Which is the best juicer to buy?

Firstly, is the juicer going to be used for domestic or commercial use?

We will discuss the domestic options first, before going over the commercial juicers.

Understanding the difference between centrifugal and cold press juicers

Centrifugal juicers work by finely grating the fruit and veg, then spinning the grated produce around quickly and extracting the juice through a sieve. This process generates heat and oxidizes the juice, producing a juice which is foamy and has less nutritional value than juice produced by a cold press / masticating juicer. 

Cold press juicers gently crush the produce using single or twin augers, they then extract the juice by pushing the crushed produced through a juicing strainer. This entire process happens at a very low RPM which generates very little, if any heat at all. The lack of heat and oxidation results in a juice with maximum nutrition. The juice is not foamy and can be stored for 24 to 48 hours, unlike juice from a centrifugal juicer which must be consumed right away. In additional centrifugal juicers cannot be used to juice leafy greens, cold press juicers, in particular the horizontal cold press juicers are excellent for juicing greens. 

The image below shows the grating mechanism and basket employed by a centrifugal juicer vs the slow, crushing mechanism of the auger and juicing strainer used in a single auger cold press juicer - in this case it is the Oscar Classic.

Horizontal vs Vertical Cold Press Juicers

Single auger cold press juicers are the most popular variations of cold press juicer available. Each has it's own benefits. 

Horizontal juicers such as the Oscar Juicers or Omega Juicer 8006 / 8226 / NC800 are far superior when it comes to juicing leafy greens, horizontal cold press juicers are also more versatile. Oscars come with pasta attachments - you can also use them to make nut butter, sorbets, puree and much more. Horizontal juicers are also far easier to clean and assemble than vertical cold press juicers. There are some very biased videos on YouTube, these are made by companies trying to sell their own product and do not give a fair comparison - beware of this. 

Vertical juicers tend to be better at juicing fruit than horizontal juicers - that being said I personally don't juice too much fruit because of the high sugar content. Vertical juicers are a little more compact than horizontal juicers and they may juice just a little quicker due to the larger size of the juicing strainer. Unfortunately with vertical juicers you would need to cut up fibrous produce such as celery whereas with a horizontal juicer you can feed celery sticks into the machine without an prep work. The Omega VSJ843 is the best option if you're looking for a vertical juicer. The Greenis Juicer is a great option for those looking for a quality juicer at a price tag of less than R4000. 

Different juicers available in South Africa

Horizontal cold press juicers available in South Africa include the Oscar Classic Juicer which is the best selling cold press juicer in South Africa, Oscar DA1000 Juicer. , Green Star Juicers, Angel 5500 and 8500, some of the Omega juicers as well as the Matstone Juicer. 

Vertical cold press juicers include the Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer, Hurom Juicers, Greenis & DNA Juicers. 

There are many cheap centrifugal juicers on the market, we choose not to sell any of these, because of the factors mentioned above. They include Russel Hobbs, Phillips and similar, they are available from chain stores such as Makro, Game and Dion Wired. Breville produces better quality centrifugal juicers which are sold by the @Home stores; while they are better then the cheaper options, they will still oxidize the juice, produce heat and cannot juice greens. 

Oscar Juicers are the most well established and best selling cold press juicers in South Africa. They are excellent all round juicers, with good after sales service, an excellent warranty, and parts that are readily available. 

Brand Name Juicers

Recently popular brands such as Kitchen Aid and SMEG have started to release cold press juicers. We feel that you are better off buying a brand that has been in the juicing business for a long time. These popular brands are climbed on the bandwagon, having mediocre quality juicers made in China and sticking their brand name onto these juicers. The best juicers in the world are all made in 3 different factories in South Korea and are sold under various names. 

Budget

Firstly, what is your budget?

Most of the juicers we sell go for between R6000 and R9000. At this price, you can get a great, all round juicer. The best juicers in this price range being the Oscar and Kuvings juicers. 

If you are not ready to spend that amount on a juicer, we have a few affordable cold press juicers available. If you are looking for a juicer under R5000 then take a look at our Best Juicers Under R5000.

Why are you juicing and what are you going to juice?

People juice for different reasons. Some people just want to improve their overall health, some people are battling disease such as cancer and diabetes, some want to lose weight and others want to sneak greens into their kids diets. 

Juicing to improve general health

Any of our juicers will be a great choice if you're wanting to improve your general health. You'd need a juicer which is capable of juicing hard vegetables such as beetroot, carrot & ginger, softer fruits like apples, pineapples & lemons, as well as a bit of leafy greens. In this scenario, each juicer has it's own little advantages and disadvantages.

