I have one of the 500W Cook's Essentials Smoothie Makers and I LOVE it. It's loud & noisy but the spout has never gotten clogged. Now it fully smoothes, so no whole pieces (such as fruit, etc) are left to get clogged. Nor has cleaning been a problem, but I always clean right after use. The only problem is the plastic...the spout cracked yesterday during blending. Ideally I'd like a commercial blender. But if anyone knows of where to get replacement parts for the Cook's Essential the please let me know.

I agree with homechef59's recommendation of getting the basic "C" model Vitamix. In other words, I would save myself $100 and buy the Vitamix 5300 model which is in regular stock at at the Costco stores. (It was about $350 at Costco when I was there yesterday.) BTW: The current 5300 models at Costco now have the shorter container that fits on kitchen counters underneath the upper cabinets. IIRC, the main differences between the 5300 and 6500 are: (a) slightly different control interface with the 6500 having an additional dial with three quick presets; and (b) the 6500 package comes with some accessories. I do not care about presets but you might like/need/want them. (IIRC, the presets were "soup," "smoothies" and "fozen desserts." Also, IIRC, the manual speeds markings on on the 6500 will give slightly different motor speeds than the ones on the 5300. ( My memory is that the 6500's dial adjuster goes all the way to maximum high where the 5300 has a separate toggle for switch for max high.) For the accessories, take a hard look at them and consider whether you would actually use them. You always can get the ones you want later if you develop a need for them. FWIW, I bought my my 5200 from Costco 4 years and and have been pleased. Far and away the best blender I've owned. (The tall cannister/blending jar is not a problem in my kichen --- the current 5300 model is essentially the same product with a shorter cannister/blending jar). The thing is strong enough to mix concrete. Tried a Blendtec (Costco roadshow) and thought it equally capable, but the roadshow Blendtec unit was more expensive than the VM5200 on the shelves at Costco at that time. I do not care about smoothies but, as ifoco mentioned above, the VM lets you puree soups without needing to strain them. Basically the same idea as smoothies except for being hot. My biggest tests for making soups I do not have to strain: (a) ginger carrot soup (also use VM to make carrot juice for this recipe in addition to getting a creamy soup when everything is cooked together) and (b) creamed pea and spinach soup. All my previous blenders required straining from the blender to get these soups creamy smooth. The pea soup has a lot of fiber in it: petit pois (from Costco) with lightly cooked fresh spinach (bags from Costco with the stems), sweated onions, cooked rice (cream substitute for my aging lactose intolerant friends), chicken stock and secret herbs and spices. (Okay the herbs and spices are curry powder, white pepper & lemon zest). For checking out earlier reviews, the current 5300 is a slightly newer version of the 5200 and the 6500 is a slightly revised version of the 6300. For further reviews from users, search the "cookware" forum at chowhound and the "kitchen consumer" forum at eGullet.

It seems to be a 6-7' tall, 4-5' wide paniculata. Nothing very unusual that I could tell but it is late and I am sleepy. Very little info on the webpage, compared to other vendors. It mentioned something about strong upright stems but I have seen better upright bloom pictures of Pinky Winky for example. No info on approximate bloom sizes; maybe PW gets around flopping by having smaller (less weight) blooms. Also, many of the blooms in the main picture appear to have a very nice two-tone color: pink in the bottom and white on top... as if the picture was taken in mid-blooming season. Makes me think of VS. There is also a picture showing the spent blooms when they all have turned dark pink-ish and a few nice close ups. No pics of the blooms when they are all white (recently opened). The main picture on the webpage shows a shrub with lots of blooms on the top, then a band of green, suggesting no blooms in the middle or flopping of blooms... Then another bunch of blooms below the green that may be flopping. Not sure about all this "very upright" claim... the picture gave me the impression that, while bloomless stems may not flop and while stems with blooms at the very top do not flop, there is still flopping... blooms slightly below the top ones seem to be "looking towards/straight at the camera".. I would like to know the dimensions (how tall, how wide) of that bush in the picture. The given dimensions on the webpage suggest a shrub that grows upright (6-7') more than it grows sideways (4-5') but, the shrub in the picture seems to be very wide and not that tall. Hmm, just had a thought... maybe there are two shrubs in there... so close though, maybe they were going for the hedge look... http://www.firsteditionsplants.com/berry-white-hydrangea I found another webpage with more info. This one compares the shrub to Vanilla Strawberry and Strawberry Sundae. I assume therefore that it was developed as a competitor to Strawberry Sundae. http://www.baileynurseries.com/first-editions-berry-white-hydrangea Also developed in Gorron, France (where VS originated from... Gorron is in the northwest corner of the country). Here is some patent info: "The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea paniculata and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘RENBA’. ‘RENBA’ represents a new deciduous shrub grown for landscape use. The new Hydrangea resulted from a controlled breeding program that commenced in 1987 in Gorron, France. ‘RENBA’ was derived from crosses made in 2007 between unnamed proprietary Hydrangea paniculata plants (not patented) from the Inventor's breeding program and the seeds from the crosses where pooled therefore the exact parentage is unknown. ‘RENBA’ was selected as a single unique plant in 2009 from amongst the resulting seedlings. Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by softwood cuttings in 2009 by the Inventor in Gorron, France. Asexual propagation by softwood cuttings has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations." The following things are listed as making it unique in the patent: upright, well-branched plant habit; strong, erect branches; a long bloom period (but that would be July-Oct in Gorron's very mild summers); blooms with panicles of flowers that emerge white in color changing to pink and maturing to a deep pink to red color (not sure why this makes it unique by itself... as many paniculatas do similarly but, hmmm, maybe the shade of pink or dark pink is different/unique in Gorron's mild summers); large and full panicles.

Belndtec: $205 to $844 Quoting prices without context is really pointless. Yes, there is a super expensive model. But that's not what most of us are talking about. That's the model that comes closest to the commercial models, it has a sound-dampening enclosure, and it comes with an impressive 10 year warranty. If that's what you want, you presumably know it, and why are you even bothering with this conversation :-) The model that everybody is talking about in this thread is more likely something like the Blendtec Total Blender Classic (I own an earlier version of this model and I really like it). According to camelcamelcamel.com, it sometimes goes on sale for as low as $180. Or if you need a few more features, then maybe the Blendtec Designer 625 for about $340. That's a bit more pricey, and I am not sure I personally see the value proposition. You do get a second jar (that's nice), but other than that you mostly pay for a nicer user interface. IMHO, probably not necessary, but some people obviously like it. There also are a few other models in the price range between these two. That's probably more where I'd start looking, if I was in the market for a replacement. So, in other words, we are talking about anything between $180 and around $340. That's obviously a lot more than a $30 Osterizer. But the only people who should even consider buying a fancy blender are probably using their blender several times a week. And then, $180 is really not all that outrageous. Within the first year, it costs about $1 per use -- and of course a good blender is expected to live much longer than a year. If the smoother blending and the larger variety of ingredients that you can blend are important to you, then go for one of these models. If you use your blender sparingly and not for anything challenging, then don't. It's as easy as that.