Description
The Breville Super Q is the most technically ambitious domestic blender in this catalog. Breville records a 68 fluid ounce capacity, dimensions of 8.15 inches deep by 10.47 wide by 17.95 tall, a brushed stainless steel finish, twelve speeds, digital controls, BPA free materials, stainless steel blades, a listed weight of 15.48 pounds, a China country of origin, model name Super Q and first availability in May 2019. The description adds an 1800 watt motor with blade tip speeds quoted at 186 miles per hour, noise suppression technology, automatic detection of whether the large jug or the personal blending attachment is fitted, and five one touch programs.
What it is and where it fits in a home
Two design decisions define this machine and both address problems the rest of the category ignores. The first is noise. A high powered blender is loud enough to stop conversation, and Breville has engineered against that rather than accepting it, which in this catalog only the Blendtec Connoisseur 825 also does.
The second is vessel detection. The base identifies whether the 68 ounce jug or a personal attachment is fitted and adjusts accordingly, which is the same principle as the wireless container recognition on the Vitamix A3300 arrived at by a different route.
At 17.95 inches tall it will not fit under a wall cabinet. At 15.48 pounds it is heavy, which is what a machine with noise suppression and a substantial motor weighs, and heavy is an advantage here because a heavy base does not walk on a counter under load the way a 7 pound base does.
Living with it day to day
Noise suppression is the feature that changes daily life most. Nothing else on a blender determines whether it gets used at six in the morning in a house with people asleep. Breville publishes no decibel figure on this listing, which is a genuine omission on a machine sold partly on quietness, so the improvement should be understood as real in kind rather than measured.
The five one touch programs, covering smoothie, ice crush, frozen dessert and hot soup among them, do the same job as Auto-iQ on the Ninja machines: they run a sequence so the operator does not have to. Hot soup is the interesting one, since it means the machine is intended to heat by friction rather than only blend cold ingredients, which is a capability shared with high torque machines rather than with crushing blenders.
Twelve speeds gives proper graduated control on top of the programs, so it can be driven manually as well. 68 ounces is a family batch size, slightly under the 72 ounce pitchers common here and larger than the 64 ounce Vitamix container.
The 186 miles per hour blade tip speed figure is a marketing number rather than a useful specification. It describes the linear speed at the outer edge of the blade, which follows arithmetically from rotation speed and blade diameter, and it does not tell you anything about torque, which is what actually determines whether a machine can make nut butter.
Controls and what still works without the app
Breville publishes no Wi-Fi, no app and no account for the Super Q, so despite the digital interface everything here is local. The programs live in the base, the vessel detection happens between base and jug, and none of it requires a network.
That is the right architecture and it is worth naming, because vessel detection and preset programs are exactly the features a manufacturer might have routed through a phone. Breville did not, so nothing on this machine can be withdrawn by a software decision, and the programs will still run in a decade. The one drawback of the digital interface itself is the usual one: a flat panel gives no tactile feedback, unlike the knob on the Ninja TB301, though it wipes clean in a single pass which on a blender is worth something.
Running cost and upkeep
No consumables and nothing on a schedule. Electricity is negligible for a machine that runs in bursts.
The wear items are the jug seal, the drive coupling and the blade assembly. On a machine with a noise suppression system there is also more structure around the jug, which means more surfaces to wipe and a slightly longer routine at the end of a session than on a bare jug blender.
Breville publishes a limited warranty on this listing without stating the term, which is a gap on a machine at this level, particularly against the five year cover published on the Vitamix Explorian.
The electrical data has a fault to name rather than repeat. The voltage field reads 1.2E plus 2 volts, which is scientific notation for 120 volts and an import artifact rather than a specification. The 1800 watt figure comes from the description rather than a rating field, and no amperage is published. On a 15 pound machine with a heavy motor and a hot soup function that runs for several minutes rather than seconds, the circuit question is more relevant than on a machine used in thirty second bursts, so the rating plate is worth reading.
Highlights
- Noise suppression, which is the only feature that determines whether a blender gets used early.
- Automatic vessel detection between base and jug, with no app or network involved.
- Five one touch programs including hot soup, plus twelve manual speeds.
- A 15.48 pound base that stays put under load rather than walking on a counter.
- All programs and detection stored locally, so nothing can be deprecated.
Things To Consider
- The voltage field is corrupted into scientific notation and no amperage is published.
- No decibel figure, on a machine sold partly on noise suppression.
- The warranty is described as limited with no term stated.
- The 186 miles per hour blade tip figure is arithmetic rather than a useful specification.
- At 17.95 inches tall and 15.48 pounds it is a permanent counter fixture.
Who it is not for
Anyone blending single servings does not need 68 ounces and should look at the personal size blender category. Anyone who does not care about noise is paying for suppression they will not value, and simpler machines in the countertop blender category do the blending. Anyone who wants a tamper for very thick mixtures should confirm whether one is included, since this listing does not mention it. And anyone who needs a stated warranty term before committing will not find one here.
