Welcome to Capsule Considers, where we try out and review the latest products on the market and offer our honest, unbiased opinions, free from any obligation or expectation because if you’re parting with your hard-earned money based on any of our recommendations, we’re gonna make sure it’s damn well worth it. Here’s Alice O’Connell’s review of the Vitamix Ascent Series A25001 – aka, the blender the Roy kids of Succession swear by.
I am officially of the age when household appliances are apparently hugely exciting.
I know this, because of A) how excited I was when a brand new Vitamix turned up on my doorstep. And B) the fact that I let out an ‘OHMIGOD’ during the grand finale of Succession, when I spotted said Vitamix on the show, and acted as though one of my friends was sharing the screen with Kendal, Shiv and Roman.
Yip, Succession fans, this is the very same blender that the Roy kids whipped up a truly horrendous mixture in to anoint Kendal their King (aka CEO of WayStar) at their mother’s villa in Barbados. (Fun side fact, this is also the very last scene shot of Succession, which Kieran Culkin talked about in our interview)
Shiv and Roman threw everything you’d normally never allow or expect a blender to be able to whiz up together: eggs (complete with their shells), jarred pickle relish, milk, Tabasco sauce, cocoa powder, “frozen nobbies” (what Caroline calls the ends of the bread loaf, that her husband Peter doesn’t like so she hoards in bags in the freezer – totally normal behaviour), plus, a wad of Shiv’s spit for good measure.
See, the confidence in which the Roy kids tossed items in, suggests they have obviously never had to try to blend something in a regular NutriBullet or K-Mart blender.
And now I understand why.
Apparently plain old physics doesn’t apply to a Vitamix. You can throw in decent sized frozen items/ice, without wondering if it can handle it.
It can handle it.
Likewise, you can cook up items for baby food or soup on your stovetop or microwave and then immediately throw it in the Vitamix without wondering if it might cause it to explode. It won’t. It can handle it.
This has been a godsend when making up purees for the baby – who has time to wait for the for food to cool down anymore?! Plus, it’s no doubt saving us cash at the moment, being able to whiz up our own concoctions (nothing like the Roy kids ones, please don’t worry. We’re talking pear, apple and spinach here), instead of relying on buying pouches. That’s got to be good from a landfill perspective too.
But, I’m only really scratching the surface here as to what a Vitamix can do. We grabbed a new Aer Disc container which means we’ve been able to do away with a whisk and use the Vitamix to whip up cream, egg whites for meringues plus emulsify sauces and spreads. It’s apparently also brilliant at muddling drinks without turning them into icy slushies.
There’s also a plethora of other uses for the Vitamix Ascent Series A25001 containers, from grinding nuts and coffee, to creating batter and dough. They also all feature SELF-DETECT Technology, which utilizes wireless connectivity to allow the blender to evolve while using interlock technology to prevent the machine from operating if the lid or container is not secure. There’s program settings to plot in if you’re making soup or frozen desserts, and it’ll time it perfectly for you, or you can adjust the time yourself.
My favourite part though, is that while the containers are all dishwasher safe, you don’t need to go to much trouble to wash up anyway. After you use the blender, you just throw some water and dish soap in the blender, give it a whiz up, rinse it and leave it on a dish rack to dry.
Okay, but now that I’ve told you the upsides of this blender, it’s time for the downsides. Which – as you may expect, seeing as this is something the Roy kids would play with – it ain’t cheap.
The Vitamix Ascent Series A25001 comes with a price tag of, gulp, $1360. So, you have to be serious about your blending to want one of these. In the past ten years I have been through three Nutribullets, which has set me back, in total, $300, which is still only a fraction of the one Vitamix. Will I ever be able to go back to one though? No. And thankfully I won’t have to, seeing as it comes with a 10-year warrantee.
