Vitamix Ascent Series Blending Cup Starter Kit, 20 oz. with SELF-DETECT, Clear - 66197

It took me a while to purchase these cups because of all the bad reviews, but I have been using them for a month now and I had no problems. The instructions are very clear about tightening the blade base onto the cup until the arrows line up. I actually have tried to test this by being very quick and careless at tightening the base and the cup, but they always end up lined up. My cups are always recognized by my Vitamix A3300.The cups are expensive, without a doubt, but they are very well built, the base is very heavy and seems pretty sturdy. Because I bought the 8oz and 20 oz cups, I have now 2 bases, so I think I am all set for a very long time.I make smoothies every day, the instructions mention that blending hot liquids is not an option, so making a hot soup on a cup is not an option, but I have warmed up oatmeal with almond milk in the microwave in a separate coffee mug, pour that in the Vitamix blending cup, with frozen blueberries, yogurt, peanut butter and more cold almond milk, and I haven't experienced any problems.The cups are dishwasher safe, and the manual is clear about it, but so far I have only used the instructions about how to wash the cups using the different functions of the Vitamix base.Also, they are very clear about not using the cups, blade base or lids in the microwave, to avoid damage or personal injury.Uses: so given all the information above, probably is better to use them to make some dressing, lots of smoothies, almond milk, baby food and pretty much any recipe you can imagine as long as is, for the most part, cold and it fits in a 20oz or 8 oz container.Size: the 20oz, in the beginning, felt kind of small, but if you are trying to stay in shape like me, maybe is good that I only have a 20oz container to make my breakfast smoothy, as much as I want to pile all the food in my refrigerator.All and all, another great product from Vitamix, I wish it will be a little cheaper, but most products from them are good quality but expensive, so as long as they last, I will not mind paying the high price.

I was nervous to purchase these after reading all the reviews and I think they are wayyy overpriced. Found them for a steal on eBay, should have known the price was too good to be true cuz I got ripped off and had to wait to get my money back.Decided to give it a try here, as I was avoiding my precious new blender, not wanting to deal with the 64 oz pitcher, when I used to just make my shake and go in the cup of my old blender. I needed these cups, hardly using my new ascent 3500 and I missed my daily smoothies!I ordered from a private seller so it took longer than the day or two that Amazon usually delivers, still they came much sooner than the original delivery date. Once they came I was so nervous to try it out fearing it wouldn't work ... I read the directions in the little book, it said to put a little drop of soap to clean it on the base with water. Screwed on the blade, which is much heavier then my old blender blade, and IT WORKED !!!!! I put some watermelon in after the cleaning and rinsing, watermelon with the black seeds. Pressed the Smoothie button and play and it blended it perfectly into whole watermelon juice. Super happy with my cup! I have only tried one and I've only used it for today but I wanted to leave a review to maybe help someone not be so nervous in their purchase of this expensive product, that I wish came with the blender without having to buy it separately for over $100!Edit: after using more I noticed that after setting it on the base, it didn't acknowledge it on at times, all I had to do was twist it a little tighter closed while sitting on the base and it worked everytime.Also I stow away the big pitcher in a cabinet away from the base. Not sure that this does anything, but I read that in another review. Happy Blending!

We bought these to cut down on serving size, as using a pitcher for smoothies always ended up with more than we wanted. Filling the cup still results in a 2 serving-size smoothie. I put the fresh items in first and biggest frozen items (like strawberries) in last, so that it is next to the blade and have not had any trouble with it blending well. If you pack it too full, it will not blend, there isn't as much force to mix as there is with a blender pitcher. There is a fairly large lip on the cup, so I either pour into a different glass for drinking or make sure to use the lid.

I could not wait until this product was released in Spring 2017. The release delays gave me anxiety:) When Amazon had it available in July, I purchased the kit quickly to go with my Ascent Vitamix! Its performance has not disappointed. The kit contains 2-20 containers with lids and 1 attachable blade. All you need to add are the ingredients and then blend!! I was surprised at the heaviness of the container with the lid. I was hoping my 8 and 10 years olds could carry them to school with their morning smoothies in it. They are too heavy and bulky for them. Extending the longevity of this expensive accessory is important to me and the price for this kit should've justified the inclusion of a protective case/covering for the blade piece! It is not too late for an update Vitamix...I want to be the 1st to use it!

