Choosing Your Juicer

Choosing a Juicer
About Juicer Comparisons
About Long Product Warranties
About Juice Yield Testing
Choosing a Fruit and Vegetable Juicer
Choosing a Wheatgrass Capable Juicer
Choosing a Citrus Juicer

Choosing a Juicer

The most important thing for us is that you get the right juicer for your needs. We are often asked the question ‘What is the best juicer?’ Surprisingly, a good choice of juicer for one person could be totally wrong for another. For example, busy parents trying to get more fruit and vegetables into their kids will have different priorities decision-arrowthan someone juicing as part of a nutritional therapy to combat poor health. If you need further help with choosing your juicer we are always happy to hear from you. We have the knowledge! Before we go into detail below, here are a few quick links that will help you browse fruit and vegetable juicers with particular strengths:

Best Value Juicer

For fast and convenient access to juicing most ingredients the Sage Nutri Juicer Cold is the best value model in our range. ​Performance wise it is equal to juicers coming in at twice the price or more.

Best For Leafy Greens & Wheatgrass

Horizontal Single Auger Juicers are the best choice if you need a juicer that is particularly good for leafy greens and wheatgrass and they do a great job with most other ingredients too.

Best For Hard Fruits & Vegetables

Centrifugal Juicers and also in particular the Champion Juicer offer the best juicing experience for these, but they perform less well on greens and soft fruits and they don’t do wheatgrass.

Best For Soft Fruits

Vertical Slow Juicers have revolutionised juicing soft fruits and berries – it used to be very expensive but this type gives a very good juice yield with the added bonus that they are great for all other ingredients too..

Best All Rounder Juicers (for all ingredients)

Again, Slow Juicers win hands down because they juice all of the above well and are very convenient and user friendly.

Lower down the page you will find detailed information on choosing fruit and vegetable juicers, citrus juicers and juicers that are capable of juicing wheatgrass. There are some general points to be made first that are relevant to making your choice.

About Juicer Comparisons

In 2002, UK Juicers™ was one of the first companies to offer a comparison of the main contenders in ​the performance of premium juicers. We published ​the results from controlled juicer tests with uniform batches of juicing ingredients in table form, to try and give our customers an objective view of how each machine performed. As more online sellers started offering ​specialist juicers like ours, we noticed quite a few other juicer comparisons appearing online and we read them with interest. After seeing some of the claims being made, we realised that offering this type of consumer information was beginning to suffer some serious credibility issues because of the widely varying and sometimes dishonest ​claims that different sellers were publishing, so we stopped.

All our juicers are at the forefront of performance when it comes to efficiency in each category, but there are different strengths and weaknesses. We want to help you cut through the nonsense and get straight to the facts and what follows is designed to inform your choice rather than sell you a particular product. ​If you ​would still like to know where our juicers sit for outright performance in relation to each other – as well as in relation to most other ​choices out there – just give us a call. We’ve tested all the models by the leading brands, and also many of the ones you might want to avoid!

About ‘One Brand Wonders’

If you’ve found a website selling lots of products under a single brand name that you’ve never heard of before, ​BEWARE! There are often websites exclusively offering Chinese manufactured juicers and blenders under a single brand name and they sometimes use parasitic marketing to steal sales from reputable brands. If you are looking online for a certain juicer brand you might see an advert from a company like this​: ‘Don’t Buy Brand X Before You’ve Seen This’, or something similar. They will then make deeply misleading comparisons on their website with the reputable brand whose name they have used to advertise their inferior products. ‘One Brand Wonders’ who do this use huge mark ups on their cheap products to finance these parasitic marketing campaigns and their focus is to steer you away from known brands and buy their product instead. Companies like ​UK Juicers™ offer multiple brands and are able to make genuine comparisons and offer good consumer advice, matching the product to your needs.Warranty-stamp

Want to know who the One Brand Wonders are? Just give us a call.

