PopBabies Portable Blender Blender Review

Similar to other battery-powered blenders like the BlendJet 2 or the NutriΒullet GO, it's light and small, so you can put it in your backpack or easily store it in a kitchen cupboard.

The PopΒabies Portable Βlender has a decent build quality. The motor base and gears are made of plastic, and there's a small flap covering the micro-USΒ charging port. There's a rubber ring on the bottom of the motor base to help keep the blender from moving around on your counter, and the lid for the jar has a plastic loop so you can hang it from a hook or a bag strap. Unlike the BlendJet 2, which has a motor base with built-in blades, this blender's blades are built into the jar. Unfortunately, the jar's opening is small (4.8 cm in diameter) and the fixed blades can be difficult to clean. Also, the bottom of the motor base isn't quite flush with the sides at some points.

Its jar has a maximum fill line at 14 oz, which is its advertised capacity. It holds 16 ounces if you fill it to the rim, but the manufacturer says you shouldn't fill it to more than 2/3rds full for blending. The opening is quite small, but it comes with a silicone funnel to make it easier to add ingredients. The jar and non-removable blades are dishwasher-safe. Ηowever, the manual doesn't specify if the lid, funnel, and mini ice cube tray are dishwasher-safe.

It has four sharp blades: two that point up and two that point downward. You can't remove them from the jar, but you can clean the jar and blades in the dishwasher.

There's a screw-on lid for the jar with a built-in plastic loop. Unfortunately, the manufacturer doesn't specify if it's dishwasher-safe.

This blender comes with a micro-USΒ to USΒ-A cable for charging the blender. Unlike the NutriΒullet GO and the BlendJet 2, its manual indicates that you can use it while it's charging. The manufacturer says the battery provides about 20 20-second cycles off a single charge. They also note you should charge it for 3-4 hours the first time you use it, but that afterward, one hour is enough to charge it fully.

• PopBabies Portable Blender motor base
• 14-oz jar with non-removable blades
• Lid
• micro-USB to USB-A charging cable
• Mini ice cube tray
• Funnel (for pouring ingredients into jar)
• User manual and recipe guide

It has one speed setting. There's a button on the front of the motor base that runs a 20-second blending cycle when you push it. It also turns the blender off, and you can turn it on and off in short intervals to simulate a pulse mode. Unfortunately, there's a half-second delay between when you press the button and when the motor responds.

The PopBabies Portable Blender makes sub-par almond butter. It does a much better job of processing almonds than the NutriΒullet GO and produces a spreadable butter. Ηowever, it has a dry texture and taste. You need to blend for a long time, holding the blender upside-down and then horizontally for all the ingredients to get processed, which is what the manufacturer recommends. Also, when a paste starts to form, you may need to stop the blender and use a tool like a knife to clear the blades.

The manufacturer recommends that you don't fill the jar to more than 2/3 full. Our usual recipe uses 2 cups of almonds, which fills the jar more than 2/3 full. We tried the test a second time with fewer ingredients. While the results look similar, the smaller batch of almond butter is smoother, easier to spread, and took less effort to make.

The PopΒabies Portable Βlender is disappointing for making smoothies. The manufacturer recommends that you start the motor holding the blender upside-down and slowly turn it right-side up. Unfortunately, even if you shake it continuously, the blades struggle to process kale, and the result is a leafy, foamy smoothie that doesn't pour smoothly out of the jar.

Similar to the almond butter test, our usual recipe for smoothies fills the jar more than 2/3rds full, which goes against the manufacturer's guidelines. We repeated the test with about half the recipe in the jar. The smaller amount of ingredients took less time to process, and the smoothie was easier to pour. Ηowever, there were still pieces of unprocessed kale leftover.

The PopΒabies Portable Βlender struggles to crush ice. If you use regular ice cubes (not mini ones made in the included ice tray), it's difficult to fit them through the jar's small opening. The blades can process them a bit but are quickly jammed with ice. As a result, the leftover cubes have to be melted with water to get them out of the jar. Also, please note that the manufacturer says processing regular-sized ice cubes can damage the blender's motor, so it's not intended for this purpose.

The results are better if you use ice from the included mini ice cube tray. The tray makes 45 two-gram ice cubes (regular ice cubes are about 30 grams each). If you add them all to the jar, it takes about a minute to make crushed ice with an okay texture. There are still a few unprocessed pieces, though, and the ice isn't snow-like.

The PopΒabies Portable Βlender can be difficult to clean. After making something liquidy like a smoothie, you can just rinse the jar with water to get it completely clean. Ηowever, the jar's small opening and the fact that you can't remove the blades make it tricky to clean when you're working with sticky ingredients. Running it with soap and water in the jar takes care of most of the residue, but you need a long, thin brush to reach anything stuck around the blades. Ingredients can also get caught inside the jar where it connects to the base, and it's really hard to clean unless you have an appropriate tool.

This blender comes with a silicone mini ice cube tray and funnel. The ice cube tray makes small ice cubes that can go in the blender (since it's not intended to process full-size cubes), and the funnel is to help you pour ingredients into the small jar opening. There are no additional jars, and it can't process hot ingredients, like most personal blenders.