I bought this blender as a replacement for my vitamix which I gave to my son. I new that I made the right choice as soon as I opened the box! Beautiful modern design! Hefty motor and base! powerful! thoughtful controls! Immediately I decided to ! make a nice spinach smoothy. For a test I threw in two tablespoons of chia sees! as I drank my smoothy, I couldn't tell if the chia seeds were even in there!!! This blender is fantastic! Vitamix has nothing over KitchenAid!