NutriBullet PRO 900 Series Blender Review
NutriBullet has cleverly earned universal fame with an associated health conscious appeal. But is it all just hype or is there substance to the compact blender's claims? Well we’ve been testing the £109 NutriBullet PRO 900 Series blender over the summer to see how this compact design stands against the larger heavyweights of Blendtec and Optimum and against other bullet blenders.
Design
If you’re in the search to relieve counter space or just like having compact kitchen gadgetry, then this 2.5kg NutriBullet will tick all your requirements. Not only is the base a dinky 13cm in circumference and a 36.5mm total height, but because this is a single serve blender design there’s no monstrous jar to accompany it, but instead you’ll find narrow and tall cups in the box, with the numbers supplied differing dependent on the bundle chosen. Ours came with a 9 piece set that consisted of an oversized cup (909ml), a tall cup (680ml), handled lip ring, stay fresh screw lid, a flip top lid, blade and a few pieces for reading. All the cups unscrew from the blade and allow for easy storage in and amongst already owned glasses and cups. The downside to this is you can’t blend a 6 serving 2L amount of soup, for example, and that’s why it’s all about individual usage.
The Pro model variant comes in just one colour and that’s a ‘sleek copper’. It’s a brushed finish which is visually shimmery and we’d actually call it more of a Champagne appearance than copper - and it doesn't attract dirt! It’s undeniably the most attractive colour out of all the NutriBullet lineup and we found it to be a tasteful decoration in a variety of kitchen layouts. It was also briefly used outside the kitchen environment where it’s very suited to being on a desk for impulsive smoothie-time.
Ease of Use
It really can’t get much simpler. Unlike options from Blendtec and Optimum, where we have many variations of touch-sensitive displays on their newer models, the NutriBullet Pro doesn't have any buttons, dials or screens and instead we just load our ingredients into a cup, screw on the blade and then pop onto the base and twist. This action locks itself, which is helpful for allowing us to make the most of our time to get any pre-preparation cleaned away whilst it blends away. Additionally a push down upon the cup will activate pulsing. This quick and simple usage makes it an attractive proposition all the time; hence our rampant usage.
Performance
Spinach, Apple, Banana & Soya Milk Smoothie: This was the very first thing we created in the NutriBullet Pro 900 Series and it showed us clearly how it dealt with greens. Interestingly we witnessed a singular algorithm from the motor to the blade which can be described as bouncing the ingredients to prevent jamming, and thus encouraging even distribution. On sipping our first smoothie there were no left behind lumps of spinach which lacklustre blender designs provoke. The smoothness couldn't be faulted and all ingredients were combined in a speedy 8 seconds.
Roasted Red Pepper Humous: It’s a sticky produce to make and often blenders struggle to incorporate all the chickpeas because of this. Here we saw why a small circumference is handy for avoiding hassle. The core ingredients of tahini paste and chickpeas had no real choice but to join together with everything else until smooth, whereas attempting to create identical small portion sizes of humous in larger jar designs can be exceptionally troublesome, particularly when the ingredients are hardly reaching above the blade; and what impressed us hugely was that it all blended together in only 6 seconds!
Vegan Chocolate Nut & Seed Shake: One frozen banana, 200ml of oat milk, 1 tablespoon of mixed nuts, 1 teaspoon of seeds, 6 pitted dates and half a tablespoon of cocoa is a combination of healthy ingredients that identify in taste as a deceitfully naughty shake. Seriously, we’ll consume these things on a daily basis in the summer months from our Blendtec Designer 725, but due to the tall design of the cup on the NutriBullet we did have doubts as to how finely it could combine the nuts and seeds so they basically become non-existent in our desired texture. Whilst the level of fineness is by a minuscule amount not as smooth as we achieve from our Blendtec, it was pleasing that none of the seeds or nuts were abundantly evident whilst drinking so we didn't get that scratchy feeling in our throats. It definitely passed the test in combining all the mentioned hard produce and it didn't struggle with the solo frozen banana in and amongst it all.
Vegan Espresso Whip: Made with a single shot of espresso and three frozen bananas, this vegan styled whip is both a healthy and simple cool down snack. It was particularly testing on the blender's blade design, which admittedly struggled after starting off by throwing the banana to the sides of the jar with the blade spinning into nothing: we had to stop and disturb the banana from the jar's sides and re-blend twice. On a like for like basis the finished results were more consistent than the previously reviewed 700W Retro Super Blend bullet-styled blender which produced lumps with its interchangeable blades during intensive tasks like this. It would seem that the 900W NutriBullet’s single blade design is more than adequate for a variety of tasks and is more convenient too. But nevertheless it still needed our interception to get this job done.
Banana, Raspberry & Apple Smoothie: The obligatory go-to simple smoothie. We used frozen raspberries in ours and it meant we didn't need ice, so the texture was rich. Not surprisingly this was an unchallenging blend where the apple and bananas were concerned. Furthermore it demonstrated how well the blade distributes all the liquid and chops the fine raspberry seeds repeatedly so that they’re not lingering in teeth or stuck in throats.
Cleanup
The quick answer to the cleaning side of things is the dishwasher which we exclusively use to clean all components (except blade) that feature entirely dishwasher safe plastics. On one occasion we needed to reuse a sticky cup and just blended some warm water with a squeeze of washing-up liquid for 8 seconds - this sufficiently cleaned out the cup for reuse and if repeated we’re sure it would be near or completely spotless.
Verdict
We have found ourselves using the NutriBullet PRO 900 Series multiple times on a daily basis throughout the summer - it’s the little blender that does the job. Whilst the performance is distinguishable from the larger and considerably more expensive premium Blendtec & Optimum blenders it does well to prevent jamming and most importantly promotes smoothness. From exceptionally sticky humous, to challenging vegan whips made from frozen banana, to nutty smoothies - the NutriBullet PRO 900 Series has undeniably performed extremely well. So we award it a firm thumbs up as a single serve simple blending solution. Not to forget its convenience in terms of immediacy, dishwasher compatible cleanup and the, loved by us, ability to pop a flip-top lid on a freshly made smoothie and shoot out the front door for the day!