My blender is without a doubt the most popular gadget in my kitchen. I use it at least once daily for smoothies, and often again for soups, dressings, spice blends, dips, hummus, pestos, and for a treat, cashew-based cheesecakes. My first power blender was a Vitamix. It was expensive (costing more than my first car, which admittedly was no Rolls Royce) but I’ve never looked backed. Since then I’ve been converted to the Froothie range of power blenders for their extra horsepower, more reasonable price-tag, and unbeatable warranty. A high-powered blender is an enabler. I’ve already achieved great results with the Froothie Optimum 9200 and Froothie Optimum 9400, so was very excited to try their latest model, the Froothie Optimum G2.1.
Froothie pitches the Optimum G2.1 as its most sleek, sophisticated and advanced blender to date, featuring an elegant LED touchscreen panel, six automatic one-push programmes as well as manual functionality, and a combo wet / dry 6-blade jug that can accomplish all sorts of blending tasks. It’s currently on sale for £399 making it about £150 cheaper than a Vitamix, with credentials that definitely err in the Optimum G2.1’s favour, particularly the more powerful motor, the combo wet/dry jug, and the longer warranty.
But how do these credentials play out in practice? Let’s face it, though cheaper than a Vitamix, the Optimum G2.1 is still a significant cash investment. I was keen to see how this blender compared to others I’ve tried, both expensive power blenders and more “cheapo” blenders alike.
Power
One of Froothie’s biggest claims to fame is that their blenders can blend stones! Well, I can’t say I tested this, but I did try blending my own nut flours and spice blends, both of which the Froothie handed brilliantly, turning both into a very fine powder, perfect for my recipes. It also seemed to do this quickly and effortlessly, meaning I didn’t have to spend loads of time turning on and turning off the blender, scraping down the sides.
Jug
It may seem a small matter but the jug is a big deal when it comes to blenders. My Vitamix required separate jugs for wet and dry needs (e.g. a wet jug for smoothies and soups, a dry jug for grinding flour, spices and, um, rocks?). The other key difference is that the Froothie jug has a 6-blade assembly verses Vitamix’s 4-blade assembly. The two extra blades are situated under the main 4 blades and allow the Froothie jug to better suck ingredients down and create a blending vortex. No more chunks of stuff left unblended in the blender!
Like the Vitamix, the Froothie also comes with at tamper tool that makes it easy to stuff things down into the blender WHILE it blends. Really handy for thicker blends like hummus and ice creams. Andrew is a massive fan:
Noise
Well, it’s a blender. But it’s not as noisy as you may think given its huge motor. I’d say it’s comparable to the Vitamix and other blenders of its kind.
Heating ability
The Froothie Optimum G2.1 blender is so powerful that it can cook hot soups through the power of it’s immense motor alone. Case in point: my Easy Blender Tortilla Soup.
Style
I admit that I have always been a fan of the Vitamix’s simplicity. But the Froothie Optimum G2.1 is SLICK. The LED touch panel is, in two words, super cool. And there are nice little touches like the blender beeps every time you remove the jug. If you want to feel like you’re on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise while making your smoothies, this is the blender for you.
One Touch Programmes
Something I’ve grown to love is the ability to set the speed and time and get on with other business while the blender does it’s thing. It’s a small luxury but it’s that extra bit of effortlessness that enables frequent usage of the Froothie Optimum G2.1. There are one-touch programs for sorbets, nut milk, soup, sauces, smoothies, and nut and seed flours. See what I mean? Star Trek!
Reliability
I’ve been using the Froothie Optimum G2.1 several times daily for the last three months. Andrew and I use it at least a combined 3 times daily for our pre- and post-workout smoothies. We also use it regularly to grind spices, hummus, baba ganoush, raw cheeses and cheesecakes, the list goes on. Here we are making salsa macha, a Mexican blend of spices and nuts – the Froothie Optimum G2.1 handles it with aplomb!
