Elite Slow Masticating Juicer

Read about pros and cons of 4 main juicer types in Chris Carr book and decided on a Twin Gear type because it was the second best at preserving nutrients; I was okay with the trade-off of being more time-consuming to clean than other types. The most-nutritious Norwalk costs thousands, while twin gear machines cost hundreds. Of the latter, I chose the Greenstar Elite based on reading customer reviews.I appear to have received a defective machine. Amazon is shipping a replacement. I will update my review after it arrives and I've used it for a while.On opening the box, it appeared to have been opened, unpacked and repacked, but nothing was missing, and the parts all looked clean and unused, so no problem, I thought. I read all and followed all instructions (I'm the type that always does that, and errs on the side of treating just about everything from clothing to machines with more TLC than specified). I also watched the DVD.I used the juicer for one recipe from the Carr book on the 1st day (ie, I didn't make multiple batches). Cut up carrots, kale, chard and spinach, I did add one small beet cut into 4 pcs. THRILLED with the results. Juice was delicious. The pulp was super-dry. The machine worked beautifully, no issues. Clean up was not quick. I already expected that and am willing to do it for the benefits. Don't want any speck of organic matter left behind in the screen rotting over time. A helpful multi-tip, multi-brush tool comes with machine which makes it easier to get every speck. Cool so far.I'm a decades long family caregiver, now down to one family member to care for at home. Nutrition has become a challenge. I've had a hunch for a while that the minimal eating has more to do with how tiring it is for her to chew, than lack of appetite. I try very hard to serve her things she likes, and she indicates that what I'd been serving her was delicious, but even with me feeding her to conserve energy, she waves most solid foods away after a few bites. I was aware that she'd keep emptying her glass if I kept refilling it, so for some time, I've been relying on 3-4 nutritional supplement drinks per day to ensure she's getting a minimum of calories and nutrients. But I'm not thrilled, reading the ingredients.She GUZZLED the 1st glass of juice, draining it to the bottom with sucking noises. More fresh vegetables consumed in 5 minutes than I'd normally get down her in a week. VICTORY! YAY!Repeat day 2. I'm elated! I'm excited to anticipate perhaps all kinds of health benefits showing up for her in months to come if this continues!Day 3: I decide I'm going to jazz it up a little and prep some watercress, parsley, and a crisp apple to add to the 3 ingredients I'd used for the first 2 uses. It took quite a bit of time to scrub and cut up, to wash and strip herbs and greens to remove all stems. Looking forward to having her juice minutes away, MACHINE DEAD. Tried other appliances in same outlet, work fine. Tried disassembling and reassembling several times. Tried Reverse button. DEAD. The machine gave no indications that it was failing or in distress the first 2 uses. Worked perfectly. I expect a machine that costs hundred of dollars to be capable of being used once a day FOR YEARS, not twice.As I said, I will update review after receiving replacement and using it a while. The first machine is going back.PS Had to wait til noon Eastern time to contact Tribest Customer Service Pacific time. VERY HELPFUL. GOT MY MACHINE WORKING quickly with over the phone instructions. Back to being thrilled! I cancelled the return and replacement process. Fingers crossed that there will be no more issues. Provided machine is reliable and long-lived, I expect to use this more than our Vitamix. Love it!

One of the reasons I wanted a juicer was all the apples I come across as a landscaper. Juicing was a way to use more apples in less time. Before I ended up purchasing this juicer, I thought I was going to get an Omega juicer because I knew someone that had one and heard they were good. I read plenty of reviews off amazon and other sites relating to different juicers. I watched youtube videos as well. This was more than I thought I was going to spend, but I'm glad I did. I bought it in September of 2016 and it's still going strong today. On the top of the list of produce to juice was apples. I will say it makes the best apple cider I’ve ever had. I just vote the apples, slice them up, and juice them pretty quickly. There is some foam, but you can drink it, or screen it out. I’ve only bought apple juice a couple times since I bought this. Store bought isn’t good anymore. It will generally get 6 to 8 ounces of juice per apple depending how large. I used it 2 or 3 times a week for a while and then was on and off with using it. Now I'm back. I have used it for many different kinds of veggies, greens, and fruits and it works well with all. For example, for the past few weeks, 2 to 3 times a week, I'll juice 5 to 10 pounds of carrots at a time so I can have 2 glasses of juice a day until next time to juice. After washing the carrots, cutting to fit, juicing, and final cleanup, it usually takes anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour to juice 8 to 10 pounds. It yields between 60 to 70 ounces of nice, smooth, clean and fresh tasting juice with minimal grit. It's totally worth the time. I used to buy carrot juice, but not anymore. Store bought is pasturized and old, so it's not as good or as healthy. It's also more cost effective to juice your own compared to a juice bar. I also purchased the soft fruit knob for oranges or whatever other soft fruit. The other day I juiced just 2 organic oranges with the more pulp screen and my wife said it's the Best Orange Juice she's ever had. The manufacturer claims that the gears are magnetized to enhance the quality of the juice and I believe they are. Juice will last 3 to 4 days in the fridge no problem. I will say though when I juiced organic Meyer's lemons to make lemonade, it was awesome, but the flavor changed within 2 days and wasn't as good anymore. Greens and wheat grass were no problem mixed with other veggies either. Even garlic is good to add into the mix. I did try it to make but butter, but it was really gritty and dry. Maybe I didn’t use the right nuts or recipe? Now, to address the cleaning; If you clean it right away, it's not too difficult and comes with good utensils for that, except you may also want a round scrub brush. About the stains that were mentioned, running a lemon through after your done helps and water helps to loosen debris, but there may be remaining color stain. In my opinion of that is "oh well". Just clean it as best you can and keep making awesome juice. It's only stain. About that issue 'that one reviewer' mentioned with the stainless gears not being stainless and flaking... those gears in the picture aren't flaking, they're covered in buildup, which may happen, but it's more like stain and it doesn't get in the way of performance. They are stainless, because if they weren't rust might develop before you could shake a stick at it. The bottom line, if I had it to do over again, I would still buy it.