Customer Reviews

Back to Basics SHP1000 Smoothie Professional Smoothie Maker

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Perhaps the Back to Basics company doesn't intend for their "residential" smoothie makers to be used regularly as my family has gone through two BtB Smoothie Elites in the last year. I was looking for a heavy duty smoothie maker that could survive rigorous treatment by my 10 year old and this one seems like it will stand the test of time. I particularly enjoy being able to put the glass decanter in the dishwasher. Functionally, this item is superb and is surprisingly quiet, despite the power. It also has larger capacity than other models and the construction is solid. The internal cord storage is a nice little extra as well.

I was looking for a new blender to make smoothies with after burning the motor out on two previous ones. I was also tired of having to stick spoons into the blenders and mash down the ice/fruit to get it to blend thoroughly. The Back to Basics Smoothie Maker solves this problem by providing everything you would expect to find in a commercial machine.

Most blenders are around 450 - 600 (for the high end machines) watts of power. They break because they can't handle the strain of grinding up all that ice. The BTB machine is an amazing 1,000 watts of power, more than twice the power of regular machines, and its blades are designed mainly for crushing ice. I've only used the machine about 50 times but it is still going string and I don't expect it to break anytime soon. It has two settings, which is all you need, and is so powerful that it will suck ice down to the blades, preventing the need to have to manually push the ingredients toward the blades, even when jam packed with ice.

The machine is made of heavy metal and is very sturdy. No cheap plastic. The glass decanter contains markings on the outside to show you how much ice, liquid, and fruit to put in the blender, so you'll never have to guess, although I usually don't follow their recommendations. I was skeptical of the dispensing valve when I saw it on the picture but it actually works great. No need to take the decanter out and pour it into your cup. What's more, the valve is set very low so all of the contents pour out and it leaves almost nothing behind. The machine also comes with a stirring stick that sits in the lid and helps to mix up the ingredients.

Cleanup is incredibly easy, as you can just toss it in the dishwasher. The valve and bottom of the decanter are separate pieces, so you can remove the valve permanently if you want, or unscrew the blades for easy hand cleaning, instead of trying to stick a scrub brush down there and go round the blades.

The only con I have found is that it is insanely loud. It sounds like a jet engine, which is to be expected considering it is double the power of most blenders. I don't see any reason why you can't use this as a traditional blender as well, although the blades are mainly designed for chopping ice.

EDIT: - 10/15/10 - 4 years later and this blender is still going strong after hundreds of smoothies. It is also very useful as a makeshift blender for making salad dressings and other things.

UPDATE -- August 11, 2011 - It looks like this blender is discontinued, and the newer model doesn't have very good ratings, but I just wanted to say I have now use this thing three times a day, and have probably made over 2000 smoothies/protein drinks with it, and it still works. Last week I got a wire ball stuck in it (from my Sundesa BB28-MC01 BlenderBottle 28-Ounce with BlenderBall, Blue ) and ran it for over a minute with the wire ball in it and it still works fine. No problems with the motor at all.

I have had this smoothie maker for a year now; let me explain how it works.

Between the motorized base and the glass caraffe, there is a little connector made of rubber. If the motor spins for any length of time without turning the blades of the caraffe (maybe because there is too much ice or frozen fruit in the blender) the little rubber connector gets stripped and can no longer attach to the base. This part is NOT replacable. It broke for me after about 8 months, and Back to Basics sent me a whole new unit to replace what must be about 10 cents worth of rubber.

Also, the well in the base where the caraffe sits develops a crusty white buildup with heavy use. I use milk or yogurt in my smoothies and this buildup smells like cheese, so maybe some is leaking out. I'm not sure how though. This happened for both of my base units and I haven't found anything yet that will remove this residue.

I really like the glass caraffe (easy to clean, easy to measure) and the stir stick. Also, the dispenser is excellent, the mixture flows through very evenly with no chunks. Overall, I think this is a pretty good buy for the price, but when it breaks again (not under warranty) I am going to get a VitaMix.

WOW... this thing works great. It is a little loud, however its not any louder than other "blenders" I owned in the past. I used it to make strawberry margaritas, pina coladas, fruit smooties 2 days ago when we entertained some friends ( poker night ) and everyone loved the outcome ( even made some Absinthe Smooties ) I could not be happier with this product. I hope it lasts a while.

I really like this blender. I can't believe how powerful it is. I had a Kitchen Aide that I spent $100 on four years ago (broke twice) and this one cost only $80 plus change and works so much better. It blends so quick, I couldn't believe it the first time I used it. I always use it with ice, frozen fruits and some liquids. The motor seems to work with ease. It is a time saver in the morning, whereas with my Kitchen Aide, it took ten minutes to blend frozen fruit smoothies sometimes with undesirable results. I would recommend this blender to anyone who uses a blender a lot. I really liked the dispenser, my kids think it's cool too. Cleaning is no problem. Enjoy, if you buy it.

My family and I make 1-2 smoothies a day so I figured I would purchase a decent smoothie maker keeping it within our price range.

Size: We own a 450W Hamilton Beach blender which we had been using up till we purchased this one. One review mentioned it was suprisingly quiet although I find it to be much louder than our Hamilton Beach granted it has a 1000W moter. In addition it is quite large to have on a counter.

Pour spout: Pour spout works just fine for us with the exeption you have to have it running on low for it to dispense. Also, it doesn't dispense the last 4 ounces or so out of the bottom. Somewhat of a nice feature...not having to pick up the whole container to pour (just the last bit).

Cleaning: Not dishwasher safe...noted in one area of the reading material although we have put ours in and it hasn't seemed to do any damage.

On a positive note.....I really like the amount you can make. We are able to squeeze about 75oz out of it and it doesn't take long to mix if you use the stir stick.

Overall, even with all the downfalls of the smoothie maker, I suppose you get what you pay for...I just had higher expectations for it and was dissapointed upon receipt.

After years of trying to make smoothies in a regular blender, and having to stop and stir, and stop and stir, and worry about burning out the motor, we now don't have to worry any more. Even when ALL of the fruit we add is frozen, this machine grinds, chops, and smooths with impressive power. It's fairly easy to clean, provided you don't wait for days, and has a handy pouring valve thing. A few recipes are included.

Very impressed with this product. Plenty of power to create the ultimate smoothie, and a glass container large enough to serve several people without having to make a second batch.

This is our first smoothie maker and we are having a great time! It is so easy to use and clean. I just whipped up a smoothie using peach nonfat yogurt, frozen blueberries, frozen mango, 1 frozen banana (just throw your over-ripe bananas in the freezer), orange/pineapple juice and ice. It was ready in 1 minute!! Needless to say, with those ingredients how could it not taste wonderful. I can't believe how powerful this machine is as I am used to a plain ole blender that used to overheat.

We also purchased a new juicer and are using both of these together. I love the healthy snacks that are now available for my 16 year old and my 2 year old.

I love this smoothie maker. We use it daily for smoothies and other frozen drinks. Everything about it is convenient - except for the noise the motor makes, the machine is very loud.

We have made everything from smoothies with a mixture of frozen and fresh fruits, to mixed drinks and iced coffee. The only caveat is be careful how much ice you add, it is pretty easy to end up with sherbert. But if you follow the conveniently labeled carafe, you will never have a problem.