Hamilton Beach Personal Blender for Shakes & Smoothies - 14oz Portable Travel Cup with 2 Lids - Compact Countertop Blender for Protein Shakes, Meal Prep & Healthy Drinks - Perfect for Home, Office & Gym - White

Folks, this is not a Vita-mix. Nothing is a Vita-mix except a Vita-mix.However, this is a GREAT little blender. I purchased it to travel with, so that I could continue having smoothies for breakfast and keep eating raw - instead of having to eat cooked food out in the morning at the hotel. I was more than impressed with how well it made a smoothie, and how good it tasted, as well as how easily it cleaned up.*******HERE IS THE BIG KEY TO THIS BLENDER WORKING LIKE A CHARM***** >>> READ THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL THAT COMES WITH IT. <<<<< IT SAYS TO PULSE ONLY - SHORT PULSES, (THEN IT WORKS JUST FINE AS IT WAS BUILT TO WORK) - DO NOT HOLD THE BUTTON DOWN AND MAKE IT RUN NON STOP LIKE A REGULAR BLENDER - IT IS NOT MADE TO BE USED THAT WAY. *********************************************************************I read all the reviews before I purchased mine - and was concerned about some people saying the motor burned out after a while, etc. I then saw some reviews that mentioned to pulse as stated in the instructions, and not just let the motor run forever by keeping the button pressed in for long periods. When I got mine, I actually called Hamilton Beach Customer Service, and spoke with the very nice lady who answered to find out more about this. She said you could pulse it many times for 1-2 seconds at a time. This works just fine. It does not make a totally smooth smoothie if there are things like pieces of carrot, celery, etc in it - but I very much liked that when I drank my smoothies - a Vitamix does not leave any little pieces like that - this was a very welcome change - it was fun to chew on some of the tiny little pieces of food in the drink - I know it may sound bad, but is is actually quite pleasant. You feel more like you are having a real meal.So when I got to the San Francisco Bay area with my brand new Hamilton beach mini blender - I went to Trader Joes and purchased some broccoli slaw, cucumber, pear, prunes, celery, green beans, spinach, field greens, carrots, broccoli, and maybe a couple of other greens - don't remember, and was ready to make my smoothie the next morning.I took both containers (it comes with 2 bpa free, very nice, high quality 16 oz. plastic containers with lids - very comfortable to drink from )- and made my first smoothies with it the next morning. I started by putting water in the bottoms, then cutting the above mentioned food up a bit, adding equal amounts of each ingredient to each of the two containers and then blended 1 16 oz container up at a time. I added some protein powder and green powder I had brought with me as well. I added a few little ice cubes (from the ice maker at the hotel) - and blended my little smoothies. It handled the ice and the food just fine! And the drinks were out of this world. Maybe I just lucked out, or maybe finally after 2 years I know what I'm doing - but I was /very/ pleased with how the blender handled, and with the drinks it made. I pulsed, pulsed, pulsed (just for less than a minute total of separate pulses) and it came out great every day. I then wiped the cups out with paper towels (so as to not plug up the bathroom sink) - then put some water in them with a couple of drops of liquid dish soap I brought with me and pulsed the solution - then shook the cup up and down with the lid on -and rinsed it out and set them upside down to dry on a drying cloth I brought with me - (from Walmart) - I was then very full and very happy for many hours after that with regard to food. There was a small little fridge in our room - which was essential to keep all the food cold during the week we were there. It was really the easiest and most delicious part of my day every day.Being raw vegan is hard enough at home sometimes - but traveling, it is next to impossible without this great little blender. If you use a blender for any reason at home, I highly recommend this one as a travel partner. I love it.Many people travel with their Vita-Mixes - but they are very heavy, and I would not want to lug it through the airport, etc, or risk hurting it in any way at any of the many places this could happen on an airplane trip. And as my suitcase weighed in at 49 lbs, I never would have made it with the Vita-Mix in there as well. I am very grateful to have this Hamilton Beach now, and highly recommend it to you too.Happy with the Product.Update: 3+ months of daily boiling hot coffee and its holding up fine. I have been hand washing it 90% of the time.Original review:Hello! This is a pretty good blender for the price point. I needed something small and light to pack for a longer business trip and wasn’t sure if it would last past the 6 weeks I needed it – and it exceeded my expectations. Because I was prepared to donate or trash it rather than bringing it home, I really abused this little thing and it held up like a champ, but I did find its breaking point.I first used it to make daily smoothies with leafy greens and frozen solid fruit. I over filled and smashed down that frozen fruit and got decent smoothies. I was lazy and like thick smoothies so didn’t put in enough liquid and I did have to stop and stir frequently, but eventually, every time was able to get that sweet blender vortex going. Benefit here, you can just take the lid off to stir, not take it off, turn it upside down, unscrew and then stir like some models. It also was run in the dishwasher nearly daily. It leaked some when I really was bad about the over filling. I ended up packing it home to take