If you run a place where people eat and drink, you know ambience matters. How comfortable people feel sitting down determines how long they'll stay and how much they'll spend.
Noise is a primary contributor to that ambience and if the sound of your establishment is a car motor (known as your high powered blender), make no mistake, it's having an impact on your bottom line.
This is why people look at a Blendtec Stealth 885 blender. It's a machine that can make any drink or cafe snack ingredient you could want (ice cream, hummus, guacamole, etc) but at the quietest decibel level of any commercially powered blender.
Is it an investment? Yeah. Is it worth it? This review should help you decide.
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What’s So Good about the Blendtec Stealth 885?
First things first: How good is the Stealth 885? And what makes it good? The answer to the first question is pretty simple: Very. The second question takes a little more explaining.
Blendtec has created a great brand of both personal and commercial blenders that are powerful, easy to use, and have a lot of preprogrammed cycles. The Blendtec 885 fits that bill perfectly. It's insane 3.8 peak horsepower motor will blend anything you throw at it, and it's cleverly designed to save your time and be easy to use. It's known for being one of the quietest blenders out there.
It's important to note that this is not a personal blender, and as such it's very expensive. If you're looking for a blender for your home kitchen, you're better off going with a cheaper option unless you have very specific tastes and extra money. However, for our restaurant owners, this blender is a sound investment that will help you deliver the best service possible.
Noteworthy Feature #1: The Motor
I've already mentioned that the motor on this commercial blender runs on an industrial-strength 3.8 peak HP motor, which is equal to almost 3000 watts. To put some perspective on that, most home-kitchen blenders have a motor strength of about 1000 to 2000 watts at the most. Whether you're making smoothies, nut butter, grating cheese, or crushing ice, this Blendtec blender will keep on chugging. This is some industrial-strength power. The Stealth 885 could blend your phone if you let it. (I don't recommend this.)
Noteworthy Feature #2: The Physical Design
The Stealth 885's functional design gives this blender some brain to go with its brawn. Besides the fact that it's durable and comes with a 3-year warranty, this Blendtec commercial blender is completely customizable and can be fitted with different jars and different size blades. You can make sure it's perfectly suitable for the needs of your restaurant.
It also is designed so that you can blend directly into cups, saving you precious seconds pouring, which can make all the difference in a chaotic restaurant workplace. Plus, it comes with six different speed settings (plus a pulse setting) and a knob for fine-tuning, so your drinks and dips will always come out with the perfect texture and consistency.
The most impressive and ingenious part of the Stealth 885 is by far the 42 preprogrammed cycles that its equipped with. And it's LED dashboard makes sure that things never feel crowded. On top of that, the amazing online BlendWizard tool allows you to add up to 14 custom preprogrammed cycles onto a USB stick.
This blender can learn your entire menu better than that new waiter. (They're trying their best.) So whether you're making a green smoothie, a tropical pineapple-and-mango juice, or a fancy cocktail, this blender will know exactly what to do from the get-go. Making your drinks has never been quicker, and now you can get back to your customers as fast as possible and wait for them to spread the word about your amazing service.
Noteworthy Feature #3: The Stealth
This is where the "Stealth" part of the Stealth 885 comes in. This commercial blender boasts being one of the quietest on the market. It accomplishes this by using a reinforced sound enclosure design, with airflow innovations.
Usually, you're stuck deciding between a quiet blender and a strong one, the Stealth series lets you have both. We know you already have to shout over the cook, the busboy, the waiters, and the manager. We wouldn't want you to have to shout over the blender too. Even when this baby is going at top speed, you'll be able to have a normal conversation over it.
The Pros and Cons
Wow, that was a lot, wasn't it? We'll break it down into easier-to-process bullet points really quickly.
Pros
- The industrial-strength power 3.8 horsepower motor
- 42 preprogrammed cycles, and the ability to add 14 custom cycles
- Sleek sound enclosure and airflow innovations making it one of the quietest commercial blenders on the market
- Full customization, with multiple options for jar- and blade-size
Cons
- More expensive even than some other professional-grade blenders (like the Vitamix A3500 and the Blendtec 725)
- More difficult to clean.
- Many features make for a learning curve to use
What Do the Reviews Say?
Reviews of this blender live up to the hype, especially when it comes to the noise level. Customers can attest that the sound enclosure system really works, and you won't have to yell over the strong motor of this machine. Users were also happy with all the different preset options, and the ability to add your own with the BlendWizard tool. However, users did point out its price and claimed that the blender was a little difficult to use, with the manual being bulky and not particularly helpful.
How Does It Compare?
We've come to the conclusion that this Blendtec blender is good, but is it the best one for you? Especially since its a little more expensive, you want to be absolutely sure that this is the blender you're looking for before you go out and buy it. That's why this next section of the article will be dedicated to comparing Blendtec's Stealth blender to the other premier commercial blenders from the other leading brands.
Blendtec Stealth 885 vs The Blendtec Designer 725
The predecessor to our Stealth Blender, the Blendtec 725 falls in a cheaper price range and has a weaker motor, though it can reach the same speeds if you kick it into high gear with the pulse setting. While the jar isn't adjustable, it's a very large 90 ounces, so you can fit in a full recipe batch.