About Long Product Warranties

Manufacturers seem to be engaged in a competition to see who dares to offer the longest guarantee on their products. This is a marketing activity designed to create the impression that the longer the guarantee, the more reliable the machine will prove to be. Sadly, this is not so. The honest answer to the question of ‘How long will my juicer last?’ is not the same as stating the length of the guarantee period. Lifespan depends on how often you use your juicer and how good the build quality is for a particular machine. We recommend that you ignore the warranty period as an indicator of quality. There are some shockingly poor quality options out there that have guarantees as long as 10 years or more.

Any manufacturer’s guarantee is only as good as the service you get if you are ever unfortunate enough to need to ask for product support. Here at UK juicers™ we take pride in dealing with almost all our warranty support at our own workshop. Occasionally we may refer you to a manufacturer but we will always be here to help with any product issues you may have in the future.

“I don’t recall if I have already emailed you about this but I just wanted to say a big thank you for the replacement part you sent recently. I was fully expecting to pay for it but you sent it free of charge! I only wish all companies had your fantastic customer service ethos!”
J.Praill – London

Products are usually only guaranteed against manufacturing defects and not against general wear and tear or accidental damage. Genuine defects will usually appear very early in a product’s lifespan, so having a 20 year guarantee on a juicer motor becomes a little irrelevant when a manufacturer can simply say that you have worn it out. Some juicers are extremely reliable and others less so but unfortunately you can’t tell this by the length of guarantee being offered. We choose the juicers that we offer very carefully to ensure you receive value for money.

About Juice Yield Testing

Fresh Carrot JuiceSome of the claims being made for certain brands of juicers on the internet would be laughable if they weren’t so seriously misleading. We would advise that claims being made that promote a single ​brand above all the competition may be false.

In reality, apart from some notably poor quality Chinese ​made juicers, ​most will do a decent job. If you were juicing very expensive ingredients ​juice yield would be a very important consideration, but a few percent difference in the amount of juice you get from a kilo of carrots is not as important for ​some people as the quality of that juice, or how user-friendly the juicing process is. It’s all about personal priorities. One person might be happy to sacrifice a little performance in return for juicing speed. Another might be looking fro the best results on a particular ingredient, say apples if they have an apple tree. We try to match the juicer to your needs.

There is some waste involved with any juicer and the machine that extracts all the juice from fruit and vegetables has yet to be invented. The quality of the juice is directly related to how well the produce is broken down in the machine and the quantity is determined by the pressure or force used to separate the juice from the pulp. Some may have particular strengths over others, so ​this advice section is broken down into appropriate sub categories.

We promise not to make any unscientific claims about anything we sell. You may have read on the internet that centrifugal juicers ‘destroy enzymes’ because of their high speed. There is no scientific evidence whatsoever to support such a claim. In fact, enzymes are abundant in the juice from most centrifugal machines. You may also have read that ‘bio-ceramic magnets in gears preserve vital nutrients in juice for longer’. There isn’t any verifiable scientific evidence to suggest that it is true either. It may be so, but there is no proof. There is plenty of other information out there that can be misleading, but on this website we try to stick with common sense and we only make claims that can be verified.

We know that some of our juicers represent a significant investment and we want you to be happy with your purchase. If you need any further information when deciding on your choice we are always happy to talk you through the choices if you call the number at the top of the page.

Choosing a Fruit and Vegetable Juicer

Juicers capable of juicing fruits and vegetables generally fall into two main categories – Masticating or Centrifugal.

Masticating Juicers

Juicers using the masticating process (which effectively “chew” the vegetable up, releasing more nutrients) have been shown to produce juice with a slightly higher nutritional content and they incorporate less oxygen, giving juice with a longer nutritional shelf life. They divide into several sub-types that can be confusing to people new to the world of juicing. Some names are interchangeable. Again if you are unsure, give us a call.

Vertical Slow Juicers are the most popular and the most user friendly models for a wide range of ingredients.

Horizontal Single Auger Juicers are better for leafy greens and wheatgrass and good for everything else too.

Twin Gear Juicers take longer to use but offer the best juice quality of all.

