Bella Rocket Blender 12 Piece Set In-depth Review
The BELLA rocket blender may not be the best bang of for your buck, but it does offer a fine balance of price and functionality.
Overall Verdict
The BELLA is built for the price so it lacks the aesthetic appeal and sturdy feel of pricer models’. Nevertheless, it is not a bad choice for those who don't need fancy features, and consider affordability is a priority. In the protein shake test, it outperformed many of its mid-range rivals in blending dried fruits and raw nuts, producing a relatively smooth consistency without much struggle. Its ability to blend frozen fruits is also noteworthy in its price range. This makes it possible to enjoy delicious and healthy smoothies all year round. The mid-powered motor means it is unable to crush ice cubes, but this is a common shortcoming of most household blenders. Quickly turning high-fiber food into liquid form proved to be a demanding task, too, but it can still perform the task adequately as long as time is not a factor.
Things We Like
- Adequate build quality allows for reliable performance.
- The motor is less likely to overheat like some of its rivals.
- It’s pretty good at processing frozen fruits and raw nuts.
- Its ease of use provides a satisfying blending experience.
Things We Don’t Like
- It may not add any aesthetic interest to your kitchen due to its inspired design.
- The ability to liquify fibrous greens is compromised by the low price.
- The resting period between blending intervals is longer than average, taking up to 3 minutes.
The BELLA is a mid-range personal blender so it is affordable and comes with standard features. It has a 240-watt motor and a plain design that may not have much aesthetic appeal. How is the build quality? How well is it? Is it a solid performer like it is on paper? Last year, we bought one and put it through a course of actual tests to find out.
Key Specs
Where to Buy Price at publication $26.59
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Compared to Other Personal Blenders
5.7 Performance
The BELLA is finely capable of preparing protein shakes and frozen fruit smoothies, but comes up short in liquifying leafy greens and pulverizing ice cues. For those that can make such compromises, this blender is the easy choice considering its price and the long list of extra accessories. Otherwise, we suggest considering the KOIOS Pro, which is similarly priced but offers more advanced capabilities.
7.5 Protein Shake
In this test, the BELLA blender produced a nearly perfect protein shake in one minute and thirty seconds. There was a small smattering of partially intact berries and almonds found after straining, but the oatmeal was mostly blended well so this didn’t detract much from the overall quality of the drink. With a little bit of tweaking by letting it blend longer or soak the nuts prior to use, we would even get a chunk-free consistency. You’ll find lots of personal blenders in this class, but rarely of them might provide as smooth and quick results. Some took up to four minutes to liquify oatmeal entirely, while others' blades were too weak to churn through such solid fruits (for example, the Magic Bullet, the La Reveuse, and the Icucina).
9.0 Frozen Fruit Smoothie
The BELLA is a classic example of why a cheaper blender isn't always worse because its smoothie-making capability proved to be even on par with those of higher-powered models, namely the Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ. This can be attributed to several factors, including blade design, motor strength, and blending speed.
The sturdy blade spined relatively fast. Working with a 240-watt motor, it took only one minute and ten seconds to blend and mix all the ingredients together. A very quick blending time for this class of blender, this speed is crucial when it comes to blending frozen ingredients as it helps to preserve the ice-cream-like texture that people look for in frozen fruit smoothies.
For the smoothie’s consistency, while there were still small bits of raspberry skin and strawberry seeds present, this is to be expected when blending ingredients of this nature. Overall, these small bits didn’t impair the smoothie’s quality at all.
Failed Fibrous Greens
Upon conducting a 20-second blending cycle, we found the BELLA couldn’t perform up to its usual standards being somewhat suboptimal in processing high-fiber foods, including kale, celery, and spinach. Strain analysis of the mixture revealed a substantial volume of greens remaining partially unblended which led to a grainy texture and an inadequate extraction of the green’s nutrients, in the end.
On the contrary, some other blenders, like the Ninja Fit and the Ninja BN401, produced a smoother outcome with a significantly smaller volume of visible flakes. As such, our conclusion is that your BELLA is not well equipped to handle high-fiber foods and may fall short of the desired performance criteria for such applications.
