La Reveuse vs. iCucina Portable Bullet Side-by-Side Comparison
La Reveuse vs. iCucina Portable Bullet. We conduct a comprehensive comparison to communicate how the former is better for your daily needs.
Specifications
Design
The La Reveuse is built for the price with a basic set of features. Its simplicity is a big draw, but the lack of upscale feel ultimately holds it back. To be blunt, the plastic housing feels cheap and does not give a sense of durability. We had hoped for a blender that was not only efficient but also visually appealing, but this one falls short in drawing attention to itself. There is a lot of room for improvement should this blender want to become competitive with its peers. Sharing the same kind of styling, the Oster or the Black+Decker looks more eye-catching and beautifully sportier.
We aren’t much impressed with this blender’s quality, but overall, built materials are fine for a machine at this price and we really like the simplicity the iCucina provides. Nevertheless, the mid-range segment is a tough market to compete in, simply because there’s so many products to choose from, and therefore it’d be better if iCucina emphasized on eye-catching style. Some improvements on the blade assembly would help increase its appeal as well.
Usability
The design is very intuitive so finding how this blender works didn’t take us much time at all. There is only one speed option, but we found it was rather easy to get pulse mode by pressing and releasing the cup in short intervals. Hand washing the cup and the blade’s backsides was challenging particularly due to their styling, but if you have a cleaning brush available, you’ll get all things spackling again in no time.
Locking the cup with the blade attached in the motor base may be disruptive and requires a bit of practice. Otherwise, the iCucina doesn’t disappoint too much when it comes to ease of use. Cleaning it is also not much of an issue especially when the cups, lids, and blade assembly are all dishwasher-safe.
Performance
In our test, the 300-watt motor of this blender was just sufficient for smooth blends of frozen fruit smoothies and fibrous mixtures. It didn’t mix protein shake as evenly as the counterparts. It also fell short in crushing ice cubes, though this appears to be the case with most mid-powered personal blenders. If you want more capabilities than what the La Reveuse offers, there are the Ninja Fit, NutriBullet, and the Ninja BN401 Nutri.
We were more than a little surprised at the results yielded by this iCucina since they didn’t come out as good as we expected. The 300-watt motor and fast spinning blades weren’t enough to help it overcome our challenges.
In the protein shake test, it was among the worst, leaving a mass of partially unblended food chunks. It also failed to power through whole ice cubes or create a smooth mixture of fibrous greens. And as weak as it was in processing frozen fruits, we assure this blender is only suited to blend softer ingredients.
Overall Scores
Pros & Cons
- Extra blending cup and twist-on travel lid make this blender perfect for those who are always on the go.
- It boasts a consistent and dependable performance.
- The motor doesn’t struggle much to handle frozen fruits.
- User-friendly design allows for easy control and operation.
- It’s good for simple plant-based blends.
- Built quality is mediocre but fine for the price.
- Simple design allows for straightforward use, cleaning, and storage.
- It stands stably, rather than jumping around, while working.
- The narrow design makes the blending cup tricky to clean.
- The blending cup's small opening makes it quite messy to add food, especially powders.
- The lack of versatility.
- Short power cord.
Conclusion
During the tests, the La Reveuse performed well in producing smooth and nutrient-rich drinks, especially green smoothies and frozen fruit smoothies. It was able to liquify oatmeal and produce a well-balanced smoothie in a relatively short amount of time too. However, it was not able to crush ice cubes efficiently due to its relatively weak motor and blade assembly.
The iCucina and its 300-watt motor was unable to perform well in other tests compared to the La Reveuse, although both blenders struggled to crush ice or to pulverize raw nuts and dried fruits. With all of their shared weaknesses we recommend the La Reveuse over the iCucina for overall efficiency. Still, the iCucina is not a bad choice at all when it comes to processing fresh plant-based ingredients.
Behind the Comparison
Tina Pham is a staff writer and reviewer, with five years of experience in the industry. As a passionate amateur home cook, she loves to discover practical cooking solutions, and has made it her mission to bring her findings to every kitchen. Her ultimate goal is making cooking more of a pleasure for all.
Tuyet Pham is an award-winning Saigonese chef passionate about delicious and healthful foods. At HealthyKitchen101, she develops recipes and collaborates with our Research, Testing, and Review lab to evaluate the performance of cooking appliances. Her assessments add a strong authoritative voice to our product scoring process.
Lap is Head of the Research, Testing, and Review Team (RTR Team) at HealthyKitchen101.com, where he directs and supervises the testing of kitchen gadgets and appliances.
