My first foray into the world of high-quality commercial-grade blenders came with the purchase of a Vitamix E320 blender. My first smoothie blender was a Nutribullet Pro Nutrient extractor. After a year of heavy use, my Nutribullet Pro started to leak and needed replacement. One day I was shopping at Costco and saw that the Vitamix E320 was on sale and steeply discounted. I leaped and jumped at the opportunity to increase the size and horsepower of my smoothie making capabilities. Included with the E320 blender were two smoothie cups, lids, and the Vitamix Personal Cup Adapter or PCA.
Jump forward a year and I continue to use the full-size blender and the PCA. I typically blend around 12 smoothies a week with half being done in the large blender pitcher and the other half being done with the PCA. My wife makes about 6 smoothies a week and has the same 50-50 split between the pitcher and the PCA cups. Overall I’ve been satisfied with the PCA cups. Read on to learn more about my impression of the PCA adapter and cups after about a year of regular use.
Features of the Vitamix Personal Cup Adapter
The Personal cup adapter is a Vitamix adapter that has the blending blades attached to it. Special cups are used with the adapter. The cups are filled with your smoothie ingredients then the adapter is screwed onto the personal cup. The cup is then inverted and placed on the base of your Vitamix blender. After blending the cup and adapter are flipped over and screwed from the cup. Special tops are used before enjoying your smoothie concoction. The PCA can be purchased separately from a blender or included as a package with some models like the Vitamix E320 purchased from Costco. Here are some of the features of the PCA and cups from the manufacturer:
- Blades: Laser-cut blades crafted from the same hardened stainless steel as Vitamix full-size containers, delivering better blends and longer life.
- Dishwasher-Safe Components
- Leak-Proof Seal
- 20-ounce Blending Container: Becomes a travel cup with a spill-proof lid, so you can take blends with you.
- Maintains cold temperatures while on the go.
- BPA-Free, Double Insulated Material
What blenders are compatible with the Vitamix Personal Cup Adapter?
The PCA and cups are compatible with Vitamix classic machines only. The models include 5200, 5300, 6300, 6500, 7500, 780, Aspire Series, Creations Series, Professional Series, Total Nutrition Center, TurboBlend Series, Explorian Series. The PCA is Not compatible with Vitamix Ascent Series machines.
How to use the Vitamix Personal Cup Adapter
Here are the steps to use the Vitamix Personal Cup Adapter:
- Make sure the seal is on the bottom thread of the adapter and snug evenly around the thread.
- Load the personal cup according to your recipe.
- Thread the adapter onto the cup in a clockwise direction just until tight. It should be tight but not over tighten to prevent any leaks.
- Invert the cup and adapter so that the adapter blade is at the bottom and place the adapter and cup onto the base of the blender machine.
- Blend ingredients starting at a slow pace and increasing as the contents blend. Blend to the recipe or personal liking.
- Wait for the blades to completely stop then remove the adapter and cup from the blender machine.
- Invert the adapter and cup and unthread the personal cup counterclockwise.
- Make sure the gasket seal is on the flip-top lid and thread it clockwise onto the top of your cup.
- Your smoothie is ready to be enjoyed or ready to go by closing the flip-top lid.
How to load the Vitamix Personal Cup Adapter
For blending efficiency it is important to properly load your PCA cup before blending. Not doing so will make it difficult to blend and take longer. The proper way to load your cup is to load ice/frozen ingredients in the bottom, then soft fruits/veggies, then leafy greens, then dry goods (grains, seasonings, powders), then liquids (water, juice, milk, and yogurt).
Does the Vitamix Personal Cup Adapter blend well?
If you make sure to load your cup correctly and have a good amount of liquid, the PCA blends very well. Most Vitamix blender machines have a lot of horsepower in them and demolish dry goods and frozen items with ease. I’ve found that the PCA and cups blend smoothies very well and very quickly. Every once in a while, I will have a few air pockets that form and require a gentle shake to push the ingredients back to the blade, but it isn’t a hard or regular thing I have to do. Overall I’m happy with the smoothie consistency and it is pretty much a duplicate experience inconsistency as if you would use the full-size pitcher.
Is it easy to clean the Vitamix Personal Cup Adapter?
The Personal cup adapter is very easy to clean. It is much easier to clean than a full-size blender. The bottom of the PCA where the blades are is a much smaller surface area than the full-size pitcher making it much easier to clean. Only the bottom gets dirty and not the entire adapter. Most of the time you can simply rinse it out to get it clean.
The cups on the other hand are a bit harder to clean because of their shape. The cups are very narrow at the bottom on a regular size hand will not fit into the cup making it hard to clean the bottom of the cup. This is easily rectified by using a long bottle brush.
The PCA, cups, and tops are all dishwasher safe so clean is a breeze if you throw it in the dishwasher.
Is the Vitamix Personal Cup Adapter loud?
The Vitamix personal cup adapter is very loud. I use this with my Vitamix e320 blender and it is crazy loud. At the highest blending setting, it is very loud and exceeds the volume of the full-sized pitchers. I would go as far as to say that at the highest setting it gets to a point where it kind of hurts my ears. My dog will howl throughout the blending of my smoothies. I even sometimes use a pair of headphones while blending with the PCA.
Does the Vitamix Personal Cup Adapter come with a warranty?
Vitamix is considered a good company when it comes to customer service and usually does a good job standing by their products. Most of their blenders carry a 7-year warranty. The PCA comes with a three-year full warranty that covers all parts, performance, labor, and two-way shipping at no cost to you.
Cons of using the Vitamix Personal Cup adapter and cups
- It is very loud to operate
- The cup shape is a bit narrow at the bottom which makes it hard to clean and doesn’t feel optimal in the hand (a personal preference of mine). I haven’t spilled it yet, but it does feel a bit top-heavy.
- The PCA is rather large and seems excessive for what it does.
- The PCA and lids can be hard to screw and unscrew for smaller or weaker hands. My wife has smaller hands and sometimes has a hard time unscrewing the PCA, lids, and even using the thump to open the flip-top cap.
- When unscrewing the PCA it can be a hazard. To unscrew it, you grasp the PCA and small portion of the bottom of the cup and rotate each hand in opposite directions. There are some hard plastic ridges inside the PCA and if the cup suddenly breaks free those ridges can fly into your hand and knuckles. I did this one time and received a nice cut on the knuckle of my thumb. It took only once to learn my lesson, but this is rectified by grasping the bottom of the cup and keeping your hand away from the ridges when untwisting.
- The price seems high for what it is.
Smoothie Warriors Recommendation
Overall, the PCA and cups work well and make convenient and great smoothie consistencies. I’m not sure I would have purchased this as a stand-alone though if it didn’t come with my blender package. It just seems easier to use the full-size blender and then choose the perfect smoothie cup to pour it into. If you find a Vitamix package at a good price with the PCA and cups included I would go for it.