Calphalon Auto Speed Blender Review
Calphalon cookware been around for almost 60 years but only recently introduced their first blender in 2018.
Having reviewed a lot of blenders, I was really interested to see how the new Calphalon Auto Speed Blender BLCLMB1 performs. In this review I’ll cover everything you need to know and explain how it measures up to the competition.
Table of Contents
Features
The main marketing feature of the Calphalon Auto-Speed 2-Liter blender is that it can sense the ingredients automatically and adjust the power for optimal blending results. Also unique is the dual-direction blade that help moves ingredients around without getting stuck.
It is designed for ease of use with preset hands-free blending programs and easy cleanup.
Here’s a quick list of its important features:
- Powerful 1100-watt motor with heavyweight die cast metal base.
- Dual-direction, six-point stainless-steel blades
- Easy-to-read LCD display with countdown timer
- Four presets: smoothie, dip, milkshake, and frozen drink
- BPA-free 67 ounce(two-liter) Tritan™ jar
- 25-oz Blend-N-Go smoothie cup
- Anti-jam reverse pulse button
- 10-speed functionality
- All-Metal Drive for extended durability
- 10-year limited warranty
Product Overview
Design
Motor
The 1100 watt motor is a good amount of power for this size blender and similar to competing blenders on the market in this price range. It has good torque and powers through most ingredients with ease.
It is noisy but similar to other blenders with this power.
Jar Design
This blender comes with both the 68 ounce BPA-Free Tritan square shaped jar and the 25 ounce single-serve Blend-N-Go smoothie cup. The 25 ounce jar is designed to compete with popular Ninja and Nutribullet blenders.
Both jars work with the unique 6 point blade design that uses an all metal drive. The jars are dishwasher safe for easy cleaning.
Controls
As mentioned above this blender is unique with a dual-direction blade that prevents ingredients from getting jammed up when blending.
To use, you can either select one of the 4 preset blending programs for frozen drinks, smoothies, milkshakes, or dips; or manually control the blending cycle with the pulse or reverse pulse buttons and adjustable 10 speed dial.
PRESETS CONTROLS
Using the preset programs just turn it to one of the programs and push start. The blender will run through a series of preset blending speeds and stop when the program is complete.
Programmed Settings Blending Duration :
- DIP : 27 seconds
- MILKSHAKE : 34 seconds
- SMOOTHIE : 68 seconds
- FROZEN DRINKS : 53 seconds
If you want to change your selection just press the Start/Pause Button and turn the dial to your new desired setting.
MANUAL CONTROLS
You can choose from four manual settings ranging from low to high. The manual control is useful is you don’t want to puree the ingredients and want to control the texture and blending consistency.
You can use the pulse button to crush ice or chop food. The “reverse pulse” button is designed to draw ingredients down to the blades. You can choose which speed (low to high) that you want to pulse at.
Size
The blender measures about 16 inches tall x 10 inches wide x 12 inches deep.
Performance
Overall this Auto Speed blender delivers good performance for soups, smoothies, and frozen drinks with the proper amount of liquid. It can also blend hard ice without issue.
The variable speed pulse and reverse pulse are nice features to have for food prep and chopping when you don’t want to puree the ingredients.
Calphalon Auto Speed Review
Positives : 1100 watt motor offers excellent power. Unique reverse motion is useful for food prep recipes. Great design and easy to use controls that allow for either hands-free or manual blending.
I like the all-metal gear drive versus a lot of blenders use plastic which can wear out quicker. The single serve blending cup is useful for smoothie lovers. It crushes ice without liquid very well.
It offers a generous 10 year warranty which is much longer than other blenders in this price range although I did read there is a cost to have the company service the unit.
Negatives : The square jar design is not ideal for really thick recipes and there is no tamper for this blender. The design can struggle a little with frozen foods unless you use enough liquid.
Some user complaints about reliability in the first year of use.
Overall Opinion : I like the controls and clean design of this blender. It performs well at blending smoothies, frozen drinks, pureeing soups, and crushing ice. The reverse pulse is really nice feature for thick recipes and crushing ice.