These cups are great, well made and convenient. I’m able to make small batches of peanut better and sherbet in them. Of course I drink my nightly smoothies from them as well. One thing I don’t like is that you’re supposed to line up the arrow on the lid with the blade base but it’s hard to see the arrow. I used a permanent marker to mark it so I can easily find it. Also I would have liked the option to just buy one cup. Don’t really need two cups.

The main reason I purchased an A3500 was because of the personal sized blending cups. I was hesitant after reading some of the reviews here though. Glad I took a chance.PROPER USEA rudimentary understanding of how the system "self-detects" is key. While it adjusts blending time/speed automatically, it also serves as an important safety feature. People who've commented here in ALL CAPS about lining arrows up and all that nonsense simply aren't tightening the blade cap on the cup properly. The system will prevent you from using it in an unsafe manner if the embedded metal strips in the cup are not close enough with their counterparts within the blade base. It's actually really simple - if the blender shows the little circle slash on the screen, when you put the blender cup on the motor base, then just take it off and tighten the blade base more firmly. Once you know this you'll never have another issue.PROPER PROPORTIONSAll the nonsense about putting whole bananas and whey powder is also because users are clearly NOT putting their ingredients into the cup in the order, or the proportions, recommended! (See attached photo from the instructions.) Ice and frozen ingredients go in the cup first, then fruits and veggies, then leafy greens, then dry goods and finally liquids. Put the blade cap on and invert. Heavier, frozen things are now on top and your powders with liquid are on the blade ready to be obliterated. Not rocket science.INSULATION FIXATIONFinally, addressing the comments about the insulated cavity and the cups keeping things cool. Well listen hun, ain't no comparable travel mug, thermos bottle, heck beer holder, in the world gonna keep your drink at the ideal temperature for hours and hours and hours. I suspect you're trying to take your smoothie to the gym after it's been in your bag all day, then stuffing it in your locker expecting it to be chilly after your workout. Not gonna happen. Vitamix is good but they can only do so much to overcome the laws of physics regardless of the price point. Take an ice pack if it's that important to you.

The media could not be loaded.  These are expensive and I wasn't sure they were going to be used. My wife questioned spending this much, but she uses it everyday. We have a family of 4 and everyone now makes a personal smoothie to get their nutrition. They are easy to clean, simply put dish soap in with water and run the machine. I have never had to hand wash them and the kids even clean them. They are also top rack dishwasher safe. My smoothie is; Garden of Life Raw All-in-One Nutritional Shake, Chocolate Cocoa, 1017g, frozen bananas, unsweet choc almond milk, dried goji berries, dried blueberries, frozen cherries, frozen pineapple, frozen raspberries, wheat grass powder and frozen strawberries. The kids don't like the wheatgrass in theirs. My wife uses more pineapple. So as you can see, when I used to make a big group smoothie it sat and everyone complained as they were not ready for a smoothie or wanted it to taste different. Would totally buy it again.

Overall, i like this product. I like that I don't need to do more dishes and that I can just blend 1 person portion and not use the 64oz container it came with originally.However I first had trouble getting this recognized on the blender. I knew I had to line up the arrows but it wasn't clear where the arrow was on the cup. (It's under the lips of the cup). Second, it is really hard for me to tighten the cup enough for the arrow to go within the range indicated on the cup and even harder for me to open it after blending because I have small hands compared to the blending base/cup.(Average woman's hand size) Third, it blends everything mostly fine, even the ice I put in but I did notice that there were tiny bits of nuts that would have been blended to perfection in 64oz container that was not in this 20oz container. This is not really an issue because it was still 99% silky and smooth and I could just put it on the blending cycle once again but thought it was worth mentioning.As for the things I like.-able to make smaller portions-no need to do more dishes-cup keeps the drink cold and it doesn't condensateI am very happy that this was part of the prime day sale :)

The blender takes a little getting used to, for instance portion sizes must be greatly reduced for your smoothie; but the individual blender cups work amazingly well. Careful when you first open the spout on the lid to take a drink - it’s a tough snap down.