A great blender is surely a must-have cafe appliance, right up there with the steamer and the coffee grinder.

A blender can be used anytime.  Make a healthy fruit smoothie for your breakfast trade.  Create creamy soups for the lunch or dinner menu, and then whip up some  margaritas at night.  Also it can be used to make amazing Frappes with any of the Alchemy range of Coffee Syrups or how about a summertime Chai Frappe using our Chai Latte.

But what should you look for when buying a blender?  There are certain features that separate the quality ones from the cheapos.  Here are some tips to help you.

The Blender Motor

First of all, the power of the motor is an important factor.  Most of the cheap blenders have small motors, which aren’t strong enough to turn the thick or hard ingredients you put in there.  Sure, they will blend bananas and water, and you can toss in ice cubes as well, but you won’t be able to do some of the things a quality blender can do.  So find a blender with a motor size of at least 750 watts.

The Jug

The next part to look out for is the jug, which is the pitcher of the blender.

There are  two types of jugs that are supplied with blenders:  glass and plastic.  Cheaper models will have plastic, and more expensive blenders will have glass ones.  When ice is spinning at warp speed, you don’t want it to take scrape plastic off the jug and mix it with your frappe.

Blender Blades

The blades are actually a very important part of the machine.  Some blenders have lousy blades that can break off .  Quality blenders will say that they incorporate ultra-strong blades.  Some blenders feature what they call “wave action” blades, which suck everything in the jug downward, which eliminates the top sitting there while the bottom rotates.

Blender Drive System

Finally, the most important feature to look for is a metal drive system.  The drive system is the component on the bottom of the jug that attaches to thehousing of the blender.  Cheap blenders once again use plastic, and good ones use metalor strong alloys.  Think about it:  The blender blades will be turning around so quickly, plastic will wear out reasonably quickly causing the motor to run, but the blades won’t turn correctly anymore, and you’ll be off to buy another blender.  With an all-metal drive system, it won’t wear out for a long, long time. Which amounts to you being able to make high profit blender based drinks for your business for a lot longer.