PROS / The control panel is completely flat so it is easy to keep clean.
CONS / It is missing a cord wrap, which is inconvenient for storage.
VERDICT / This blender was good but not great at frozen fruit smoothies, but it is perfect for just about anything else.
With super-sleek controls and lots of horsepower, the Blendtec 625 is designed to help you make a wide variety of healthy snacks and meals. Blendtec's viral marketing campaign, Will it Blend?, offers some idea of how powerful this blender is and it did well on many of our tests. It struggled a bit with the smoothies but it was especially good at crushing ice and making soup.
It would work especially well for frozen drinks since its blades broke down the ice in our testing quickly and effectively. It was one of only two blenders that really did a great job of crushing ice.
This is also a great blender if you are dreaming of homemade soup in a hurry. It was able to make a very respectable tomato soup. We used the same recipe on all our blenders and some were not able to heat the soup or create the kind of creamy texture we had in mind. This was one of the best blenders for doing both.
The Blendtec 625 was less strong in the smoothie test. The chunks of frozen fruit kept getting caught under the blade. We eventually got a smoothie, but it took a little more effort and there were still a few chunks.
The controls are completely flat so they are a breeze to keep clean. Dishwasher-safe parts and a place to wrap the cord would make it even more convenient for maintenance, however.
The base is so attractive in all available colors, and that matters for something that will likely live on your countertop rather than hidden in a cabinet. This is also one of the shorter units so it will fit nicely in most kitchens, even under low cabinets.
Sometimes it was hard to know how to get what we wanted from this powerful blender, though. It was not immediately apparent how to set controls for specific tasks the way it was with competing products – some of which have buttons labeled with words like "soup" or "smoothie." There were little graphics on the Blendtec but it was still less clear.
This high-power blender has a stellar eight-year warranty on all parts, including the motor. Lots of information is readily available on the Blendtec website, but if you still have questions you can ask over the phone or via email.
Summary
This blender was not the strongest for making smoothies because the frozen fruit kept getting stuck under the blade, but it was a standout on other tests. It also is a knockout with its compact design and wide range of colors. You will be able to quickly craft soups, salsa, smoothies, juices and other fresh-ingredient recipes with this blender for many years to come.