The only downside is the noise. It is REALLY loud, but fortunately, my kitchen is on the opposite end of the house from the bedrooms. If you don't mind the noise, then DEFINITELY buy this if you use a blender regularly. It is well worth your money.
Another note: if you make hummus in your blender (which, by the way, makes it fluffier than making it in a food processor!), it will take some time to push the chickpeas down and move them around. I filled the container to the top with chickpeas one day and then added the other ingredients, and I left it running on high speed for too long. The motor cut off, and after worrying that I had killed my mixer, I read that the mixer motor will cut off if it gets overheated. Unplug it, let it rest for 15 minutes or so, and then try again. And don't let it run so long next time! I think it would have been fine if I had not filled it quite so full.
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I like the way the engineers at Bosch have put the blender together. The top locks onto the jar by rotating the top unlike other blender tops. This blender also has removable blades which you can order through Bosch. The blender jar is sturdy and has graduations on the sides to let you use the jar itself for measuring. It is well made and the jar locks onto the base of the mixer using a twisting motion.Best Deals for Bosch Blender for Bosch Universal Plus
As a blender this thing works great! We were really enjoying it for a few weeks. Then a few days ago I was making a smoothie. I put some frozen strawberries in and was pulsing and the base of the blender unscrewed and leaked smoothie all down the motor of the bosch which is directly under the blender attachment. I'm so sad about this because I love my bosch and my blender. I'll be taking it to a bosch store to see if they can fix it. But I don't think that having a blender is worth ruining my $400 mixer.Honest reviews on Bosch Blender for Bosch Universal Plus
We've been using the Bosch blender for years; and, although the main unit itself is nice, the blender has several issues:The bottom attachment with the blade inserts inside the base and it's impossible to tell if it's loose. As a result, it's easy to have leaking or even have the bottom come completely out. This is our third blender container, and all 3 have been the same way.
One of the previous blender containers recently broke (after 4-5 years of frequent usage), so we came to Amazon and picked up this replacement. I'm not sure why, but this new model didn't fit our main Bosch unit quite right so it sat very loosely in the blender base. We figured that it was probably within tolerances because it didn't appear to have any issues, but the gears in the blender base gave out after only the third use with this blender...
We tend to use our blender frequently (typically more than once a day). The Bosch has a great mixer; but, their blender leaves a lot to be desired.
If I had to rank it, I'd put the Bosch a step above the cheaper off-the-shelf blenders (because it really does blend pretty well). On the other hand, if you are a frequent user (do you like smoothies?) you'll probably be happier with something else.
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Let me start by saying that this is a great blender. It has an incredible amount of power and I love using it. It's the best blender we've ever owned. It makes powdered ice, smoothies, pureed tomatoes (you can toss them in with the skin and all and it purees them fine), etc. It even functions as a small food processor to make a few cups of hummus (though if you want more than that you'll have to make it in two batches).There are a few things that you should know before you buy, though.
1) It's plastic. I actually kind of like that because it's lighter weight and the thin edge spills less, but there it is.
2) The combination of the tall, thin design and the power behind it gives it a small capacity. I originally wrote a review complaining that it only holds six cups. Then I checked and found out that my old blender held the same. There are a few cases where I'm trying to make larger recipes, but mostly this is due to the design (not tapered, so it leaves less room for things to go when they get pushed up by the vortex at the bottom) and the power (the vortex is much stronger than on most blenders and will push the liquid level up by another cup or two). This means that even though the capacity is six cups, the functional capacity is more like four or five. It does work if filled to the full capacity but not quite as easily and it makes a terrific mess.
3) The biggest problem is the lid. I honestly can't even figure out what induced them to do that. If you look at it you'll see that it's got a sunken center, meaning that a) there's no handle for pulling the center out, you just have to tug at it with dry fingers and hope it gives, b) there's no handle for removing the lid, so you have to pull gingerly at the sides and hope you don't splatter, c) there's even less space for the vortex to push the liquid into and d) if it's filled close to capacity, the clear center promptly gets covered with whatever is inside it and becomes useless for looking through. To make it even stupider, there's a hole in the center. My husband said something about it equalizing air pressure, and there's enough power in the Bosch that it might be a necessity. It's still a profoundly bad idea. Every time you have it filled to more than four cups and turn it on, you're taking a chance that something's going to shoot out the top. There is literally smoothie on my ten-foot ceiling. Plus, the bottom of the lid gets covered with stuff (see capacity issues, above) and there's no clean place to grip it and put it back on. That's just unpleasantly messy.
4) There is a safety lock on the blender so that you can't operate it without the lid. It would be asking for a kitchen covered in liquid to do that anyway, but if it weren't for that you might be able to replace the crazy lid with a normal one.
5) Unlike most of the attachments for the Bosch, the base cannot go in the dishwasher. There's a lubricant they're worried will strip off. It also can't be submerged in soapy water. Since it's difficult to get it in and out, the best method is to fill it with soap and water and run. This actually works pretty well, but it's more of a hassle than just tossing it in the dishwasher.
***
I've had this for over a month now and just wanted to add an update. This is the most powerful and effective blender I've ever worked with. I love that it can actually puree tomatoes or frozen cherries without leaving large bits of "skin" floating around in the finished product. That said, I've yet to use it once without wanting to curse at it. It's a well engineered but terribly designed product. The lack of slanting sides means that it has a really hard time establishing a vortex with more than about two or three cups of material, and at that point the high power in the motor becomes a problem. It's not at all uncommon for it to overheat while making a simple, three-cup batch of hummus. Because of that, unless you're blending something that the cheapie blender from Wal-Mart could handle without any problems, you'll have to take the lid off and stir at least once, at which point the outside of the lid and your hands will get covered in whatever was on the inside of the lid, because there's no handle (and again, if there's more than 3 cups in there, it'll be on the inside of the lid, if not your ceiling). Then you put the lid back on and it's on the outside of the blender. At this point you have to use it quickly or else clean the outside of the blender, because that powerful motor ensures that anything on the outside of the blender will shimmy right down into the motor. Sigh.
In short, if you already have the Bosch base and want a powerful blender more than an easy-to-use blender, get this. If you want an excellent blender and don't already have the base, go with one of those systems, like a Ninja or VitaMix or something; it won't cost you much more than this plus the base. If you just want to make the occasional banana smoothie, buy a cheapie from Wal-Mart. It will cause you less frustration. If I could give this three and a half stars, that would feel about right to me.
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