Breville the Super Q™ Blender

TLDR: Do it! This blender was a birthday present to myself because I wanted to get into green smoothies for health reasons. I was tossing up between this and a Vitamix. I went with this one because of the noise factor. First, volume: I would not call this a quiet blender, but it is not so loud that it transmits noise throughout the house as my previous blender did. A few closed doors can keep most of its noise contained. The “voice” of the blender is more of a grrrrr than an eeeee. The “clean” function is the loudest. It’s not obnoxious, but if you’re in a 2br apartment with a roommate, they’re gonna hear it. If your roommate is on a different floor and not right above/below the room you’re blending it, it may be lightly audible but not intrusive. I have the latter situation and my roommate does not notice it. Blending/Smoothness: very very good. It fibrous veggies like cabbage, carrot and kale, and blends them down to absolutely nothing (I buy a bag of this pre-shredded mix because I’m lazy, and I toss in a handful or two with every smoothie, and you’d absolutely never know it.). Total smoothness. The only time I get a gritty feeling is when I add something like hemp seed protein, which only blends down to a certain point anyway. But I dig that sometimes, a chewy smoothie. No complaints here. Motor: POWERFUL. You can hear that from the first time you use it. There’s a built-in fan that runs when the blender is using a high-speed function, such as the clean function. This adds very slightly to the noise, but not so much that it’s bothersome. I expected significant vibration, because I am a blender pessimist, but the base is solid and stable. There’s no rocking and little "trembling" of the jug, even when blending clunky stuff like ice. You can turn it on and walk away, and trust that it’s not going to wiggle itself off the base. Functions: For me, the functions are perfect, because I am a simple lass. There is a button that literally says “green smoothie”, and another function that says “clean”. Pretty much all I use. You press it and walk away. There’s a great safety feature that you can’t turn the base on until the jug is securely in place. I was pretty impressed by that. Each function has a different program and a different duration. For example, the green smoothie program runs for 50 seconds, of which the first 30 are straight up blending, and then there’s some aggressive pulsing to mix in anything that might’ve gotten stuck towards the top, and then more blending at the end to get it super smooth. Very clever. There is a "pushing" tool for.... pushing stuff down, and another thing that was a cross between a spatula and a breadknife, I guess? Silicone and very useful for getting all the goodness from the inside of the blender if the smoothie was particularly thick. Cleaning: super super easy to clean. Now having said that, sometimes you DO need to wash it by hand, or there are bits that are stuck to the sides that the clean function just does not remove. That is normal and to be expected. It’s not a MAGIC blender. If I give the jug a quick rinse immediately after I use it, making sure to rinse away any stuck-on stuff (protein or collagen powders, etc…), the clean function works much better and really does get the interior sparkling. Value for money: this was definitely a splurge for me. Was it worth it? The thoughtfulness of the design and the clear intention to make this a blender for every day, easy, seamless use, make that a yes for me. My last blender had to be taken apart and each component washed to get it hygienically clean. The jug was also made of heavy glass that I was always nervous about breaking (doubly so because I broke a glass blender jug while washing it in a porcelain sink, when it was soapy and heavy and awkward... it just slipped out of my hands, fell three inches, and smashed), whereas this blender's plastic jug is surprisingly lightweight yet durable. As I mentioned above, this blender is incredibly easy to clean: you just throw in a few cups of warm water and a drop or two of detergent, put on the lid, set the blender jug on the base, press "on", and press the “clean” button. Then a quick rinse and inspection and it's onto the drying rack for tomorrow. I don't ever really put it away. I like things to be easy, so the really pleasant user experience of this blender is worth a lot to me. Combine this with fantastic blending power, nice design, and a lightweight but durable jug… for me that makes an impressive package. Again, this was an indulgence. While I love it and use it almost daily, there’s part of me that will always remain shocked that I spent this much money on a blender. Cons: Two for me. One is the spout. With thick smoothies that come out slowly, any significant "back up" as the smoothie exits the spout, kind of dribbles around the edge of the spout. I am also impatient and want that smoothie in my mouth, but shouldn't this be factored in for a quick pour? It's NOT a dealbreaker by any means and I'm nitpicking for sure. "Pour it more slowly, lady... sheesh", you say, and you're right to judge me. The second con for me, again NOT a dealbreaker but a mild annoyance that might be a PEBKAC problem, is the lid. Firstly, it’s a pretty amazing lid and that it fits VERY securely on top, with almost a feeling of suction. Like, nothing is getting out. The design is quite ingenious. There is a great little stopper built-in to the lid itself so that you can add ingredients as you're blending. However, the lid of my blender fixes SO securely to the jug that it's sometimes hard to remove it by pulling upwards on the plastic loop at the back of the lid. I always feel like I’m going to break the loop of, but that has not happened so far. Everything else is great so I’m not taking off a star. I am a strong lady with strong hands, so I imagine a less able-handed person might have real difficulty putting on and removing the lid. Oh, and PRO-TIP: I got the stainless steel version. This thing is GORGEOUS so please go nuts and get the champagne or the dark blue. It's a lovely design and looks very high quality. I regret trying to be classy instead of flashy, as I always do. Anyhow, great blender. If you’re on the fence and you can work with the price point: jump.