The Oscar Juicers will juice just about anything, they are great for juicing hard vegetables, they are excellent for greens, they can be used to make sorbets, baby puree, pasta and many other things. They are also the easiest to clean out of all our juicers. These juicers are however not that great at juicing soft fruits only, the pulp tends to clog up in the processing parts. We recommend that you alternate between soft and hard fruits; this helps to push the softer fruits through the juicer. (these points go for all single auger horizontal juicers). 

The Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer has an advantage in it's large feeding chute which allows you to juice whole apples and beetroot. The other juicers all require a little preparation time as you need to cut up the produce before feeding it into the juicer. Also note that all of the vertical juicers are better at juicing soft fruits than horizontal juicers. We do however recommend that you don't juice too many of these soft fruits as they contain a lot of sugar. Rather opt for juicing vegetables. The Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer, as well as the other vertical juicers are not as easy to clean as the Oscar / horizontal juicers. 

Vertical juicers such as the Kuvings, Hurom, Greenis & DNA juicers can be used to juice small quantities of greens, however this is not their strong point. When juicing greens that contain a large amount of fibre, such as celery - you will need to cut the produce into approx 3 or 4 cm pieces. 

Vertical juicers can't be used to juice wheatgrass. We recommend a single auger horizontal juicer such as the Oscar if you plan to juice any wheatgrass.

At the high end of our range are the Angel and Green Star juicers. These are twin gear juicers. They are really amazing at juicing greens, however I find that when juicing hard produce such as carrots, you need to push the produce into the juicer with a fair amount of force. The yield of the Angel is unmatched by any other juicer. 

Juicing to assist with cancer treatment / Gerson therapy

Please note that we will be adding specific articles on juicing for treatment of various diseases and won't address this fully here. 

When juicing to assist with healing the body of cancer, you will need to juice a large amount of leafy greens and in particular wheatgrass and barley grass. We therefore recommend a horizontal juicer such as the Oscar, Angel or Green Star. 

The Gerson institute recommends a Norwolk Press. Note that these are expensive juicers which are not available in South Africa. Gerson's recommendation was also made many years ago, before these more modern juicers had become available. 

We have had a lot of positive feedback on our juicers being used for cancer patients. 

Juicing for weight loss

Once again you will need to cut down on sugar intake. Focus on juicing leafy greens, cucumbers, lemons, mint, ginger & celery. Our recommendation would also be for a horizontal juicer. 

Take a look at our recipe section, we will be adding recipes specifically for weight loss and recipes focused on specific ailments. 

Best Juicer for Juicing Celery Juice

With the currently popularity of celery juice, we thought it would be a good idea to discuss "What is the best juicer to juice celery juice". A single auger horizontal juicer such as the Oscar Classic Juicer is by far the best choice when it comes to juicing celery. The celery stalks self feed into the juice, with the auger pulling them into the juicing mechanism. 

All of the vertical juicers require that you cut the celery into small pieces before juicing. If you don't do this, the fibre from the celery tends to clog up the juicing mechanism. If you are wanting to juice celery on a bit of a budget, then the Samson juicer is the best choice. 

Oscar Classic Juicer Review - Juicing Celery

Ease of juicing

Most juicers are really simple to use. There are however a few differences. The Kuvings has an advantage in that you don't have to cut up any of the produce, with the exception of fibrous veg like celery. All of the other juicers require a little preparation time, but this is not exorbitant.

Most of the juicer self-feed to a large extent. I have seen a video comparing the Kuvings to the Oscar in which gives people the impression that you need to push carrots into the Oscar with a lot of force; this is not the case at all. The Oscar will juice carrots and all other produce with minimal pressure being applied using the food pusher which is supplied. The only time I have ever had to apply a fair amount of pressure while juicing carrots was when using the Angel Juicer. 

Horizontal juicers like the Oscar will self feed leafy greens a lot better than vertical juicers. The Angel is excellent at self feeding leafy greens. 

Ease of cleaning

Single auger, horizontal juicers like the Oscar juicers are by far the quickest and easiest to clean as well as assemble. 

Vertical juicers such as the Kuvings, Hurom and Greenis juicers are fairly quick and easy to clean. 

Centrifugal juicers tend to be quite a hassle to clean as you have to clear the sieve section of all the finely grated produce. 

 Please feel free to ask additional questions using the comment section below, we will use your input to build onto this section.