How Do I Know What Juicer to Buy?

Buying a juicer should be a big decision. You don’t want to just buy some cheap juicer that you see at a department store.

Why not? Well, you’ll end up not using it because it won’t juice everything. Or maybe it’s too hard to use. Or maybe it’s just cheaply made and will fall apart.

If you are really serious about becoming healthy and changing your diet and improving your life, then you should spend a few minutes researching the best type of juicer to buy.

You want one that is easy to use, will juice what you want, is quiet, won’t run hot, and will last a long time.

Too many people buy cheap juicers that simply are for show. They either put them in a closet and never use them or return them and go back to their lifestyle of fast food and “smoothies” loaded with sugar that they buy from the store.

What I aim to do here is set out a easy to read guide that will help you decide the best juicer to buy.

Obviously this is geared to beginners. If you are someone who has never brought a juicer, then I’m going to highlight the ones that I think are the best.

If you have brought a juicer in the past and were let down by it, or you are just ready to buy a more advanced juicer to get into things like cold pressed wheatgrass and green drinks, then I’m also going to highlight the juicers that are best for advanced users.

What I’m going to avoid here is any suggestion that you should just buy any juicer to get started. That would be a mistake.

So, let’s take a deep dive into how you’re going to learn to pick out that ideal juicer.

 

Does it Matter What Type of Juicer You Buy?

Yes. If you’re someone who wants to start making fresh juice at home, then it does matter what type of juicer you get.

There are a lot of people who buy on impulse and just get whichever juicer they see. These people tend to be failures when it comes to sticking to a juicing plan.

They are the same type that join a gym only to never go.

Maybe you’re someone who has done this in the past: join a gym only to never go. Buy a appliance only to never use it.

My goal here is to get you set so that when you do decide to buy a juicer you’re going to get the best one for your lifestyle and needs.

The general rule I like to give is to avoid centrifugal juicers. They are the most popular juicers because they are cheap. But just because something is cheap it doesn’t mean that it’s a good juicer to get.

Now, that doesn’t mean that you have to buy the top of the line juicers that cost the most. But what it does mean is that you should avoid juicers that use “cheap” as a selling point.

My advice would be to stick with auger juicers. These juicers are also called: cold press and slow press.

The reason I think these are the ones you should get? They are sturdy and durable. And also importantly, the juice that you get from these juicers is of a higher quality.

So:

Do Buy

• A Cold Press/Slow Press Auger Juicer

Do Not Buy

• A “cheap” juicer
• A centrifugal juicer

I’d also recommend against people getting a hand powered juicer. With the exception of citrus juicers, you want an electrical juicer. The hand cranked juicers that are being marketed do not really work well. They are only good for wheatgrass. They cannot handle hard vegetables at all, or most fruits like apples.

 

Is a Centrifugal or Masticating Juicer Better?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The terms can get confusing, so let’s take a moment and go over what they mean.

Centrifugal Juicers

These are the juicers that you see for sale everywhere. They are cheap and fast. When you buy juice from a juicer shop, odds are that they are using this type of juicer. Not because it’s better or makes a superior juice, but because it’s faster. Time equals money in retail and when your making 50 or 200 juices a day you can’t take the time to make slow pressed juice (even thought the juice you get is better from a slow press).

Centrifugal juicers are loud. Very loud. The way in which they get juice from fruits and vegetables is by slicing and shredding them up. It’s a very harsh process. The juicers have small metal discs that look like cheese graters.

Let’s take a carrot for example. A centrifugal juicer would take the carrot and shred it into super small pieces. In the process, juice would leak out. If you imagine using a box grater on the smallest setting to grate a carrot, you will see what I mean. You get juice the smaller the grate.

However, the problem, or one of the problems with these types of juicers is that they create a lot of heat, but more to the point, they do not extract a lot of juice.

If you look at the pulp from the centrifugal juicer, you’ll see that it is very wet. This is the more pressing problem to examine. When you use a cheap centrifugal juicer you’re going to waste a lot of fruits and vegetables because the pulp will be wet and that juice is never going to end up in your drink.

               Masticating Juicers

These are the juicers that I advise you get. They use an auger to press the juice from the fruits and vegetables. That’s why they are also often called press juicers.

The basic principal of the masticating juicer is that is uses an auger to slowly press juice from the fruit or vegetables.

This slow press design guarantees that there will be no heat damage to your juice. It’s also a superior method in that it extracts much more juice. It’s not going to leave you a lot of wet pulp.

The other names that masticating juicers are known by is Auger Juicers, Slow Press Juicers, and Cold Press.

All of those terms are used to describe the style of juicer where the method of juice extraction is slow and cold pressed.

  

What Type of Juice Do You Want to Make?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before you buy a juicer it is important to determine what kind of juice you want to make. If you’re someone who wants to make green juice, then you are going to get a very different type of juice than people who only want to make orange juice.

Different juicers have different advantages and uses.

If you’re someone who only wants to make fresh orange juice, then you should get a good orange juicer. These are special citrus juicers.

If you’re only looking to make lemonade, then you’ll want a good citrus juicers aka a lemon juicer.

However, for most people, juicing conjures up the idea of juices with fruit and vegetables.