Failed Crushed Ice Cubes
The BELLA appeared to lack the necessary strength for such a tough application. As a result, all the ice cubes remained virtually intact despite its significant effort. To be fair, though, this is a common limitation among personal blenders. Should you desire crushed ice with a fluffy, snow-like consistency or intend to incorporate more ice into your smoothies, consider the NutriBullet or anything with at least a 700-watt motor.
7.8 Design
The overall design of the BELLA is functional, but not particularly eye-catching so we’re not fans of neither its styling nor quality. Nevertheless, considering its affordability, along with a suit of practical accessories, we agree this blender is still a good value for money.
In the Box
- Motor base
- Two blade assemblies
- Three blending cups
- Two storage lids
- Two lip rings
- Two shaker lids
- Recipe book & user guide
Dimensions
7.5 Build Quality
The motor’s build quality is on par with its price point, with a predominantly plastic housing reinforced by a thin metal layer on the outside. It doesn’t have any glaring flaws in finish, but we'd like things to be a bit sleeker, especially the outside. The same goes for the two blade assemblies. We're just less pleased with the blending cups since they both look less as quality, and feel more susceptible to damage.
6.5 Blades
The set includes two blade assemblies: a cross blade and a flat blade. Both pieces have average quality and lack a refined appearance. The cross blade features four prongs, potentially resulting in faster and smoother blending of wet ingredients compared to two-pronged blades. The flat blade, also known as a dry blade, is specifically designed for grinding harder ingredients such as rice, coffee beans, and whole grains.
Motor Base
The motor is relatively resistant to overheating compared to similar models, but only in case you avoid operating it continuously for more than one minute at a time. If additional blending time is required, you should allow the motor to cool for up to three minutes before starting the next 1-minute interval. Otherwise, a cooling fan alone won't be sufficient to prevent your blender from getting hot.
Four rubber feet are placed underneath the motor to further enhance stability and reduce movement during operation. It also assists in providing proper ventilation for the motor.
10 Blending Cup
This set includes three blending cups, two of which are 13.6 oz and one that is 6 oz. The two blending assemblies work interchangeably with all cups, making it very convenient to switch between different blending needs. The smaller cup is recommended for dry blends, as it comes with sieve lids that allow it to function as a shaker for ground spices and seasonings. There are also two storage lids and two removable lip rings included so you’ll find it easier to sip your drink straight from the tall cup.
Speed and Controls
The BELLA is a single speed design and doesn’t have a pulse function. This may make it difficult to control the consistency of blends, but is convenient for those who prefer a straightforward blending experience.
8.7 Usability
The BELLA remains one of the most user-friendly personal blenders on the market due to its simple operation, straightforward assembly, and hassle-free cleaning process. The lack of pulse function may make it tricky to create chunky textures, but we believe it won’t take much time to find the way
8.6 Hands-Free Operation
The BELLA personal blender boasts a convenient hands-free feature, which enables blending once the cup is locked in place, eliminating the need to continuously hold the cup and activate the motor. However, it may struggle with heavy-duty tasks as it can't draw ingredients towards the blade on its own. During the smoothie test, there were brief pauses every 20 seconds to shake the cup as the frozen fruits got stuck under the blade and caused jamming. This is a common issue among personal blenders and wouldn't pose a significant problem if one is willing to spend an extra minute or two in the kitchen. In fact, some other models tested required multiple shakes to achieve a smooth blend.
9.0 Assembly
The BELLA is designed for easy assembly, with clear and concise instructions included. To put all the components together, just screw the blade assembly to the blending cup, insert it into the motor, and then make a quick clockwise turn to lock it in place for blending starting. Some people might find it’s a little bit frustrating to secure the blade assembly to the cup, but most of them would get the hang of it after a few tries.
8.5 Cleanability
Except for the motor body, all the pieces are safe to put in the dishwasher, though we decided to clean them by hand and noticed that part of the cleaning process was performed with ease, as any remaining residues of the cups and lids are removed simply by wiping the surface with a damp soapy cloth.
The blades, on the other hand, required more attention due to their intricate design and close proximity to the assembly’s surface. As such, we had to use a straw-cleaning brush so that all remnants of food or other substances can be removed entirely.
Behind the review
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.
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.
Nguyen Ntk is a graphic designer, photographer, and videographer whose philosophy centers around respecting and celebrating the beauty of reality. Through his lenses, Nguyen strives to capture the true essence of objects and events, showcasing and highlighting authentic features without distortion or exaggeration.