ADVERTORIAL
I Wanted One Smoothie, Not a Whole Blender to Wash, and a Portable Blender Cup Makes One at a Time
For years the full-size blender in Doug N.'s kitchen only came out for parties, because one smoothie wasn't worth the cleanup. He makes one glass at a time now, in a portable blender cup with the blades in the bottom of the cup.
Estimated 5-minute read
We've had the same full-size blender since the kids were small. It has a glass pitcher that weighs as much as a bowling ball.
For a party, fine. For one glass of banana and berries at seven in the morning, I'd look at it and have TOAST instead.
It's not that I don't want to eat better. I just don't want to wash a whole blender for one glass.
What I use now is a Graddi OneGlass™ Portable Blender Cup, a tall cup with a motor in the base.
I put the fruit in the cup and press a button, and the blades in the bottom of the cup blend it right there.
Nothing else comes out of a cabinet, and there's no pitcher to wash after.
What I did want
Before I watched my daughter use hers for a week, I'd have said I didn't want ANYTHING. Looking back, I wanted all of this.
• I want more fruit and protein in my diet, but I don't want to pull out a full-size blender for one small serving.
• I don't want to wash a large pitcher, the blade assembly, and the lid every time.
• I don't have much of an appetite in the morning. A whole pitcher is too much.
• There are only one or two of us at home. A full-size blender feels wasteful.
• I want to blend bananas, berries, yogurt, and protein powder into one easy-to-drink serving.
• I don't want another bulky appliance on my kitchen counter.
The old blender
I wanted one smoothie. I didn't want to wash a whole blender.
After one glass, I had a pitcher built for six to wash, a blade to unscrew and wash around, and a rubber ring to pull out of the lid. (The ring is the part I always forgot, and found the next morning, still wet.)
With the big blender, it was fifteen minutes of cleanup for a drink that took ninety seconds to make, and I STOPPED making it.
Not much appetite in the morning, and only two of us
Even when I did make one, the smallest batch worth getting the pitcher down for was two glasses. I'd drink one and put the other in the fridge, and by lunch it had separated into something I didn't want.
My wife, Marcy, isn't hungry in the morning either. We each want one glass, and nothing left over.
Bananas, berries, yogurt and protein powder in one glass
Marcy and I stayed with our daughter, Kelsey, for a week in September, and she had a portable blender cup.
Every morning she put half a banana, a handful of berries, a spoonful of yogurt, a scoop of her protein powder and some milk in it. She'd put the lid on and press a button, and it was done before my toast came up. Most mornings she drank it at the counter and rinsed the cup at the sink before she left, and twice it went to the car with her.
My daughter made one every morning we were there, and by the fourth morning I'd ordered one for us.
How the cup works
The OneGlass™ Portable Blender Cup is a tall cup with a clear window, so you can watch it blend.
The motor is in the base and the blades are in the bottom of the cup, so there's no pitcher at all.
Mine makes about thirteen ounces at most. That's one smoothie, with nothing left over for the fridge.
One cup to blend in, and no pitcher to wash.
The lid has a silicone loop on top, and that's what I pick it up by.
No new appliance on the counter
Marcy had one condition, and it was the counter.
It has a built-in battery and charges off a USB cable.
The big blender went out to the garage, and nothing new went on the counter.
One glass at seven
I make what Kelsey made, half a banana, berries, yogurt, a scoop of powder and milk. I drink it at the table, and then I rinse the cup at the sink.
Some mornings it's still toast. It just isn't because of the blender.
My wife makes hers at three in the afternoon in the same cup, so the two of us share one.
One for your kitchen
The Graddi OneGlass™ Portable Blender Cup is $44.99.
The motor is in the base and the blades are in the bottom of the cup, so it makes one glass at a time, right in the cup.
Back in August, I'd have put it like this.
A full-size blender feels like too much work for one glass.
I just want to make one drink. Pulling out a whole blender for it feels less and less worth the effort.
What other buyers say
"I live alone and I was not going to haul the big blender out for one smoothie. This holds enough for one glass. A banana, a handful of berries and some yogurt, press the button, done. I have used it most mornings since it came."
"The part I like most is what I don't have to do afterward. With our old blender it was the pitcher, the lid and the blade part. With this it's one cup. My husband makes his after mine and the sink is clear by the time the coffee is ready."
"Our kitchen is small and the counter was already full. This lives in the cabinet with the glasses and comes out for breakfast. It's about the size of a tall tumbler. I got the white one and it looks fine sitting out too, but I like that it doesn't have to."