So, if you like the idea of making a green juice with apples and celery and cucumber, then you’re going to want a masticating style juicer that can handle all of those things.

Here’s how I would break it down.

 

Orange Juice

People who only want to make fresh squeezed orange juicer should probably get something like this. It’s small that it can fit in your cupboard when not in use, and it’s not expensive. You can also get a large electric orange juicer.

Lemons

If you’re only interested in juicing lemons, then you can get a good hand squeezed lemon juicer. This will allow you to make lemonade, or cook with lemon juice. You won’t be able to juice the lemon skin with these juicers, but if you are only making lemon water, lemonade, and cooking with lemon juice that’s not ag bid deal.

All Purpose Juicers

All purpose juicers are juicers that can juice anything. You feel like making a pineapple juice? Maybe you want to make a green juice with spinach or kale or wheatgrass? What about apples, carrots, and hard vegetables?

If so, then you’re going to need to get a masticating juicer. They are the only juicers that can handle juicing all fruits and vegetables.

You can also juice lemons in them, and oranges.

All purpose juicers run the range from the very affordable to the very expensive. I’d suggest making sure you get one that you can afford. An entry level Omega is perfect, but there are some other good brands as well that I’ll link below.

  

How Serious Are You About Juicing?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a big question to ask yourself before you go out and buy a juicer. Is this something that you can actually use? Do you want to use a juicer on a regular basis?

I suggest that you understand and have realistic expectations before you get a juicer.

If you think that you can buy a juicer, and get a beach body after a week, then you’re going to be disappointed.

Juicing and a healthy lifestyle isn’t going to work a miracle. It won’t allow you to change months or years of over eating.

However, if you have the desire to change your diet and live healthier, then a juicer can do wonders.

But you need to setup a program or plan and then use your juicer for months. Then you’ll see results.

Those results might have to do with weight loss, or muscle growth, or lowering your blood pressure or cholesterol. But remember it takes time.

If you buy a juicer and after a week are disappointed that you don’t see results then you’re setting yourself up for failure.

 

What’s Your Budget for a Juicer?

Before you start looking at juicers, it’s important to know how much money you’re comfortable spending.

It’s no use buying a juicer that is outside of your budget only to regret buying it after a day or so. Then what would you do? Return it and go back to a being unhealthy and not accomplishing  your goals?

I can’t tell you how many people purchase expensive juicers that they can’t afford only to return them and then get depressed. Why? Because they’ve failed yet again at a health goal.

So, my suggestion would be to make sure that you’re comfortable with the price point.

And that’s not hard. Buying a juicer is not like buying a car. It’s not going to cost you thousands of dollars. And in the long run it will save you money…if you make your juice at home instead of buying it.

But first you need to budget it out.

Here’s what I suggest. Figure out how much you can comfortably spend. Next, figure out how much owning a juicer will save you. Do you buy fresh juice every so often? How much do you spend on it?

Factor into account how much you spend on fresh juice or even store brought juice and then realize that making it at home with your own juicer will save you serious money in the long term.

If you’re budget is two hundred dollars, stick to that. If you can spend a bit more, then you’ll have better options. But if you do buy a juicer, make sure beforehand that you’re comfortable with the purchase. Returning something that you buy that is supposed to make you healthy, only because it’s too expensive will make you depressed.

  

How Much Space Do You Have ?

Another thing that people don’t tend to consider when they are buying a juicer is how much space you have. It’s no use buying a large juicer if you have a tiny studio apartment and a small counter space.

On the other hand, if you have a larger kitchen space, then it’s fine to skip a tiny juicer in favor of a larger juicing  device.

What I always advise is to get a blender that is a comfortable size. One that is not going to bother you by staying on the table.

The goal is to buy a juicer that you’re going to use. And if you buy a juicer that is too big and you need to hide it away in a cupboard, then it’s not that likely that you’re going to end up using it.

So, choose a juicer that will comfortably stay out.

Of course, if you don’t have an issue with taking appliances in and out every time you use them, then go ahead and buy a juicer, but most people would do better to get a juicer that can stay out on their kitchen island.

As a quick rule, here’s what I would suggest:

No Space To Spare: The Smallest Juicers

For people who don’t have space to spare, I would suggest a vertical juicer. These have a smaller footprint. Some of the best made juicers are vertical in design as opposed to horizontal.

Here’s a few to look at.

Large Kitchens and Kitchen Spaces

If you’re lucky enough to have a large kitchen and will not need to hide away your juicer as soon as you’re done using it, then I would suggest using a horizontal juicer.

Horizontal juicers are the standard, and the original design used by Omega and Tribest when those two companies were responsible for a revolution in juicing.

 

Have You Ever Juiced Before: First Time or Not?

If you’ve never juiced before, then it’s important to consider if you have ever juicer before or not. If you are a new juicer, then it is a good idea to get a basic entry level juicer that is good for beginners.

If you are someone who has juiced before, then it might be worth your time to get a more advanced juicer. A juicer that is better able to process more advanced juicers.

 

For people who are first time juicers, what I suggest is that you get a is a basic entry level juicer that can process all fruits and vegetables.

For people who are more advanced with juicing, then what I suggest is that you go ahead and buy a juicer that is capable of handling wheatgrass, spinach, kale and all other things.