In this article, we will talk about the different types of juicers and their benefits so we can answer the question. What is the best juicer for greens on the market?
First, we need to talk about the type of juicers that exists. In general, there are 2 main types and a third that is less common but still effective. This leaves us with three kinds of juicers.
There is the high speed or centrifugal juicer which uses a powerful spinning motion to obliterate whatever helpless vegetation you put through it.
Second, you have the slow moving masticating juicer. These use tight fitting gears and a powerful crushing motor to squeeze the juice out of the desired greens.
Lastly, the hydraulic press style juicer which basically uses a press and flat plates to squeeze the greens. Out of the hydraulic presses style units, I really only recommend one juicer.
If you would rather just see the best juicer for greens go to the juicer review section or check them out on the right.
High-Speed Centrifugal Juicers – Faster is not always better
Will high-speed juicers juice greens? The short answer is…. no… They are not the best choice of juicer for greens. Though they are convenient and take a lot less work then a masticating juicer or a hydraulic press they simply don’t give leafy greens the squeeze they need to produce any significant amount of juice.
I have used quite a few very powerful and high rated centrifugal juicers but I was never able to get one the really worked well with greens. There is always too much waste and the little juice that does come is almost always a disappointing little drip.
Already have a centrifugal juicer?
If you are in a high-speed situation (already have a high-speed juicer) with no budget to change then I recommend using a simple but effective technique or maximizing the greens.
Take a few pieces of kale or another desired leafy green and run it through. Immediately after you put through the kale run a high water and fiber content veggie. Usually, I like to stick with something neutral like celery. The reason why you want the additional fiber is it will help trap the greens force them to the spinning juice blade. Also, the additional surge of liquid right after the kale will help produce a bit more juice (only a little though) and you will get the most of your greens that you can with a centrifugal juicer.
Also, these juicers can be easy to clean by just running some water through it at the end. Surprisingly that will take out most of the gunk and if you put a little trash bag in the discard bin that is attached there is virtually no cleanup which is a plus.
In the end, though, greens are the most nutrient-rich thing we can eat and if a juicer does not yield a significant amount of juice from greens then I just can’t recommend it.
The Masticating Juicer – Crush the Competition!
Second, is the slow moving masticating juicer. This is a powerful juicing style that, with the right piece of equipment, produces the best juicer for leafy greens which the Super Angel. (More on that later)
Why is it so much more effective? Think about it like this.
Everything that goes through the juicer must be crushed by those gears in order to make it through. This means that every single piece is going to get juiced to the juicers maximum capacity.
In high-speed juicers (even good ones) I have gone through the discarded veggies only to find huge chunks of kale and most of the pieces were still quite wet to the touch. Whereas a good masticating juicer can send stuff into the discard pile feeling only damp and in some instances almost dry feeling (more on that juicer later).
What’s the difference between all the masticating juicers? Basically, it comes down to 2 things, the gears and the motor.
- You really need a heavy duty motor to ensure that there won’t be anything that will stick in the gears that can’t be crushed. A good way to determine if it’s powerful enough is to see if it can handle nuts. (Yes nuts) If it can do that most veggies won’t stand a chance.
- Second, you want to look at how the gears fit together. The tighter the gears interlock the more squeezing power it has which means more green juice for you.
Some things you will need to know about masticating juicers
One thing about this style of juicer is you will have to do some cutting. I know there are some juicers out there that can devour and entire apple and spit out some juice. Which makes it fast and convenient…. but they just don’t get nearly as much juice. I can get twice as much juice with an Angel than with a high speed juicer.
So how much cutting? It depends on the juicer as to how small the pieces will be but overall I found that you will need to cut an apple into about 6 pieces to feed it through. Obviously, leafy greens will not require and chopping or cutting because they will be thin enough to make it through the spout. Those only need a quick wash and you will be ready to juice!
It depends on the juicer as to how small the pieces will be but overall I found that you will need to cut an apple into about 6 pieces to feed it through. Obviously, leafy greens will not require and chopping or cutting because they will be thin enough to make it through the spout. Those only need a quick wash and you will be ready to juice!
The good thing about this kind of juicer is that there is no real heat transfer to the fruits and veggies which means the end product is “live.” That means that a lot of the enzymes and natural compounds that would break down from heat exposure are going to survive the process which means a healthier and more effective juice for you. Hydraulic presses also will also keep your juicers live as well.
Overall, this is the style of juicer I would always recommend as the best juicer for greens.
The Hydraulic Press Juicer / Cold Press Juicer:
The last style is the hydraulic press style juicer. Of which there is only one I recommend which is the Greenstar cold press juicer. Hydraulic press juicers basically just squeeze chopped vegetation until it gives up the goods and that is a very effective way to get juice. But you have an industrial grade press….. most of the press style juicers just don’t have the power to handle something like greens especially in large quantities. The Greenstar press does a reasonable job with them but the Super Angel Juicer does a better job so I would recommend that over it.