Other benefits of the Froothie Optimum G2.1 blender
- 30 Day Free Trial with a Money Back Guarantee (including return postage)
- 10 year warranty on the motor and 5 year warranty on parts
- Pretty awesome support team who are super responsive
- A free recipe book and nut milk bag because, yeah, recipes and nut milk rule!
At present the Froothie Optimum G2.1 blender is on sale for £399.00 (from £599.00). Not a bad deal!
If you’re looking for some awesome blender recipes, check out my smoothie recipes or go make some hummus because you can never go wrong with hummus. Also, you need salsa macha in your life. Seriously.
Disclosure: I am an ambassador for Froothie and some links in this article are affiliate links. But hey I’m not biased! All product reviews are based on my honest opinion. If you’d like to know more about Froothie blenders and juicers, or this machine in particular, please visit the Froothie website for more details.
Fab review Monica. I’m in awe, it’s all sleek and shiny, it sort of puts my poor old 9200A into the shade. I can just see it on the Starship Enterprise. I really must try your salsa macha, it sounds awesome.
Hello and thank you for your review about the G2.1.
1.Are you still happy with it (honestly ;o)? Any other pros/cons than have been discovered?
I am thinking of buying one. Or a Thermocook from froothie, but that one does not seem to make smoothies as good as a proper blender, like the G2.1.
2. Do you find the menues on the display logic?
3. What does the different programs do apart from changing the speed?
4. Does it also change the interval of the different speeds?
5. Does it really work and make a difference (or could you have done it with a blender without programs and just a speed dial?
I look forward to your reply!
Kind regards,
Johannes
Sweden
Hi Johannes. Thank you for your questions!
1. Yes I am still happy with it and use it nearly every day. It’s awesome for smoothies. I also regularly make nut butters, energy balls, and soups. It really comes into its own for smoothies – give it stuff like tough kale, cacao nibs, nuts, seeds, and it really blends things up to a silky smooth consistency. I guess one pro I’ve discovered is their customer service – I (through my own error error while blending some VERY thick nuts!) damaged the double-blade assembly on the jug. Froothie customer service sent me a new one the next day no questions asked.
2. The menus are very logical. I tend to only use the timer and speed functions and not the other menu functions. But I LOVE the timer. It means I can set it blending and walk away and get on with other things.
3. The blending times also vary I believe. But as stated I rarely use the predefined programmes!
4. Not sure what you mean? If you decide you want the speed on a 6 say while blending at a 4, you can increase the speed while it’s blending and the speed slowly adjusts to accommodate. It’s pretty smooth.
5. Yes it really works. You could do the same with the speed dial but I find that there’s a lot of hands-on faffing with the G2.1. You get use to which speeds work best for your needs (I usually do my smoothies at a 5 or a 6). So you just set the speed and the timer (I usually start with 30 seconds) then go! I seem to also need to use the tamper less than with previous blenders… the G2.1 does a pretty good job of sucking everything down into the blades!
Hope this helps but do come back with any questions. 🙂
Best wishes
Monica
Hi.
interesting comments. I have a question. speed manual mode, which is the maximum number? 6 is the maximum number I’ve seen in the videos, but the previous model optimum 9400 is 10
Thank. I use traductor
Hi Joe… the speed goes up to 8. It’s very fast!
Thank you very much for your quick reply. I’m happy.
I would like to know your personal opinion between 9400 and G2.1. (I am torn between the two. I can not afford the price of a Vitamix, in Europe is very expensive)
It has a better outcome?
It has more strength?
It is quieter?
it is easy to handle and radida?
my greatest utilization will granitas, cocktails (use lots of ice) soups and smoothies
worth the price difference?
thanks for everything
I prefer the G2.1 to the 9400. It’s more powerful and quieter. Sleeker. And the control panel takes away a lot of the guesswork. I love the timer feature. You can achieve the same results with the 9400 but I think the little extras with the G2.1 make it worth the price.
Hi,
I have a serious problem lol 🙂
I do not know if I prefer the g2.1 in black or silver, both look great!