Oster 4093 Classic Beehive Blender, Chrome

After cruising the ratings here, we bought the basic, two-speed (read: go and pulse) GORGEOUS chrome beehive blender. Somehow we got the one that had the mini-jar for dressings, the food processor, and milkshake blade with chrome cannister, all for less than the Cuisinart Multi-Function Mistake. :)

This thing kicks. I've made dressings in it, and it was done with ease and they were blended well. Most importantly, I've made several batches of adult drinks involving ice, and as long as you add the ice a few cubes at a time, it turns out perfectly smooth (no ice chips hitting your teeth as you tip the glass).

I LOVE OUR OSTERIZER BEEHIVE BLENDER!!!! Simple is really all you need in a blender. If it's something that needs a bit of mixing, hit the pulse button as needed. If it's serious mixing, turn it on. In my opinion, speed 3, 6, and 9 are not required. This does it all, and looks MIGHTY fine while doing it. If only we had the counter space to leave it out.......it's SO pretty!!!!

Happy blending, anything!
Shinda


4th time's the charm   January 10, 2002
Melissa (NY, NY USA)
83 out of 83 found this review helpful

I've burned through 3 other brands of blenders -- each time the plastic "spinner" in the motor base (which mates to a plastic spinner in the pitcher's base that turns the blade) broke. Finally we decided to try out the Oster "Classic" because it uses a metal shaft that fits directly into the pitcher's base to turn the blades rather than the plastic disks that all the newer blender designs seem to use. That does the trick. I make a lot of fruit smoothies using frozen fruit -- which can be pretty hard on blenders -- but so far the Oster Classic has been up to the task. I highly recommend it!


High hopes trashed!   May 1, 2005
kozmonaut
31 out of 34 found this review helpful

We purchased this blender about 2 years ago, mainly based on price, simplicity of design and reviews from Amazon. After living with a high-maintenance Kitchen-Aid blender (all those little parts to clean!), The Oster seemed liked the answer to our blender dreams. Unfortunately after weekly use simply for smoothies, it quickly became apparent that this Oster was not like its formidable ancestors...
The power is totally inadequate. Food constantly overwhelms the blade and any kind of blending totally stops. Close to its 2-year birthday, it gave up the will to live - following a weird grinding noise, smoke came from the base and then.... nothing. And now, here we are, searching for a new blender.


Great, but careful when you wash it   May 4, 2005
Mary L. Mcgough (San Jose, CA USA)
26 out of 27 found this review helpful

This is my third blender in the past 3 years. First one of this brand\model. I've owned this one for 2 years now. I make a smoothie every morning for breakfast. I don't put ice in my smoothie, but I do use frozen fruit and this blender blends up my milk and protein powder and flax seed and fruit in just under 20 seconds. Sometimes less if I use small fruits like blueberries.

I really like this blender for the price and the quality of the components. It only has 3 settings. 1)off 2)regular on 3)high on. I only use the off and the regular on setting.

What I don't like is washing it. Since I use this item daily, I like to just rinse it out and put the lid with the little top thingie in the top rack of the dishwasher and the pitcher with the glass, rubber seal, blade, and plastic bottom upside down on the lower rack of the dishwasher. Well if I don't remove the pitcher as soon as the washer is finished, the parts start to rust. So now the metal part with the blade is rusting, since "rust never rests" right?

Now I can't really complain. A blender with a metal gear and strong motor for under $60 (I paid around $56 at Target) is great. One of my previous blenders was a Cuisinart. I paid $99 for that one and the drive was plastic. It broke when I used frozen pineapple in a smoothie one morning. Big bummer.

For all the people whose blenders broke right away, I don't know what to say. Maybe you overloaded the pitcher? I mean some things won't blend. And if you have too many solids and not enough liquid, the blender can't get everything to tumble properly in the pitcher - so not everything will make it down to the blade.

If you're not sure if there's enough liquid but you notice things aren't moving around properly in the pitcher, open the lid just a bit and add a small amount of liquid (milk, water, booze, broth, depends on what you're making) and if things start mixing properly, then that's all the problem ever was. Not enough liquid.

I'd buy another one of these, and probably will have to since the bottom part is rusting because I've not taken good care of it. But for a daily use item, $56 for two years is quite a bargain in my opinion.


Perfect for Smoothies   June 28, 2004
A. Gordon (Santa Barbara, California)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful

I live by the beach and have a serious smoothie addiction. I've burned through two blenders making my morning smoothies and realized I needed to upgrade to a more "substantial" blender. After looking online and doing some comparing, I chose the Oster 4093-8O Classic Chrome Beehive Blender.

Oh my goodness, what a difference a good blender makes! My new Oster chops through ice and frozen fruit in no time flat and blends it into a nice frothy mix. Ice has always jammed the blades in my previous blenders. But with the Oster, there is no jamming. Just nice quick chopping.

I also love that this blender is retro looking. The Chrome Beehive base is so cool that I leave the blender out on the counter for all to see.