Speaking of the juicers I recommend, Let’s talk about the best ones for juicing greens for the money and why.
Best Juicer for Greens Juicer: Review Section
The World’s Best Juicer for Greens (or anything else): The Super Angel 5500
First is without a doubt the undisputed champion of the world The Super Angel juicer. This is a slow masticating juicer that has an incredibly powerful motor and the tightest gears on the market. Just for perspective, I have turned a huge bowl of greens into a dry lump that couldn’t even fill up half of a single serve yogurt. So when I say this thing has some serious juicing power I mean it.
This juicer took everything I fed it with ease and has never locked up even once. But if for any reason it does lock up it has a reverse option to back it out of trouble so you can continue to pulverize whatever green is on the menu that day. Luckily, there is very little maintenance required on this juicer. The only thing that I have ever needed to do was replace the clear O-Ring that comes with the device (once) that seals the main assembly on.
The device came with two so I haven’t even had to purchase anything else at the moment. It comes with two heavy duty tight fitting gears that mesh together so perfectly only the tiniest amount of space is between them making this juicer the absolute best juicer for greens on the market.
Best Attributes:
- Extracts the most juice out of anything I have tested.
- The Super Angel is built like a tank and is quite possibly the most reliable juicer on the planet.
- The juicer comes with a ten-year warranty.
- A beastly motor that handles everything you put through it with ease.
- The Super Angel is relatively small but it is long. Fits well on most counter tops.
- Also its pretty sharp looking so people will appreciate its aesthetics.
There are a few more things you need to know about this juicer.
- First, it’s not going to win any awards for speed. It takes some time to feed all of the juicing contents through the juicer and there just is not any real good way around that.
- Second, cleaning is a bit of a pain. Once you get used to it you can clean it in less than two minutes but it will take some practice.
- Lastly, it’s expensive, this product is for people who are very serious about their juicing and the price tag shows it. I will say though that you do end up saving quite a bit of money in produce. Because this juicer works so incredibly well it will produce a significant amount more juice from each piece. In short, it will end up paying for itself in time through reduced produce costs. Even though, admittedly, it will take a while to get that particular return on investment.
I love mine and I highly recommend it to anyone that is very serious about juicing. It is absolutely the best juicer for greens on the market. If you want something a bit more reasonable I will move on to the next juicer.
The most Reasonable Juicer for Juicing Greens: The Omega J8006 Masticating Juicer
Basically, this is a less powerful and less effective (and less expensive) version of a Super Angel but it is still an amazing product. The main differences that I was able to notice are the motor is not quite as strong and the teeth on the crushing gear do not fit quite as close together. This is not to be frowned upon because this is a lean mean green crushing machine but there is a noticeable difference. So what Are the features?
Auger/Masticating Style juicer that performs at low speed: This juicer uses a low-speed 2HP Auger to crush the goods out of your vegetation.
Prevents Oxidation: The low speed does not allow the juice to foam which prevents oxidation of the juice. This dramatically improves the shelf life of the juice up to 72 hours.
Can Process Nuts: Remeber when I said you want a juicer that can process nuts? This one can effortlessly turn nuts into butter.
Two Stage Squeezing process: All juice goes through two stages of juicing. The first initial squeeze gets most of the juice and the second squeeze gets the rest before the pulp finally ejects. This maximizes the amount of juice you get.
Low Cost: In comparison to most of the juicers in its class this juicer is really the best value buy. It performs at a very high level and still manages to keep a very reasonable price in the 250 – 300 dollar range.
Comes in Multiple Colors: If you are the type of person that has a signature color or you just like being fancy you can skip the chrome and choose from one of its 6 other color options. The total color options are Chrome, Teal, Purple, Lime Green, Pink, Red, and White.
Overall, I would recommend this as the value buy best juicer for greens to just about anyone. Only people that are interested in something like the Gerson Therapy should really need something as powerful as a Super Angel and you will be very satisfied with the Omega.
The best cold press juicer: Tribest Greenstar Elite GSE-5050
This one is definitely a powerful juicer and should not be overlooked. This cold press combo style juicer works very well for greens technically it is a masticating juicer just like the Super Angel advertises as a cold press and works very well.
So whare are the features?
Complete Mastication Juicer: This is actually a huge feature and is probably why some people think its better than an Angel. The Mastication system is designed to be like human chewing in the truest sense. Most juicers simply crush out the juice but the Green star also slices veggies. This makes the crushing motion more effective and increases the life of the juicer. This is because it doesn’t have to work as hard.
