I get a lot of emails asking me “which Vitamix should I buy”, and for the past two years my response has always been:
“If you can afford the initial investment or a good payment plan, please get the Vitamix A3500.”
Reading that, you might be wondering how I came to this conclusion. Or is it that A3500 is the best Vitamix at the moment?
Here is my simple answer:
In the past two years, Vitamix has been showing us that its SMART BLENDER LINE IS THE FUTURE. All its current updates, accessories, and attachments are being based on the smart blenders.
And when I say smart blenders, I mean the Vitamix Ascent Series A2300, A2500, A3300, A3500, and the Venturist.
So, here comes your first smart blender wonder, why the A3500, and not the rest?
I’ve got ONE WORD for that: RELIABILITY.
But hear me first, when I say RELIABILITY, I don’t mean that the rest of the Vitamix smart blenders aren’t reliable. You see, when it comes to food blenders, there are two types of reliability.
- Highly-powered performance.
- Ease of use.
Most Vitamix blenders tick all the boxes when it comes to offering top-notch performance and power. You can never go wrong by getting a Vitamix for all your food and smoothies blending needs.
As such, it’s true to say that all the Vitamix Ascent Series and the Venturist blenders are VERY reliable when it comes to the power of blending.
However, it’s on the ease-of-use that the A3500 model beats all the rest in the game. And that is simply because the Vitamix A3500 features a touchscreen control panel, user-set timer, and 5 preset modes.
The 5 preset modes include Self-Cleaning and Dips-&-Spreads which you’ll find quite handy when using the machine.
Vitamix A3500 – What You NEED To Know!
The Vitamix A3500 is a versatile, well-built kitchen blender that comes with a 64-oz low-profile SELF-DETECT® container, which will perfectly handle almost all your blending needs.
This blender will process almost any type of ingredient you throw its way into consistency. From fruits to veggies. From soups to hard nuts. Mention them! Well, as long as you don’t TRY rocks and metals!
So, what truly sets it apart from the rest of the Vitamix blenders and any other food blender out there for that matter? To fully understand the A3500 and hence it’s power, let’s debunk it’s key design features, as follows:
- Size & Height
The A3500 is a large, full-size food blender, and at 6.8 kg (15 pounds) it’s quite heavy. That means this is a blending machine that will always rest on your kitchen counter for most of the time.
However, if you like a clean, no-appliances kitchen counter, then it’s 17.1” height allows you to store it in the standard kitchen cabinet.
- Self-Detect Technology
As technology around the world get’s better, it also means that our kitchen appliances are getting even better.
SELF-DETECT® is a smart Vitamix technology that allows the blending machine (motor base) to automatically recognize your jar size and, therefore, auto-adjust its program settings and maximum blending times.
Simply, this is a smart technology that helps the blender work better with the container in which you’ll be using while blending.
Quote: Later in the guide, you’ll learn that you can use the Vitamix A3500 with containers as small as 20-oz and 8-oz. How wonderful!
TIP: Vitamix has started designing and manufacturing new blender accessories and attachments that come with the SELF-DETECT® technology. This gives us the IMPORTANT CLUE that going forward getting a Smart Vitamix Blender is the way to go!
- Build Quality
All the Vitamix Smart Blenders are well-built. The motor base of the A3500 is made of high-quality solid plastic with metal siding.
On the inside, the gears and the transmission are metallic, something that makes the blender run sturdy and feel overall.
And apart from the material and build quality, it’s speed dial and display have been designed with a premium look and feel.
The motor base features a 3.9-feet (1.2 meters) tower cord that is thick but flexible to ensure its longevity. And a stow-away compartment to hide the cable when not in use.
- Program Settings
When it comes to controls, the Vitamix A3500 features a premium digital knob, 5 preset modes, and a touchscreen panel.
These features work hand in hand with the Vitamix Perfect Blend App. The app works on both Android and Apple mobile devices. So, you can install and use it on your smartphone, iPhone, tablet, or iPad.
It’s on the program settings that the Vitamix A3500 unleashes its full potential. That is, the 5 pre-programmed settings offer walk-away convenience and consistency in all your blends.
The Program Settings Include…Smoothies, Hot Soups, Dips & Spreads, Frozen Desserts, and Self-Cleaning.
And with the Vitamix Perfect Blend App, you can unleash its full potential with 17 programs and over 500 recipes. On top, the variable speed knob and Pulse feature allow you to manually fine-tune the texture of any recipe.
NOTE: It also features a built-in timer that lets you avoid under-processing or over-processing your custom recipes. All you need is to set the timer to the ideal length of your blend and it will automatically turn the machine off!
The last part of the program settings is the “Self-Cleaning” feature, which you’ll find quite handy! All you need is to “blend” warm water and a drop of dish soap on the highest speed and watch it self-clean in just a minute!
TIP: To clean the motor base, just wipe it clean with a dampened cloth. Just that!
- The 64-oz Low-Profile Container with SELF-DETECT®
As a standard, the A3500 will come with the 64-oz Low-Profile container with SELF-DETECT®.
This container features laser-cut stainless-steel blades that are resistant to bending and dulling thus assuring you of high-quality results from the first blend to the last.
TIP: At full-speed, the blades create friction heat which can be great for bringing cold ingredients to steaming hot within six minutes!