I am generally very cautious recommending a new blender brand due to reliability concerns but I am comfortable with Calphalon since they are owned by the same company who owns Oster which has been making blenders for generations. In fact, the Calphalon Auto Speed uses multiple design features from Oster blenders.
Overall the reviews on this blender are positive although there are a few user complaints about the blade leaking. It performed well in Consumer Reports’s rigorous blender testing.
Click Here for Auto Speed Blender Current Price
Compared to Other Blenders
Calphalon Blender vs. Vitamix
The Calphalon Auto Speed blender performs well with common blending tasks such as frozen drinks, smoothies, and pureeing but it won’t match the consistency and durability of a Vitamix when it comes to more difficult blending jobs like nut butters, doughs, and blending hard raw foods.
There are quite a few Vitamix models but I limited the comparison of the Calphalon blender to the popular Vitamix 5200.
|
|
Calphalon Auto-Speed 2-Liter |
Vitamix 5200 |
|
Dimensions |
12.19 x 10.06 x 15.94 inches |
8.75 x 7.25 x 20.50 inches |
|
Capacity |
2 liters |
64 ounces |
|
Warranty |
10-year limited warranty |
Seven-year full warranty |
The Calphalon blender offers nice design, features, and performance for mid-$100 blender but overall it doesn’t have the power or torque of the Vitamix 5200 which understandably is in a higher price range.
If you are casual blender user that just wants to make frozen drinks, smoothies, and purees then the Calphalon is a nice blender, but for more money the Vitamix will provide more performance and reliability over time across more blending tasks.
Calphalon Auto-Speed 2-Liter vs. Calphalon 2099742 ActiveSense
A common comparison is how the Auto Speed blender compares to the more expensive Calphalon 2099742 ActiveSense blender that was introduced in the fall 2019.
|
|
Calphalon Auto-Speed 2-Liter |
Calphalon 2099742 ActiveSense |
|
Motor |
1100 Watts |
1200 Watts |
|
Dimensions |
12.19 x 10.06 x 15.94 inches |
12.00 x 10.00 x 16.00 inches |
|
Preset Programs |
Four |
Five |
|
Add Liquid Indicator |
No | Yes |
| Warranty | 10-year limited warranty | 10-year limited warranty |
The Calphalon Active Sense blender has slightly more power but the main difference is the digital controls and “Active Sense” technology which actively adjusts the blade speed, direction, and timing.
The Active Sense blender has 5 preset blending programs along with the ability to set thick or thin consistency. The Active Sense blender also has an “Add liquid” indicator that will show up if it senses that the mixture is not adequately blending.
Consumer love the hands free blending controls of the ActiveSense and the solid feel to the blender.
The ActiveSense 2099742 is more expensive than the AutoSpeed BLCLMB1 but does offer more features and power. The accessories are similar between the 2 blenders but the blending pitcher on the ActiveSense has a tapered design.
Overall the Active Sense model is convenient if you will be using the blender for the 5 preset blending functions (smoothie, salsa, milkshake, frozen drink, and juice) but is less useful than the cheaper Auto-Speed model if you want more control over the blending consistency and portion of ingredients.
Common Questions :
Can it handle hot liquids ?
Yes, you can use the 2 liter pitcher for hot liquid. Just remove the center piece of the lid for the steam to vent out. You shouldn’t blend boiling liquids due to risk of being burned.
Is it loud ?
The noise is reasonable for the power and no louder than competing models.
How hard is it to clean ?
The Calphalon blenders are easy to clean especially since the blade is removable.
Final Thoughts
The Calphalon Auto-Speed 2-Liter blender has a nice design and useful features. The automatic speed adjustment, reverse pulse, and Blend-N-Go smoothie cup are attractive options.
It rates really well in blending performance tests for making smoothies, purees like soup, crushing ice, and blending frozen drinks.
Overall, among mid-priced blenders this Calphalon is a good choice.