Pressure adjustment: This feature revolves around pulp ejection. Basically, you can determine how much pressure the veggies will undergo before the are ejected from the machine. Being able to adjust this in real time is a huge benefit because you can juice all your produce in one session.
Nylon Buffer: This keeps the gears around 4/1000 of an inch away from each other at all times. Juicers that have stainless steel augers should have some form of protection to keep metal shavings out of the juice.
Easy Clean Up: The Green Star has surprisingly few parts which in turn means less to clean up. An easy to clean juicer is very important because you are more likely to use it.
High Yields: This juicer really does produce a huge amount of juice per piece. I would say this is only second to the Super Angel.
Why don’t I get as hyped up about the Greenstar?
Because you can get like new/used Super Angels for around the same price. If I had to choose between a used Super Angel or a New Greenstar I would go with the Super Angel every time. That being said, I am a bit biased about the Angel because of how long and well it has worked for me. The Green star is a truly amazing juicer and everyone that owns one loves it! If you are looking for something that’s better than the value juicer but not the highest end (but close) go with this one.
Either way, you will experience the same benefits with the Greenstar as you would an Angel or and Omega J8006. The juice will be “live” and full of enzymes when it hits the glass. It will also make short work of most greens. There is one more juicer that is technically the best cold press juicer called the. Why it’s not listed here as recommend? Its price tag is around 2,500 dollars and it is outperformed by the Super Angel so I don’t really recommend it. Either way, the Greenstar may not be the top juicer for greens but it comes in very close.
In truth, the juicer come very close to a Super Angel and it’s price is less than half. If you look at performance and price. The Greenstar may be the worth it winner.
A juicer to stay away from Juciero
This actually upset me a little bit because I was so excited for this product. It is a cold-pressed style juicer that will ship you juice packs with “fresh fruits and veggies” and then you can refrigerate,use and discard at your leisure removing any need to cut up veggies. Sounds great right?
First, let’s discuss the positives. In concept, it is supposed to work like this. Juicero the company will take the times to slice and dice all of the vegetables for your seal them up in a pack still whole and then let the juicer crush them right out of the pack for you. This means no chopping, no washing, no clean up because you can’t just toss the packs. You can get notifications in real time on your products so if there is ever a bad batch (spinach with bad bugs on it) you will get notified so you don’t eat them.
When it comes to raw produce having a system like this is a good thing. So it makes it easier, faster, cleaner and safer to juice….. it all sounds great……. right?
Juicero Exposed: Didn’t see this coming
Well, apparently someone decided to test out what’s in the packs themselves. The found out that simply squeezing the packs with your hands would produce almost as much juice as squeezing it with the machine (the 400 dollar machine) which means the packs are literally just juice boxes. The CEO’s only comments were ” Don’t squeeze the packs” and “people always find ways to hack the system.” Which translates as, “Please buy our 400 dollar machine to squeeze the juices out of our Capri Suns.” Or, “those juice pack squeezers are evil hackers!” which is juice comical.
**This statement is based on the juicer exposed video I saw and I will leave a link on it below.** Until they address this I would not recommend Juicero…. No matter how cool the concept is.
Other options for getting the most juice out of your greens? Don’t Juice Them!
One thing that people often overlook is the humble blender for their daily green intake. This is a great way to take in a lot of greens very quickly and get all the fiber that come with them. But if you have every tried this you know how…. Well…. Thick? Nasty? Bleh? … It can be.
You can make greens tasty with a juicer if you send through a little bit of lemon and ginger. However, blended greens are a whole different animal.
The key is consistency and taste. Consistency will make them smooth and creamy. While taste is important because blended greens may make your taste buds want to jump off a building. So let’s deal with consistency first.
Vitamix to the rescue!
A standard issue blender is not going to cut the mustard (or the mustard greens ) because it will not create a smooth consistency. If you are going to travel this road I would suggest a Vitamix as your weapon of choice. Nothing beats a Vitamix and if the other blender company says they are better it’s a bold faced lie and they know it. These things last a long time and they will provide the consistency that we are looking for.
Second, is taste. This is where you will have to consult your dietary needs and make some judgment calls. I pretty much always recommend something like a milk and a honey (real honey only please) as the sweetener. If you are trying to cut back on the calories then you can try and just do greens and water. Don’t be surprised when your taste buds put in their two-week notice…..
In conclusion
When it comes to getting the most out of your greens there really is no substitute for a masticating juicer. They are clearly the best juicer for greens on the market right now both in concept and application. If you are serious about getting the most out of that expensive kale then you should consider getting one.
There are many masticating juicers out there that work very well but in my research, there is only one champion. And there is only one value buy. The Super Angel is the champ and the Omega J8006 is the value.
Let me know what you think the best juicer for greens on the market is right now! If you have any questions feel free to ask.