I don't know how many of you guys know this, but I cannot cook. Despite all the eating I do, cooking just eludes me. However, I have come to realise that I could assemble, I could bake and I could blend! So I was a little curious when Froothie approached me and asked if I'll like to try out a blender from them. Note that this is NOT a paid post, nor am I keeping the blender - I'm simply getting it from them to review it! And I'm sure most of you have not heard of Froothie - neither have I, but turns out they are rated no. 1 blender in Australia, and was founded there. They started out by supplying cafes/juice bars with fruits and equipment before encouraging people to create their own Froothies. Then they partnered with Optimum Appliances to market the equipment. Good idea since we are in a market dominated by Vitamix and Blendtec - we could always do with more options.
So here it is! In this review I will list out 3 pros and 2 cons of the Optimum G2.1 Platinum Series Blender. Then you can decide if you want to buy it or not.
3. Easy to set up and use
Beyond the durability of the blender, which was tested with the ice cubes and half a kg of almonds (I tried to make almond butter), it's also a breeze to set up the blender. Because the jug is made with BPA-free plastic, its quite light to carry and you don't have to worry about breaking it. Just put it on the base and plug it in, and select from a range of 6 pre-set options from the touch-sensitive surface: Fruit, Sorbet, Grind, Nut Milk, Soup and Sauces. You can also opt for manual setting of time/speed, as well as Pulse mode.
OK this might be unfair to the blender, since it was designed for commercial use as well, but I personally find the blender to be a little too hardcore for personal/home use. There really isn't a need for me to blend lots of nuts or onion/garlic type food in there. A food processor might be more well-suited if all you want is half a cup of chilli, since if you have too little a lot of the food just gets splattered to the sides and nothing can be touched by the blades. I also found smoke/a motor smell arising as I was trying to blend the almonds.. rather scary. Of course nothing happened, but I was a little wary.
2. Can be difficult to clean
Washing up is totally a breeze if you blend liquid - however because of the double blades, it can be quite dangerous if you want to try to get solid food bits out from underneath it. I got a little annoyed trying to scrape the almond butter off the bottom - I tried filling the jug with some plain, hot water and a did a mild pulse to rid it of most, but seems like there's still some stubborn bits in there. I do think you can unscrew the blades if you want though.
(I found out later you should put a drop of detergent in with 2-3 cups warm water and blend for 30-60 seconds after use. On a monthly basis, add a cup of vinegar to 2-3 cups warm water and blend, and soak it overnight with vinegar and + scrub to remove any film on the jar if there is any.).
PS: You can also apply the coupon code for the Optimum 9200A and Optimum 9400.
So here it is! In this review I will list out 3 pros and 2 cons of the Optimum G2.1 Platinum Series Blender. Then you can decide if you want to buy it or not.
PROS
1. Super duper powerful
If you are looking for an industrial-strength blender that can blend ANYTHING, this would be for you. Most kitchen blenders come under 500 watts. This has 2,835 watts. That's almost 6x more! If you look at the comparison chart on the product website, they compared it to Blendtec, which only has 1,725 watts. It literally blitzed some ice cubes I put in to test into slush in seconds with its double 3-blade (total 6) chops.
2. Can deal with large volume and still blend everything well
Since it comes with a 2 litre plastic jug, you can stuff a lot of things in there to blend, which is perfect for industrial or large family use. This means you can make like 6 cups of smoothies, no problem - and everything gets blended without chunks being missed out. I tried it several times to make smoothies for me and my parents at home (recipes in another blog post).
3. Easy to set up and use
Beyond the durability of the blender, which was tested with the ice cubes and half a kg of almonds (I tried to make almond butter), it's also a breeze to set up the blender. Because the jug is made with BPA-free plastic, its quite light to carry and you don't have to worry about breaking it. Just put it on the base and plug it in, and select from a range of 6 pre-set options from the touch-sensitive surface: Fruit, Sorbet, Grind, Nut Milk, Soup and Sauces. You can also opt for manual setting of time/speed, as well as Pulse mode.
CONS
1. Too big and powerful
OK this might be unfair to the blender, since it was designed for commercial use as well, but I personally find the blender to be a little too hardcore for personal/home use. There really isn't a need for me to blend lots of nuts or onion/garlic type food in there. A food processor might be more well-suited if all you want is half a cup of chilli, since if you have too little a lot of the food just gets splattered to the sides and nothing can be touched by the blades. I also found smoke/a motor smell arising as I was trying to blend the almonds.. rather scary. Of course nothing happened, but I was a little wary.2. Can be difficult to clean
Washing up is totally a breeze if you blend liquid - however because of the double blades, it can be quite dangerous if you want to try to get solid food bits out from underneath it. I got a little annoyed trying to scrape the almond butter off the bottom - I tried filling the jug with some plain, hot water and a did a mild pulse to rid it of most, but seems like there's still some stubborn bits in there. I do think you can unscrew the blades if you want though.
(I found out later you should put a drop of detergent in with 2-3 cups warm water and blend for 30-60 seconds after use. On a monthly basis, add a cup of vinegar to 2-3 cups warm water and blend, and soak it overnight with vinegar and + scrub to remove any film on the jar if there is any.).
CONCLUSION
Not for the faint of heart, or the casual occasional solo smoothie drinker. If you use the blender frequently and find it struggling to the meet the demands of your kitchen/consumption needs, then consider getting the Froothie Optimum G2.1 Platinum Series Blender. I find it best if you make a lot of food that requires blending (like soups, juices, nut milks) frequently and require something heavy-duty but reliable (there's a 10 year international warranty on the motor!).
WANT TO BUY
Right now the blender is going at half price PLUS you get a special S$20 off if you enter the code "alexis-optimum-20". That means including shipping and tax, with the coupon code, it only costs S$739 instead of S$1549+. At risk of sounding like a salesperson.. that sounds like a really good deal.
Now check out three recipes I have for the blender in this next blog post!