If you can afford it, I’d recommend getting it!
As a vegetarian I wanted to supplement my diet with extra, natural nutrients without having to bulk up the amount of food I eat. I initially resorted to blending to retain the natural fibres and keep it whole, but it was still a lot. So juicing it is, fresh everyday, with all sorts of fruits and vegetables that are safe to eat raw.This was to be my first juicer (and the second in my household) so it required quite a bit of reading and understanding to decide what’s best for my needs. Let’s see if it helps.SLOW/MASTICATING/COLD-PRESS JUICER (SJ) vs. FAST/CENTRIFUGAL JUICER (FJ)• PRICE: FJs are generally cheaper and more affordable. But I am as serious about juicing everyday as I am about cooking, so while this was an important consideration, it wasn’t going to be a deciding factor—as long as it was affordable. I was going for Rs. 10k or thereabouts, but had to bite the bullet in the end as you can see.• SPEED: FJs operate fast to be able to spin the juice out through a filter with centrifugal force, so the RPM matters. On the other hand, SJs run slowly because they need to grind and squeeze the produce to get the juice through a filter without causing too much friction (and heat as a result). This reflects in how fast the jucing is done, where FJs win but SJs available today aren’t much further off.• POWER: A powerful motor allows the juicer to handle tough fruits and vegetables effortlessly. It is my understanding that the top of the line FJs pack a strong 800-watt motor whereas prosumer SJs come with a 200+ W motor.• EFFICIENCY & YIELD: SJs offer excellent juice quality, are more efficient thanks to the process of juicing involved, and therefore are good for juicing a wider range of produce. A more efficient breakdown of the plant fibres means not only more juice (i.e. less juice or wetness in the ejected pulp) but more nutrients from crushed plant cells and membranes. This also means the juice is more rich and colourful from SJs. You need to understand that the yield isn’t too bad with FJs (there’s perhaps a 5-10% difference), except with leafy greens (e.g. spinach, amaranth, wheatgrass, etc.) and soft fruits (e.g. berries), as far as I know—where SJs seem to outperform them. In general, SJs excel across the widest range of ingredients in comparison.• HEAT: This is generally brought up as a disadvantage of FJs. I don’t believe it as I’ve found the claims to be generally unrealistic. For normal day-to-day use, say for 1 or 2 people, the amount of heat generated is going to be inconsequential to the nutritiousness of the juice, including enzyme activity and oxidation, for immediate intake.• CONTINUOUS OPERATION. While heat should not an issue for most, what you must consider is the limit on continuous running time. Some brands recommend not juicing for more than 45 seconds per session and that information is hidden somewhere in their juicer’s manual, specs or product video. Depending on your needs this may be a severe limitation imposed by some FJs. Good SJs, on the other hand, can run safely for 15+ minutes.• NOISE: Even the good FJs are damn noisy and loud, close to a blender, I’d say. The only prominent noise SJs produce is that of the crushing sound of the produce you are juicing. SJs are so quiet, who knew?! Color me surprised!• FOAM/FROTH: Foam is what collects at the top of the juice, whereas froth is tight air bubbles mixed together with the juice. The thing is, foam is easier to separate from the juice; just use your palm or a big spoon to hold it when pouring juice into a glass and voila, just juice. Not only is gulping frothy juice is hard, it also discolours more quickly due to oxidation resulting in a much shorter shelf life of the juice. Depending upon the fruit or vegetable being juiced, FJs produce frothy juice with some foam to go. SJ juice is barely frothy, if ever (e.g. with leafy greens), in my experience. SJs are brilliant in this regard. This distinction is something you don’t see mentioned clearly enough and one that people commonly misunderstand or misstate.• SIZE & WEIGHT: FJs are comparatively fairly compact and light. For e.g. Philips’ fast juicer HR1855/70 (Viva Collection) weighs 4.2 kg vs. their 5.8 kg masticating juicer HR1887/81 (Viva Collection). On the other hand, the Kuvings B1700 weighs 10.3 kg, but that’s okay, it’s still easy to move around. This goes in the “doesn’t matter” territory for me.GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS• Download and read the product manuals; view the official product how-to videos before making a decision. Some of the important aspects and information, that you’d otherwise miss, are always in there somewhere.