, this could seem like a big city treat.
Verdict
I really like my BlendJet 2. My biggest gripe is about it not crunching my ice as well as it promised. I suppose I could meet it halfway and buy an ice tray that makes smaller cubes.