Here’s some detail on some of our best sellers…

In recent years there has been a very exciting development in the world of single auger masticating juicers that really should be treated as a separate type. They are omega-vsj843r-redcalled vertical single auger juicers or vertical slow juicers. (Confusingly some are now also attaching the name ‘cold press’ to ​slow juicers).

An issue with some low speed masticating juicers is that they do take a bit longer to use and clean. However, the new vertical auger juicers are still ‘low speed’ but they actually juice ​reasonably quickly because the augers and filter screens are much bigger on this type, so they take a bigger bite with each rotation. This is a massive step forward in juicer design. This type of juicer is so revolutionary that if we decided to award the title ‘Best Juicer’ to any one model, The Omega VERT VSJ843 Slow Juicer is definitely a strong contender, because for the first time even the more difficult juicing ingredients can be juiced quickly and conveniently and the cold pressing action offers a highly nutritious juice. The VSJ843 is also one of the highest yielding slow juicers we have ever tested, giving you the most juice with the least amount of pulp, so it’s easy to see why it’s quickly becoming a leader. ​The Omega MMV700 is a good choice for those who prefer a larger feed chute. This machine uses the same technology as the latest generation of Kuvings Juicers and originates from the same factory in Korea. The best large feed chute slow juicer available – if your pockets are deep enough – is the Kuvings EVO820 and this juicer gets our award of best juicer overall. (To find out why have a read of this article.)

omega-8006-juicerHorizontal Single Auger Masticating Juicers also use a slowly rotating screw that crushes produce against a stainless steel filter by a process similar to a mincing machine, but this time the juicing parts work horizontally. We think of them them as ‘best for greens’ because they are easier to live with than a Twin Gear model, although in reality the Twin Gear models are probably the ultimate greens machines. They all have homogenising functions for making purees, nut butters, frozen fruit ice creams and for extruding noodle dough, although these functions are generally more popular in their country of origin, Korea. The juicing process is also a little slower than in the Champion or a Centrifugal Juicer.

The Champion 2000+ Juicer is a unique masticating juicer in a class of its own and it uses a single rotating cutter. This is cylindrical in shape and tapered to the end, with tiny stainless steel teeth running across the length of the cutter. These teeth effectively shred and chew up produce inside a stainless steel chamber and juice is champion-juicer-whitesqueezed through a strainer below. For convenience and long-term value, the Champion is the one of the best general purpose juicers and rattles through the task of juicing for the whole family. This is one juicer where you can be confident that it will outlive the warranty period – it may even outlive you! Its reputation for durability has won it a very loyal following over the decades. The Champion Juicer also has a blanking plate so it crushes nuts to make nut butters, grinds frozen fruits to make instant ‘ice cream’ and with the optional grain mill attachment you can also make healthy wholegrain flours and meals. We would call the Champion a ‘fast masticator’ because it is still very quick and convenient to use. The Champion however is not great with greens and won’t do wheatgrass. For wheatgrass and great results with greens you need either a single auger or a twin gear masticating juicer.

green-star-gse-5000-juicerTwin-gear masticating juicers such as Green Star Juicers By Tribest use two cylindrical gears which ​rotate very tightly together. Produce is crushed and pressed between the gears with juice being pressed out and passed through a screen. These juicers are often recommended by nutritionists to their clients because they offer the very best quality of juice from a domestic juicer. They achieve this because fruits and vegetables must pass through a tiny gap between the gears and get thoroughly broken down. The juicing and clean up process is a little slower than other juicer types so they are ​less fun if you have a ​busy lifestyle and want to juice quickly. Twin Gear juicers are the optimum machines for getting the best possible results from wheatgrass, leafy greens and all other vegetables. It is very difficult to tell the difference in results from any particular model – they are all excellent and all have very reliable low speed induction motors.

