Dualit is perhaps best known for toasters, which it's been making for more than six decades. But the British brand produces many other small appliances, including espresso makers and stand mixers. With the launch of the $250 Dualit Professional 83830, it's entered the high-end blender market, where it hopes to compete against the likes of Blendtec, Vitamix, and Waring. Based on Consumer Reports' latest blender tests, Dualit is definitely worth a look if you're willing to spend more on a high-performing blender with impressive styling.
The Dualit Professional 83830 was especially impressive in our icy drinks test, which uses nonalcoholic piña coladas. The test is also our measure of how well a blender turns out smoothies. In the case of the Dualit, results were decidedly smooth, thick, and uniform. The highly durable machine also did a very good job crushing ice and we found its touchpad controls intuitive and easy to use. The blender's overall score might have been near the top had it not been merely average in our purée test. If this is something you plan to do a lot of in the blender, say for soups, you're better off with one of the other 11 models that make our list of recommended blenders.
A couple of other newly-tested models narrowly missed the winner's podium, but they cost less than the Dualit. The KitchenAid Diamond KSB1575, $150, earned solid marks across all of our tests. The Ninja BL770, $200, is also a very good machine, though it's a bit noisier than its top-rated brand mate, the Ninja Master Prep Professional QB1004, which sells for just $60.
—Daniel DiClerico
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