When it comes to “geeky” kitchen appliances, a blender might not be the first thing that pops into your mind. However, when Waring offered to let Will James, Randy Slavey, and myself try out a trio of blenders from their latest line up, we were pleasantly surprised!
Waring MBB1000 Review – Will James
I recently received a Waring Pro MBB1000 Inverted Blender to review. The first thing I noticed upon pulling it out of the box is the very sleek retro look. My wife and I both love the way the MBB1000 looks. For the past few years we’ve been using the Ninja NJ600 for our smoothies and drinks, but we’ve beat the heck out of it, and sometimes it’s a little under powered so getting a new higher end blender was well-timed.
The controls on the MBB1000 are simple and elegant–a Start/Stop button for making it go, a Pulse button for quickly going full blast, and a dial that goes from one to, unfortunately, only ten. The dial is a nice control I’ve not seen on a blender before that allows for easy, smooth adjustment.
I loaded the blender up with my most frequent drink–essentially a coconut water and date electrolyte and energy drink. With our old blender, I’d turn it on max and let it run for about ten minutes to get the dates properly pulverized. The first thing I noticed when I fired up the MBB1000 is how quiet it is compared to any other blender I’ve used. Despite the fact that it was tearing through my dates, it was a relative whisper. Running for about five minutes at level five, the dates were more finely blended than usual and my drink was ready to go.
Relative to my old Ninja, the Waring is definitely a step up as far as efficiency and noise level goes. The only downside is that the carafe is smaller (56 ounces compared to the 72 on the Ninja) and that it is slightly harder to clean as the Ninja’s blades were easily removable. Overall the Waring MBB1000 is a great high-end blender that I am more than happy to own.
Waring MegaMix HB3000 Video Review – Randy Slavey
The HPB300 MegaMix Commercial Blender is the River Tam of blenders. Small, beautiful, powerful, and will destroy everything in its path. No wimpy “puree” or “grate” buttons here, just three settings controlled by a single switch: “Off”, “Pulverize”, and “Crush your ingredients and see them driven before you” (For some reason, Waring has called them “Off”, “Low”, and “High” in their documentation). Designed for use in bars and restaurants, the 27,000 RPM blades and 1.5 HP commercially rated motor make short work of ice and frozen ingredients. Perfect for a quick smoothie before heading out the door in the morning or for milkshakes on movie night, the brushed stainless steel and size make it both attractive and compact enough to leave on the counter within easy reach.
We have been using our old blender since Bill Clinton was in office, and, frankly, the poor thing has been struggling. I think when we duct taped the handle back together, it simply lost its will to live and has been limping along, slipping a gear here and there, waiting to be put out of its misery. I ran a side-by-side test between “Old and Busted” and “New Hotness”, and it was pretty embarrassing. In the smoothie test, my old blender was able, after a while, to blend up frozen strawberries and orange juice, but I had to resort to smashing the frozen banana into the blades with a meat tenderizer. The MegaMix made short work of the strawberries and orange juice, and after a minute or two, finally grabbed hold of the banana and pulverized it as well. The next time, I broke the banana into pieces, and the whole thing was over in less than a minute.
In the milkshake test, the MegaMix once again shined, turning ice cream, frozen strawberries, milk, and Hershey’s syrup into a thick, smooth dessert in about 30 seconds. Meanwhile, using “Old Unreliable” consisted of “Blend, blend, blend. Shake, shake. Bang on counter. Blend, blend. Poke with spoon. Blend, blend. Shake vigorously and try to decide if I’m ok just having stirred up ice cream. Blend.”
In all the tests, clean up was a breeze. The base of the pitcher goes over the entire housing so no errant drips make it into the motor, the pitcher and lid can be tossed into the dishwasher, and the single switch means no dried on chocolate syrup in the buttons. Overall, it’s the perfect little blender for smoothies, shakes, soups, sauces, or any other quick blending needs you may have.
Waring Pro MX1200RXT XTREME Review – Anthony Karcz
I had the privilege of receiving the Pro MX1200RXT XTREME Blender with the Raptor Jar (yes, that really is its full, official name). And despite sounding like some sort of 90s skate park/dinosaur mashup, I quickly forgot anything other than the fact that this things shreds! We’ve been using a Nutribullet for our morning smoothies and, while it got the job done, the tabs on the jar broke, the gaskets got lots of gunk underneath that had to be scrubbed between uses, and our spinach/frozen banana/frozen mango mix taxed it to its limits.
Not so with the Pro! Sporting 3.5 HP and 30,000 RPM, it absolutely destroyed our morning smoothie mix in about 25 seconds! The only thing it wasn’t great at was grinding up the small amount of flax seed I like to throw in. I learned quickly that, being designed with commercial kitchens in mind, the key to operating the Pro was to throw a large amount of volume at it (and with a 64 oz container, you’ve got plenty of room).
Since my initial smoothie test, I’ve made almond butter, pesto, and hummus with the Pro. While I thought the blender might have met its match with the pound of dry-roasted almonds I used to make the almond butter, I haven’t found anything that it can’t absolutely pulverize.
That leads me to my only other complaint (well, operator error, really). You’ve got to actually learn how to use this much power. For the hummus, I threw in my chickpeas, tahini, garlic, and lemon juice, turned the dial on the Pro to 10, flipped the switch, and went to get the olive oil to drizzle in. In the five seconds that took, I had chickpea puree – through the scream of the motor, I was sure I heard mocking laughter.
The face of the Pro is nice and simple, with easy to flip paddle switches, and a variable speed dial, (no buttons to get gunky). Most of the mechanical parts are contained in the base unit, so you don’t have to worry about disconnecting various sections from the jar to clean it. Throw the jar and lid in the dishwasher and you’re done! I will say, 3.5 HP takes up a lot of space. If this will live on your counter, you’ll need to mark out some space – the Pro has a wide, stable base and the jar is very tall. It’s not the most stylish of the bunch, but it’s got it where it counts.
Bottom line, Waring has put out an impressive summer line of blenders. Whether you’re in the market for a stylish model that always lives on the countertop, or a commercial model that’s rises up with great vengeance and furious anger against your morning smoothies, Waring has something that will meet your needs.
*Disclosure: GeekDad received sample units for this review.
