Blendtec Total Blender Review 2024

A high quality blender is something of a secret weapon when it comes to spreading your culinary wings.

Owning one is essential for cutting down on prep time, so you can focus on other areas.

It’ll also open up a world of new foodie opportunities, from salsas to smoothies, hot soup to frozen desserts, and much more besides.

Blendtec is one of the biggest names in the business, and has a well-earned reputation for providing power, versatility and durability in its blenders.

In my Blendtec Total Blender review, I’m taking a detailed look at one of the most popular machines on the market.

(Head back to my massive home juicing and blending guide when you’re done for more help with this side of kitchen life!)

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About The Blendtec Total Blender

The Total Blender Classic is designed to solve a wide variety of blending tasks with a lot of convenience.

It does a great job of tackling smoothies, protein shakes, milkshakes, hot soups and pretty much anything else you need to pulverize.

There are half a dozen pre-programmed cycles to help you tackle the most common jobs, and there’s a really clear LCD display so you know what stage the blender is at.

I like to think of it as a multi-function appliance that can tackle a lot of jobs you’d otherwise need a dedicated machine for.

Who’s It For?

If you live in a household of 3-4 people, I think you’ll really like the Blendec Total Classic Blender.

It’s not an imposing machine to put out on the countertop, it’s very easy to use, and the average home cook will find it capable of tackling whatever blending task you have in mind.

If you don’t have a lot of experience with blending, I also think the recipe book included will give you more ideas than you’ll have time to tackle.

Who’s It Not For?

If you have a very large household, then you might find the capacity of the Total Classic a little limiting.

It’s also pricier than more budget-orientated blenders. With that said, I think the 8 year warranty does much to justify investing in the brand for the long term.

Pros

• An extremely powerful motor.
• 6 pre-programmed cycles to tackle the most common blending tasks.
• 10 speed options if you want to take manual control, as well as a pulse function.
• The container is low-profile and BPA-free.
• Easy to read LCD display with digital controls and timer readout.
• Durable, stable on the countertop, and built to last.
• Easy to clean and care for.
• Auto shut-off feature prevents the machine from overheating damage.
• 8 year warranty.
• Dishwasher-safe (but I recommend running it through the top rack).

Cons

• Noisy, but many of these high-powered blenders are!
• Pricey compared to other blenders, but don’t discount that warranty. It’s also versatile enough that you won’t need other appliances such as a food processor.
• The manual isn’t particularly well written, but this is not a complex machine to operate.
• Not the best option for rough chopping vegetables, due to its high speed.

(If you’re interested in some other options, I shortlisted the best of the bunch in my guide to the best Blendtec blenders.)

Pre-Programmed Cycles

There are six pre-programmed blending cycles on the Blendtec Total Blender. Each one is designed to get the job done automatically.

All you need to do is throw your ingredients in, then choose the setting you need.

Here’s a quick rundown of all the options provided with this blender:

• Ice Cream / Frozen Yogurt
• Sauces, Dips, Dressings & Batters
• Whole Juice
• Ice Crush / Milkshake
• Soups, Syrups & Fondues
• Smoothie

Once you’ve activated your setting, the blender gets to work.

How it does all this is quite clever. Each preset is made up of a number of blending cycles, based on speed and time.

So, for example, when you want to make ice cream, the Total runs at a low speed for 15 seconds, a higher speed for 3 seconds, and then a much higher speed for a further 27 seconds.

A different set of speeds and timings are used for each of the other five presets. This ensures everything is blended for the right amount of time, at the right speed for each stage.

I love the hot soup option in particular, as the latter part of the cycle works furiously hard to heat the soup using nothing more than the friction generated by the blades.

These presets help you achieve the best possible results from the ingredients you’ve used. If you’re stuck getting started, a recipe book is included with the machine.

The Total Blender is extremely easy to use, in other words, and feels surprisingly intelligent!

It’s quite spooky to watch this thing work. It’s very satisfying too, as you probably have a thousand more pressing things to do than micro-manage a blender.

10 Speed Manual Control

If you want to take more manual control of the Blendtec Total blender, you can choose from one of ten different speed settings.

Just use the buttons at the front of the base to select a higher or lower speed, then fire the blender up.

By default it’ll run for 50 seconds, but you can interrupt the process by pressing any other button on the control panel.

For finer control you also have access to a pulse feature. As long as this button is held down, the blender will carry on mixing. Take your finger off and the blender will stop.

This is particularly useful for tasks like roughly chopping vegetables. You don’t want them to be completely demolished, so the pulse feature lets you get a very rough finish.

Simple Controls

The controls on the Blendtec Total Classic are very simple and intuitive to understand.

On the upper-left of the control panel you have a pair of buttons for adjusting the variable speed controls I’ve just talked about.

Opposite to these you’ll find the pulse button. Pick your speed, hold the pulse button down and the machine will blend at that speed for as long as it’s activated.

