I've had this blender over a month now, and have used it almost every day. I can make smoothies for breakfast, and soups for lunch in less than 10 mins. It blends seeds like flax or sesame into a powder. Ice is no problem. Makes hummus smooth and creamy with some work, and ingredient adjustment. Never tried but butters but assume It would perform about the same. Reason for 4 stars is because some difficulty blending thicker recipes like the hummus. Also, I've noticed some slight buring on edges of the blades. Hasn't yet changed performance, but the fact that there is buring makes me concerned blades will become too dull over time.