some_guy5's Full Review: Cuisinart SPB-7 SmartPower 7-Speed Blender
I could almost write two reviews on this blender. We registered for one for our wedding and have been using it for over 7 years. We still use it today. We bought one as a gift for someone else and it broke right away. Well, it broke in a little over a year but in blender years that is right away. I guess what ultimately decided for us to go ahead and pick this blender over the others is the number of buttons. I know that sounds stupid but we looked at a lot of blenders. There were a ton a very expensive ones that had nothing more than an on/off switch. Now those blenders may have really nice dependable motors, but what if I want vary my speed, mix, stir, chop, or crush ice? Cuisinart is a solid name and offered some options and so we picked the Cuisinart SmartPower 7-Speed Electronic Blender.
Looks and Specs
The Cuisinart SmartPower 7-Speed Electronic Blender measures 13.25 inches high by 7.31 inches wide by 9.87 inches deep. My own blender is chrome in color, but there are 3 others to choose from including white, black, and brushed metal. Now I mentioned that one of the reasons we chose this blender is because it had a lot of buttons. These buttons include, on, off, pulse, ice crush, blend, puree, chop, mix and liquify. They are located on the base of the unit in the front. Above the base is a glass pitcher. This pitcher holds up to 40 ounces of liquid and features a no-drip pour spout as well as removable lid. Finally the Cuisinart SmartPower 7-Speed Electronic Blender comes with a 3 year warranty and a recipe/instruction book. I have never used either one.
Personal Experience
I feel generally good about my experience with the Cuisinart SmartPower 7-Speed Electronic Blender but it hasnt all been positive. Ill start with the not so good. I have tried 723 times to make good frozen slush drinks with this blender. I cant do it. Perhaps a blender isnt the right tool for that job, so be it, but it is a source of frustration nonetheless. Also, whenever I have actually run this blender hard I get an acrid sort of smell. My wife tells me it wasnt meant to be run like that. Why not? I just want it to do what I want it to do and I am not trying to blend gravel or anything. On the plus side it really performs well on most tasks and it has been running for over 7 years. We have used the Cuisinart SmartPower 7-Speed Electronic Blender for all kinds of things from making salsa to the occasional smoothie. Other than frozen drinks I am very happy with how it has performed.
Cleaning
The Cuisinart SmartPower 7-Speed Electronic Blender gets high marks for ease of cleaning in my book. Everything from the base of the pitcher on up can go in the dishwasher, and those are the pieces that are going to get really dirty. The plastic base separates from the pitcher and as mentioned before the lid is also removable. Actually I am not sure it could be counted as a lid otherwise. The base of the unit, including the touchpad, can be wiped clean with a wet cloth. Nothing to it.
Value
I am sure there are better blenders. I mean you could buy a small island for what they are asking for some of the machines out there, but if you can buy a better blender for the money then I dont know about it. We got ours as a wedding gift, but it seems to go for about $60. All of that of course is unless yours breaks in the first year.
Conclusion
We are light users, but our blender has lasted a pretty long time and it isnt showing any signs of quitting. It is decent looking and has variable speeds and settings. The price is right in the $60 area. The Cuisinart SmartPower 7-Speed Electronic Blender is easy to clean. So far it sounds like a 5 star item. I have to deduct for the fact that it embarrassed me when I gave it as a gift and because I cant seem to get it to make good frozen drinks, which is really the hole reason I wanted it. 3 stars for a passable working blender with two personalities.
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