• It’s beyond doubt that both FJs and SJs give a highly nutritious juice. Claims made online or by the companies often wildly exaggerate the difference in quality between them. It’s some pseudo-science, backed by limited research that’s not necessarily peer-reviewed. So beware!• CLEANING: Newer models in both lines of juicers are easy to clean and roughly take just about the same amount of time.• SERVICING: Be sure to confirm with the companies that the area you are in is serviceable or has a service centre for the product you are purchasing. For e.g. I am having a terrible time getting my faulty Microsoft Surface Pro 7 replaced, having to travel ~ 600 km to get the replacement myself.• If you want any juicer to last, cut/slice whatever you are feeding into it, irrespective of what the company claims. When you take care of things, they last, unless the product is crap in the first place. This is coming from experience.THE REVIEWAll the points stated above about slow juicers (SJs) are actually based on my experience using the Kuvings B1700, along side the reading, of course.I’ve been using it for over a fortnight now, and it’s been beyond satisfactory so far. I am very happy with my purchase and the only thing that’s left to see is how long this thing lasts! (The 10-year warranty on the gear & motor and 1 year warranty on the product definitely help.)• You’ll receive a welcome message on WhatsApp sometime after delivery. It provides information regarding the extended warranty offer (+2 years upon registering your purchase on their website) and links to some useful video guides to get you started.• Simple and fast assembly and disassembly in under a minute once you get used to it. I recommend learning it carefully.• All the parts that touch the food are made with stainless steel (e.g. juice strainer/filter) and BPA-Free food grade plastic.• The juice generated by some kinds of produce (especially leafy greens and cabbage, for example) is astounding. Definitely beat my expectations. Who knew!?• Just to see how things work out and to learn more about it, I juiced all sorts of fruits and vegetables available around my place, including: leafy greens (spinach, amaranth, wheatgrass, mint, coriander), cabbage, snake gourd, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, beetroots, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet melons, papayas, pomegranates, sweet limes, apples and pineapples. The B1700 handled them very well without breaking a sweat.• The feeding tube is large enough (76 mm) to drop whole medium-sized fruits & vegetables (that aren’t too hard) like apples; peeled oranges, sweet limes, and pomegranates; kiwi; tomatoes; etc., although I prefer not to.• The ejected pulp wasn’t as dry as dry grass (my expectations be damned!), but it didn’t have any level of juiciness to it, which was a great relief.• It retains some fibre, producing juice that is just about the right consistency for me—not watery, not thick in any way.• Allows for continuous non-stop run time of 30 minutes. It takes less than 10 minutes for the two of us.• The 240 W motor runs quietly, and is powerful enough to juice tough produce comfortably. For comparison, most other slow juicers pack a 150-watt motor, including Philips’s flagship Viva Collection Masticating juicer HR1887/81.• Can do more than just juicing if you purchase their accessories (not included), including nut milks, smoothies and sorbets.• Cleaning is simple and easy, and takes anywhere between 5±2 minutes depending upon how thorough you want to be. Most of your time is spent cleaning the strainer/filter, as with any juicer. No surprises there, but the rotating brush and the cleaning brush in the kit make it fairly easy if you follow the instructions provided in the user manual and the introductory videos. All it takes is some getting used to.• After-sales support is also available on WhatsApp and they respond fairly quickly.Personally I don’t see a reason why anyone would want to get a fast juicer anymore, if not for their price.Good luck finding your ideal juicer!

Better and easier to use than I expected very pleased

Hello -I need assistance please.I have tried to juice celery but the top of the machine keeps turning and unlocking. I keep having to hold it in place.Could this be a fault or is there a step I might have missed ? I followed instructions as per the manual in the box.Kindly reply asap.Thank you