On the second row you have the pre-programmed blending cycles. There’s a visual icon for each one too, and so it’s extremely easy to see which one you need at a glance.

These basic controls are topped off with a clearly illuminated LCD display panel. This highlights useful information such as the remaining blending time, or an alert if the machine’s in danger of overheating.

Patented Stainless Steel Blades

None of this stuff happens without the blades built into the base of the container, of course.

The Blendtec Total Classic makes use of a single blade unit that’s constructed from cold-forged, hardened stainless steel.

As it’s a single unit comprised of 4 inch blades, the ingredients are drawn much more easily into it, and when they get there they are absolutely pulverized.

I mean demolished.

They’re actually pre-blunted by Blendtec. That might sound counter-intuitive, but a sharper blade isn’t necessarily a better blade.

The brute, blunted design – coupled with angled wingtips – means that even very hard frozen ingredients and big chunks of ice get crushed as easy as any other produce.

That blade unit is supported by hardened ball bearings, which reduces the friction created by the blender, and helps avoid the motor becoming overworked.

Part of the reason Blendtec can offer such a lengthy warranty on its machines is down to this focus on durability.

Motor

Those blades are powered by a 1560 watt motor which runs at 3 peak horsepower.

Many competing machines run at 2 or 2.2 horsepower, which gives the Blendtec Total Classic a distinct advantage.

Although 1560 watts is almost overkill, it means you’ll have no trouble blending any ingredient into precisely the consistency and texture you want.

If you do push the Total blender too far, there’s a built-in auto-shutdown mechanism. When this kicks in, you won’t be able to use the machine until it’s cooled down to a safe operating level.

If that does happen, you’ll get a clear alert on the illuminated LCD display.

In terms of performance under pressure, I’m impressed at just how physically stable the Blendtec Total Classic remains.

The base that houses the motor doesn’t rattle around at all, and there are suction cups on the bottom of the base that keep it firmly in place.

75 Ounce BPA-Free Container Jar

The Blendtec Total Blender features a 75 ounce container. I think that’s good enough for a small household of around four people.

It depends, on course, on just how much blending you want to do, whatever your household size!

It’s made from BPA-free polycarbonate. It’s pretty lightweight too, but still sits very securely on the base unit.

The jar is topped off with a rubber lid that provides a tight seal. This means you don’t need to hold the thing down to stop mess leaking out.

There’s also a plug in the center that lets you add new ingredients at a later stage of the blend.

I also like the very clear measurement markings on the outside of the jar. If you’re blending as part of a bigger meal prep, it’s very easy to see when you’ve got your ingredient volumes just right.

Design

The Total Blender Classic is designed to be a little more discrete than other Blendtec blenders.

It sits easily on the countertop without taking over the kitchen, and is relatively light at 7.28 pounds.

Although you probably want to find a permanent home for this blender, it can be stored away in a cupboard if you really need to.

That base is really sturdy too. Even at high speeds it doesn’t rattle around on the countertop, and it cleans up easily as well.

In terms of colors you don’t have a huge number of options to play with here. You can choose from red, white or black though, one of which should work well with your kitchen styling.

I really like the LCD display on the Blendtec Total. It’s clear, smart, and well illuminated.

It’s very easy to see what stage of a blending cycle the appliance is at, and how long is left on any given timer.

Overall it’s a blender that looks smart, while getting the job done amazingly well too.

Cleaning & Maintenance

I recommend cleaning your blender after each use, and that applies to the Blendtec Total Classic.

The motor unit is easy to wipe clean, and you won’t get any gunk building up between the buttons.

To clean the container jar, all you have to do is fill it halfway with water, add a few drops of regular dish soap, then pulse for around 45 seconds.

That should be enough to blitz clean the inside, but it’s also dishwasher-safe if you place it on the top rack.

Warranty

Blendtec blender’s are build to last and the Total Classic blender is no exception.

The blades, base and motor are all designed to provide years of reliable service.

The ball bearings that support the blade and motor interaction are sealed with carbon steel as well, to help take some of the strain off the motor.

It’s this kind of touch that allows Blendtec to offer an 8 year warranty on the blender.

Although it’s an investment, the fact is it’s an investment in a machine that you’re not going to have to replace for a very long time to come.

If you’ve lose your Blendtec Total Classic manual and need to perform some maintenance, you can find an electronic copy on the official Blendtec site.

Verdict

Overall I was really impressed by the Blendtec Total Classic.

It’s very convenient, has lots of smart features and is a very versatile kitchen appliance. It’s also very easy to use, which means you might find yourself using it more than you expected!

I think it works best if you want to fold a number of appliances into one.

It obviously blends at very high power, but it’s also a more than adequate replacement for your food processor, juicer, ice-cream maker and so on.

Click here to read more reviews of this blender, and see how its many owners have been getting on.