Centrifugal Juicers

Centrifugal juicers work by using a flat cutting blade on the bottom of a rapidly spinning basket. Food is shredded by the cutter and flung out to the sides of the basket. Due to the high centrifugal force, juice then passes through tiny holes in the basket and through a lequip-215xl-juicer-blackspout. In the case of the Sage by Heston Blumenthal range, pulp is spun off and collected in a separate container. The juice produced by centrifugal juicers is not quite as rich as juice from a masticating juicer but it is still excellent. The extraction process and higher revs do incorporate more oxygen and therefore reduce shelf life, so it is best to juice to order with these machines (we think it is best to drink juice fresh anyway). If you are only making a litre or so of juice in one go, there is an advantage to considering juicers that don’t eject the pulp but instead spin it continuously until the juicer is full and needs to be cleaned. By the nature of the cutting process, centrifugal juicers do not break down leafy green vegetables quite as well as masticating ​machines. However, they are a quick and convenient way of getting a healthy juice boost, so they make a great choice if you have a busy lifestyle and time is at a premium. It’s worth investing a little more to get a tried and tested model with higher juice yields. Our choice for ​best performance would be the powerful Nutri Juicer Cold XL, especially if you juice a lot of carrots and apples.

All these types of juicers can be found in the Fruit and Vegetable Juicers section of the site.

Choosing a Wheatgrass Capable Juicer

You may be wondering what wheatgrass juice is and whether it is something you are interested in if you are new to juicing. Wheatgrass juice is extracted from young shoots of grass grown from wheat grain and it is extremely nutritious. It is usually only drunk in shot-glass measures because of its concentrated nutritional values. You can find out more on our wheatgrass page.

Centrifugal juicers and also the Champion 2000+ masticating juicer don’t do a very good job of juicing wheatgrass. Twin Gear juicers and Single Auger or Screw Type juicers are very good for wheatgrass and other leafy greens because they operate at the lower speeds needed to deal with fibrous leaves.

lequip-omni-juicerThe important choice here is to decide if you want your main fruit and vegetable juicer to be able to do wheatgrass too. Low speed masticating juicers like the Sana 707 and the Omega 8006 will do a great job of wheatgrass, greens and all your other fruits and vegetables. If you already have a high speed juicer and want to take advantage of wheatgrass too, a great example of a ​high quality hand-operated wheatgrass juicer is the Z Star Juicer. If you want a ‘do it all’ juicer that is also ​relatively quick and convenient to use, the Vertical Slow Juicers in our range are again rightly the most popular and they perform well on wheatgrass too.

All the juicers that are capable of juicing wheatgrass are in our Wheatgrass Juicers section.

Choosing a Citrus Juicer

If you want the regular antioxidant benefits of a daily glass of freshly squeezed orange juice it is better to have a separate machine for oranges. Fresh is always best and vitamin C is needed for all repair and regeneration of tissues in the body. Your body can’t manufacture vitamin C and fresh orange juice is one of the best ways to get it. Beware of so called ‘freshly squeezed’ orange juice from the shelves of supermarkets. Usually it has been pasteurised and the heat involved in this process inevitably destroys some of the goodness in the juice. You can juice oranges in any fruit and vegetable juicer but they are one of the few fruits you have to peel before juicing because of the bitter oils in the skin. If you don’t fancy the hassle of peeling a pile of oranges before you start juicing, a dedicated citrus juicer means all you have to do is cut the fruit in half and off you go. You have two groups to choose from; manual citrus presses and electric citrus juicers.

With the hand operated type you pop the half orange on the pressing cone and pull down a lever to squeeze out the juice. The Nutripress™ is by far the best example of a orangex-jupiter-blackmanual citrus press we have encountered. In fact the OrangeX is so powerful it is one of the few juicing machines that can juice pomegranates. Pomegranates are even more rich in vitamin C than oranges and a cocktail of fresh OJ and pomegranate juice is lip-smackingly gorgeous.

If you want electricity to do the work, we have a great selection of motor powered citrus juicers to choose from. With electric citrus juicers the half orange is pressed either by hand or by a levered top cone onto a spinning reaming cone. This extracts the juice and passes it through a strainer. For those of you who like their orange juice with ‘bits’ don’t worry, these machines are designed to filter out the pips and leave a little texture in the juice. All the electric citrus reamers where you grip the half citrus fruit by hand deliver the best juice yield because you juice right down to the peel.