I’ve tested a lot of personal blenders and smoothie-makers here at TechRadar, including some super compact models that pack a real fruit-blending punch, but after using the new Ninja BlendBoss, I have a new favorite.
The BlendBoss was launched in the US late last year, and arrived here in the UK this week. Our US-based kitchen tech writer Karen Freeman has already given her verdict, awarding it an impressive four and a half stars out of five, but I was keen to try the funky-looking new appliance for myself now that it’s available on my side of the Atlantic.
The first thing you’ll notice about the BlendBoss is its unusual shape, a departure from most of our best blenders list. Its base, which contains its motor, is a flattened ball shape (or an oblate spheroid if you want to get technical), while its blending jug takes the form of a travel cup with a large carry handle. You can drink directly from the lid, or sip from the chunky straw provided (which has a soft silicone end to make sure you get every last drop from the bottom of the cup — a clever idea.
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Lifting the BlendBoss out of its box, I was surprised just how much its base weighs. According to my kitchen scale, it’s 1.7kg (not including the plug), which is easily heavier than any other personal blender I’ve used to date. That makes sense when you check the specs, though. Whereas most of its smoothie-making rivals have a 800 or 1,000-watt motor, the BlendBoss’s base is packing a mighty 1,200 watts.
The weight helps keep the blender steady on your kitchen counter, too — aided by a set of three suction cups that hold it firmly in place. Got a wooden or textured counter that won’t give an airtight seal? No problem — the BlendBoss also has textured silicone between the suction cups for grip. That base isn’t going anywhere.
To really put the ‘smooth’ in ‘smoothie’, the blender comes with a guide telling you which order to add your ingredients for best results: liquid (at least 180ml), then dry or sticky ingredients like seeds or nut butter, fresh fruit and veg, yogurt, ice or anything frozen, and finally leafy greens.
To put it through its paces, I started off with a good dose of almond milk, with a scoop of vanilla protein powder, a tablespoon of chia seeds, a whole banana, two tablespoons of natural Greek yogurt, a handful of frozen berries (including several frozen together in a clump), and a handful of spinach leaves. I was particularly interested to see how the BlendBoss would fare with the seeds; I’ve tested some smoothie-makers recently that can tackle blackcurrant pips, but chia seeds are so tiny they could pose a real problem if not soaked first,
The BlendBoss has a handy preset for smoothies (Smoothie IQ), so I hit this button once and let it get to work. The blend cycle was thorough, with a couple of short pulses followed by a couple of longer ones. It’s one of the louder blenders I’ve tested, but if you’re not using ice or frozen ingredients then it won’t be quite so noisy.
Sipping my finished concoction, I found that I needn’t have worried about the chia seeds; the BlendBoss had pulverised them to oblivion, along with the seeds from my frozen berry mix. The clump of frozen fruit hadn’t been an issue either, and unlike some of my experiences with other blenders, there were no stray chunks of icy strawberry to worry about.,
So the BlendBoss had proved its ability to handle tiny ingredients. What about something bigger? I recently purchased a spiralizer for my stand mixer, which removes the core from your chosen fruit or vegetable while it slices. It works well on carrots, but at the end of the process you’re left with a hard stick of unspiralized carrot to deal with. I’ve been keeping them in the fridge for soup, but they seemed like an ideal challenge for the BlendBoss.
All blended drinks need a certain amount of liquid, so I started with 180ml of apple juice. I then added a carrot core (snapped in half) and half a conference pear for some more sweetness. I finished it off with the obligatory handful of spinach (mostly to ensure my creation turned out green rather than an unappetizing shade of beige).
It took about 10 seconds for the carrot to catch on the blender’s blades (I could see its orange form poking through the swirling mix of apple and pear), but once it hit them, it was instantly and effortlessly pulverised.
Once again, the resulting drink was extremely smooth. With other blenders I’ve often felt the need to peel conference pears to avoid the skin giving my juice a slightly gritty texture, but that wasn’t the case here. Once I was finished, cleanup was a breeze. Everything except the base can be washed with warm, soapy water, and all traces of smoothie will wash right off.
Having blended half the contents of my fridge’s salad drawer, I’m thoroughly impressed, and already considering more possibilities. Blended iced coffee has to be next on the list, and maybe even frozen spinach (though not together).
We’ll be making a video of the BlendBoss in action very soon so you can see how well this mighty smoothie-maker performs for yourself.
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