It doesn’t have a particular setting for the pulse function, but you can simulate pulse mode by pressing and releasing its button in short intervals. Not only that, but we also noticed the pulp was very coarse. This suggested that the extraction ability of this blender is too weak to help you get the most nutrients and flavor out of your veggies. The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication. You’ll never waste a drop with the Hamilton Beach Power Elite, either, thanks to its unique no-mess spout.
If you plan to use a blender more often and expect to blend some more “challenging” things, consider either the Breville or the KitchenAid. But, if you use your blender all the time, prepare food for a lot of people, or simply want a top-of-the-line machine, consider the Ninja. It has a lot of features and it’s huge, so you better want it to be a fixture on your counter because that thing is hard to budge. And if you plan to start a small catering company or other enterprise, consider the more commercial-capable and extremely powerful Blendtec or Vitamix. True to form, the three most powerful models all did incredibly well, producing perfect almond flour and smooth almond butter in under 10 minutes.
Pro FeaturesIf you’re a seasoned cook, you might want a machine that can handle it all. Many top-of-the-line models have more sophisticated settings than the typical low-medium-high. Pro-style blenders also have the most power—expect about 1800 watts of peak power—so you can quickly blend the toughest ingredients without issue. Of course, higher-end models typically come with higher price tags, so it’s worth considering if the extra features are something you’ll get a lot of use out of. No, it didn’t outperform any blenders per se, but it did perform on par with the $200 Cuisinart, and given the value of the Hamilton Beach, I consider that a huge success.
It only took the Ninja 15 pulses to get a totally smooth, uniform sauce. So, while some of the more expensive models can act as food processors, the Hamilton Beach can’t really compete on that level. For your $40 you get a mix/milkshake, a pulse/ice crush, a puree/icy drink, and a smoothie setting. There’s nothing superfluous here at all, just good old-fashioned blender settings, nicely arranged for effortless reading and operation.
The user manual suggests crushing cubed ice right after it’s removed from the freezer and to make sure that no pieces are stuck together. This definitely helped the process along, but it still took a lot of pulsing to get the ice to a uniformly crushed state. This is a genuine replacement mixing shaft designed for use with Hamilton Beach drink mixers.
Even so, I was a little skeptical that the single button and single speed on this personal blender could truly be effective. I also made spinach pesto in the Hamilton Beach blender. To start, I added the spinach, walnuts, garlic cloves, cheese, and olive oil and then pulsed it 15 times. Each time it took about 60 pulses to get to a reasonable pesto consistency, but it was still a bit on the chunky side. Between every 15 pulses, I mixed the ingredients with a spatula to make sure that it blended the pesto evenly.
The ice cubes in water got to the desired consistency much faster, and the blender blades barely made a dent in the bagged ice. That’s probably because it was a frozen solid block, rather than uniform cubed pieces (something to think about if you’re planning to make delicious icy hamilton blender beverages en masse). All of the blenders responded in pretty much the same way, although some of the more expensive models got there sooner. The Hamilton Beach has a stainless steel blade assembly, which is too short and not particularly sharp, unlike other personal blenders.
Since the blending cup is quite narrow, we had a hard time getting our hands inside, especially under the blade’s backside. Letting the blender clean itself, on the other hand, is less stressful. We simply added soapy water into the jar, then let the blender run for hamilton blender 30 to 60 seconds. After dumping out the solution and rinsing the jar thoroughly, we found there wasn’t any remaining gunk. The motor peaks around 175 watts, which is relatively low so it’s best to avoid using this blender for dry ingredients like coffee beans.
Jar assembly locks into the blender base and holds the foods and liquids being blended. This jar is made out of clear glass and it is sold individually. Please note lid, collar and a bottom coupling are all sold separately. In our tests, the KOIOS Bullet made a serving of protein shake better than most similarly-priced blenders we’ve tried, including the Hamilton Beach. More impressively, there was no notable difference between its smoothies and those produced by other pricier machines, though the process took a bit more effort. For the price, this is a decent option if you want a nearly-no-fuss machine for simple blends and are willing to put in the physical effort for a thorough process.