It has 6 preset options (there's no option to have more) and a pulse setting, which is a far cry from the 42 preset options of the Stealth blender. That being said, it does have 100 different speeds with a fully adjustable slider, and the option to add 10 seconds onto the presets. The 725 also has the same 3.8 HP as the 885.
As for design, the Blendtec 725 is a little sleeker and more compact than the 885, but it doesn't have the sound enclosure system, so expect it to be louder. The jar has measurement lines for ounces, cups, quarts, and milliliters so you can really get rid of all of your measuring cups.
The claim to fame of the 725 is the 5th side of the jar dubbed the WildSide which is supposed to help with blending. The presets on the blender are labeled with pictures, which are cute but not quite as clear as actual words.
Overall, the 725 almost feels like it's not sure if its a professional blender or a personal one. It's simpler and easier to use but doesn't have the same versatility. It looks like it's meant for a personal kitchen, but isn't quite cheap enough to justify being in one. I can see this blender being the better choice if you own a restaurant that only dabbles in mixed drinks, or if you really want to splurge for your home blender. But if mixing is your real money maker, stick with the 885.
Blendtec Stealth vs Blendtec 825 Connoisseur Blender
The 825 blender is more expensive than the 725 and falls more into the price range of the Stealth blender. It also has the sleek sound enclosure, so you'll keep the ability to have a normal conversation while it's running. Like the 725, it has a weaker motor than the 885 but will reach the same speeds at its peak. Again, it doesn't have the customizable jar of the 885, but its jar is larger than the 725 at 96 ounces.
It starts to hold its own against the 885 with 30 preset cycles, and the blender runs on auto-pilot so you won't need to watch over it at all. It's LCD screen comes with 5 programmable buttons, so you can make this blender perfect for your personal needs. It also has a countdown timer so you don't need to keep track of anything.
Overall, this is a great mixer for any restaurant or cafe. That being said, it doesn't really separate itself from the 885, and since it costs about the same, it doesn't really feel worth it to go with the Connoisseur Blender.
Blendtec Stealth vs Vitamix A3500 Ascent Series Smart Blender
Vitamix blenders aren't messing around. They go for efficiency over everything. While the A3500 Ascent Series Smart Blender doesn't have as strong a motor as the other professional-grade mixers, "only" 2.2 HP, it still comes with the features it needs to make up for that.
As they said themselves, "You don't need more horses; you need trained ones." This Vitamix product has hardened stainless steel blades, and its smart technology means that the motor base is able to read the container size you’ve chosen and automatically adjust program settings and maximum blending times accordingly. The standard jar is a little small at 64 ounces, but as you can switch it out for a different one, this isn't such a deal-breaker.
The really impressive part of this blender is that it has a completely adjustable speed dial, plus it has a smartphone app that allows you to access 17 presets and view 500 different recipes.
Like the 725, this blender almost falls in between personal and commercial, but because you can switch out the jar it competes a little more with the 885. It's also cheaper, costing about as much as the 725. It pretty much falls in the same niche as the 725, with the edge going to the Vitamix. If you want either a really expensive home blender or a really cheap industrial blender, it's a great choice, but it's not quite on the same level as the 885. A huge plus for this Vitamix is that it has an amazing 10-year warranty, so it could really be the last blender you ever buy.
Blendtec Stealth vs Vitamix Professional Series 750
The Vitamix 750, which actively brands itself as professional (though it's probably better for a household), comes with a 7-year warranty, and for just an extra couple bills, you can extend that to 10 years. It has the same 2.2 HP as our other Vitamix, so in that sense, it lags behind Blendtec. But its laser-cut stainless steel blades will more than make up for that.
It has 5 presets and the same Smart technology as the Ascent series blender and comes with a (non-replaceable) 64-ounce jar. A big plus for this blender is that it has an auto-clean feature, so all you need to do is add soap and water and push a button.
This blender costs the same as our other Vitamix, but unlike the Ascent Series product, this mixer doesn't really fall in between the zones of commercial and personal. This is one of the better personal blenders, but it's pretty strictly a personal blender. Unless you own a business with very limited need for a blender, you should go with something else. Even for your home, I think it's a little too expensive to be worth it unless you're a serious smoothie connoisseur. Quite frankly, I'm not a big fan of this product. I think the other options on our list that fall in the same price range are both better investments.
Verdict
The Blendtec Stealth 885 is a great investment for any restaurant or cafe in need of a mixer. Its sound enclosure noise cancellation makes it perfect for keeping the ambiance in your coffee shop. Most of the blenders on this list have their pros and cons (I've made my feelings about the Vitamix Professional Series known) and at this price range it mostly comes down to what you need - and how badly.
If you really need an industrial-grade blender, either because you want to keep your workplace relatively quiet, or because you need the strong motor for tough ingredients, or because you need the ability to blend straight into a cup so you can keep things moving, the Blendtec Stealth 885 is what you're looking for. If you don't need something that intense, you can save a little and look at the other options on our list.
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