Breville BB605XL Hemisphere Review – A Blender And Small Food Processor In One

A lot of the blenders in the market right now have issues with their pitchers.

The main issue would be the flat shape at the bottom which causes products in terms of ingredients not chopped evenly.

Breville BB605XL Hemisphere Review

Breville came up with the Hemisphere design to that they say will solve this issue present in most blenders.

What is the hemisphere design?

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Well instead of having a flat bottom, it uses a round concave design that flows with the shape of the blade.

Breville says that this will help create consistently chunk free smoothies and better tasting guacamole.

Looking at the spec sheet this machine won’t match the Vitamix 5200 in terms of power. But it has some preset options that could save you time since it takes away the guess work.

This machine isn’t exactly cheap but it is a great mid-priced option for people looking for more than a basic blender.

Aside from making smoothies or margaritas, this machine is capable of chopping veggies and turning them into a healthy salsa recipe or crushing ice.

Features at a glance

  • Hemisphere design where the button of the jug flows with the shape of the blade results into a more consistent blend
  • Has 7 preset buttons for from crushing ice to chopping vegetables plus a pulse option
  • 750 watt motor
  • LED timer allows you to manually set speed settings for added versatility
  • BPA free 48 ounce jug
  • Die cast metal base
  • 1 year warranty
  • 16.5″ tall

Pros

  • A great mid-priced option that can blend, chop, puree and crush ice
  • Has a BPA free jug
  • Decent sized jug
  • Can replace your small food processor

Cons

  • Only has a 1 year warranty
  • Some complaints about product quality

What to expect from the BB605XL Hemisphere?

At first glance this blender would fit into most modern kitchen thanks to its clean silver finish.

Controls are nicely laid out and easily accessed which make this easy to use.

The LED backed controls mean great visibility.

Features

Preset controls

You’ll see on the controls 7 preset controls for different functions like crushing ice, making smoothies, chopping ingredients, pureeing, etc.

These are just different speed settings that Breville has set for consumers to take away the guess work.

There is a LED timer on the right hand part of the control that allows you to manually set how long you want to blend the ingredients, just in case you’re a control freak. And yes there is a pulse option.

Jar

It comes with a 48 ounce plastic jar that is BPA free which isn’t the largest but pretty decent for a small family.

If you look closely, the bottom of the jar has a concave shape that flows with the shape of the blade. This means a more even blend because there is less space underneath for ingredients to get stuck and un-chopped.

This is how it looks like

Hemisphere Blade Design

What can this make?

This machine is more than a smoothie maker. Despite the listed 750 watt power this machine based on a review done in CNet is capable of replacing your food processor.

Smoothies

First, let’s look at how it compares to the $400 Vitamix 5200 in making smoothies…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1uECTfPRJQ

The Vitamix 5200 is a benchmark for other blenders because it is frankly one of the best blenders in the market right now. And when you compare it to the Breville Hemisphere, it’ll make green smoothie faster.

Based on this video review, the puree setting might be a better option if you want to make green smoothies as the smoothie setting resulted in clumps but it still isn’t as smooth as a Vitamix.

Ice test

Now to the ice test (without water) after the unboxing…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQlJT-eZBSs

One of the best tests for any blender is the ice crushing test without any water. This test reveals the consistency of the blend and how much torque the motor has.

As expected the Vitamix took less than a minute to crush ice. The Breville took a bit longer but it still did a pretty decent job. A nice tip shared in the video is to start with the pulse setting then use the crush ice setting.

The nut butter test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ps2RLwc1Fk

The Hemisphere did a pretty good job but a tamper could have helped speed up the process.

Guacamole

Here’s a test on how it performed making guacamole…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0ni6umaIUM

Making apple sauce…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_EXNmFjdTc

In the CNet review, they used it to make pancake batter, pesto, almond butter and the torture tested it using a block of cheese. It passed with flying colors in all of these tests.

As you can see with all the videos above, this machine is pretty versatile and at the same time robust enough to make tough to blend stuff like batter and nut butter.

Here are some tips and tricks from Breville themselves to get the most out of it…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njlkpJW-1U8

Is it easy to clean?

Since the blade and jug are once piece, you won’t be able to take it apart and clean it separately using a sponge.

But one option would be filling it up halfway with water, add a few drops of dish washing liquid then pulsing it for 30 seconds to dislodge any food particles inside the crevices.

Make sure to clean this immediately after using it so it won’t be hard to clean. Take note that this is also dishwasher safe but make sure to rinse it first before putting it in there.

Product Specifications

ModelBBL605XL
Motor750 watts
Height16.5"
Jug capacity48 ounces
Blade Type4 blade system
Max RPMN/A
Preset blending cyclesIce Crush

Smoothie

5 Speeds

1- Mix
2- Chop
3-Blend
4-Liquify
5-Puree

Plus Pulse
BPA FreeYes
Dishwasher SafeYes
Tamper/PlungerNo
Crush ice?
Smoothies
Juice
Warranty1 year

Warranty

Unlike the Vitamix 5200 and Oster Versa, this only comes with a short 1 year warranty.

What consumers say

In terms of performance, consumers (even ones who gave low ratings) said that this machine performed well from making smoothies, making soup and chopping vegetables.

As I’ve shown you in the videos above, this machine can make a wide variety of recipes. This is a viable replacement for a food processor just in case you have the need for one.

Easy to use controls

Controls are nicely laid out and easy to read and the concave design of the blade does help in blending ingredients smoothly. One thing I noticed is that the smoothie button doesn’t make a good smoothie.

It leaves a chunky looking juice that looks more like salsa than a smoothie. You’ll need to use the puree button (this is the highest speed setting) to make your smoothie well smooth.

Some issues

The biggest issue based on reviews is how this product will hold up in the long run.

There are multiple consumers that complained about this product breaking down after a few months, others just after the warranty period.

Breville is known to treat their customers well and will provide a replacement product but the short warranty is a little bit of a concern for me.

Where can I buy this?

You can buy this from Amazon for less than $200. And it’s eligible for the free 2-day shipping if you enroll in Prime. Amazon also offers extended warranties – up to 4 years if you think the 1 year warranty isn’t enough.

Please check out other Vitamix blender options if you think this is too expensive.

To Wrap Up

This blender would be great for folks who are looking for an all-around product that can make smoothies, crush ice, mix a pancake batter or make some almond butter.

Surprisingly the mid-sized 750 watt motor in this machine is strong enough to do tougher tasks like make almond butter as you’ve seen in the CNet review but there are some concerns about the durability of this product.

Combine that with the short 1 year warranty, it is a bit worrisome. But performance wise the Breville Hemisphere will perform pretty well just don’t expect it to match high-end blenders like the Vitamix.

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