on the next one…This held up to my smoothie abuse for another 4 months, and then… I switched to bullet proof coffee. I use a French press, so I’m putting slightly cooled boiling hot coffee in this thing. (See below for my tips!) Again, it held up for another few months of daily use and dishwasher cycles. Finally, it started to leak and very quickly the rubber/plastic seal on the bottom totally failed. I am not sure if this is from months of hard use, or if the hot liquid did her in. I have just re-purchased, getting the 2 jars at the same price I paid for the 1 jar and will see how it holds up to just the hot coffee*** Smoothie breakdown ***• Can handle frozen solid fruit: • Gets it pretty creamy (not as great as larger and more expensive models). • I maybe had a chuck or two of fruit that would fit in a straw. • Add more liquid for better results • Loading method 1. Add fresh/frozen leafy greens + supplements like powder or pills. Smash down 2. Add liquid and blend until smooth 3. Add fruit from soft to hard 4. Blend until you get the “vortex”, stopping to stir as necessary (or add more liquid) 5. Blend until smooth, don’t over blend – it will start to warm up your smoothie***Bulletproof Coffee breakdown***• DO NOT fill it with hot coffee and let ‘er rip – you will end up with a mess or worse, burns!• DO put in your mix ins (oil, butter, etc.) and a small amount of hot coffee (2-3 inches)• Next secure the lid and hold it down• Gently tap the power button to pulse a few time, then hold to blend• Pour blended foamy goodness over the rest of your coffee and sip, it will settle and mix.• Bonus: pour in another 2-3 inches of black coffee and mix as above to get every drop of oil.Design pro/conPros• Good for travel – small and light, but holds up to abuse• Top loading – simple and easy to remove top to stir• Can blend and drink from jar• One touch to run it, pulsing is easyCons• No safety features – you can blend with the lid off and with the one-touch design you have to be careful. You can “lock” the jar in place, but nothing prevents it from running when not locked.• You have to hold down the button to operate (not hands free)• Lid not very secure – it doesn’t screw on or snap into place snap on, you just push it on.• Lid also not air tight, you have to be careful to not over fill or hold it in place, especially with hot stuff.**************************************************************TL/DR: Great for the price point. Works for smoothies and bulletproof coffee – if you follow above.Me encanto! Justo lo compré en 370 el de dos vasos y la verdad fue una buenísima oferta, primero había dudado porque en una reseña decían que el vaso era algo pequeño, sin embargo es de un muy buen tamaño, que hasta te llenas!! Si están buscando algo así yo les diría que está licuadora es la indicadaCuando me fui a vivir sola no quise que mi mamá me regalara una licuadora ya que se me hacía estorbosa y casi no cocinaba. Hasta que empecé una dieta donde me mandaban mucha jugoterapia y salió de recomendación este producto. La verdad aunque está chiquita y no pesa, tiene potencia, he metido fruta congelada y no se me ha estropeado. Claro que después de un rato, estarle presionando el botón (no tiene velocidades) huele a quemado de que probablemente el motor se esté forzando pero no se me ha arruinado. Me gusta porque puedes tomar tu jugo directo del envase y tiene una tapita para que no se riegue. Si vives solo y de vez en cuando quieres hacerte unos licuados es una muy buena opción, además muy compacto y fácil de guardar si tienes una cocina chiquita :)This product is great for travel or work. It will not make super smooth smoothies because it just doesn't have the blade or power to do so, but you get what you pay for. I use it on the go when I need to and it does a pretty good job for such a cheap product. I also love that it has 2 cups for blending and 2 lids so I can prep for myself and my husband in a rush with no problem. I would recommend this product to anyone who isn't going to use it daily but once in a while. I just can't drink smoothies that aren't super smooth everyday; that's what my Vitamix is for.Omg.I searched and searched for a smoothie machine,that chops ice well.This is the WORST MACHINE I have ever bought! ☹️?The reviews..almost all said it chopped well....???I’ve only used it twice. 1/2 cup frozen blueberries,3 small ice cubes,1 scoop frozen yogurt and plenty of grape juice.None of it would even move,in this blender!! Had to flip it around and around just to get it to run.Took me around 15-18 minutes. Finally had to try using a spoon,lid off,to get it to at least swirl.It was ridiculous.I am sooo disappointed. I’ve had a different-another one,before.i know exactly how it should work...and how much,to put in.I cannot make one for a friend,at the same...it would take me 1/2 hour.When I FINALLY got it made...it was ok. Bu,it is not worth the long struggle!!May I PLEASE,PLEASE POSSIBLY return it..??I’m on disability. Limited funds. A family member gave me an Amazon gift certificate,to get it.I won’t even be able to honestly sell it,on our local second hand website!Can you please forward this message,to Hamilton Beach?Can someone here on Amazon,please respond?Thank you,for listeningHedy [email protected] bought this Single Serve Personal Blender to replace an older personal blender that was starting to leak out the bottom of the plastic container. I've used it once so far and think I will be happy with it but wonder if it is a little light on power. I need to test it on my Hollandaise sauce to be sure it can do the trick before tossing out the leaking one. My new personal blender has 2 plastic jars so making smoothies for both of us works nicely.