Customer Reviews

Breville 800CPXL Die-Cast Stainless-Steel Motorized Citrus Press

5 star:		(122)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

We just received our Breville 800CPXL Citrus Press after the holidays and have used it several times since. Compared to the low-end (and much less expensive) plastic Krupps version we replaced (which kept tripping our GFCI), I rate this product 4.5 stars out of 5. It falls just short of perfection, but is nonetheless the most elegant and functional citrus juicer I've been able to find at this price point.

LIKES:
1) Beautiful die-cast design feels substantial and stays put when pressing citrus. Kudos to the industrial design team for turning a juicer into a work of art. This is by far the best looking electric citrus press on the market.
2) Brushed stainless exterior goes with any decor and looks great on countertop. No reason to store it away.
3) Removable strainer and juice basin are easy to handwash (I recommend using a small brush or toothbrush to help clean out the pulp).
4) Can press an 8-oz glass of orange juice in less than a minute and works with lemons, mandarins, oranges, and grapefruits without changing elements.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
This juicer works well and beats others I've tried. However, there are a few areas that Breville engineers could improve in their next model. None of these recommendations should cause you to avoid purchasing this unit, but I list them here nonetheless since there's always room to improve most products:

1) Doesn't handle large grapefruit as well as I'd like. Still left some juice/pulp in the skin, which I squeezed out by hand. Breville could consider offering a larger snap-on attachment more suitably sized for pressing grapefruit.

2) Sometimes the skin of the orange remains stuck inside the top of the press, requiring manual extraction. Maybe I'm pressing too hard, but this still seems to happen from time to time. On a few occasions, I stalled the motor completely which surprised me. However, stalling the motor didn't cause the GFCI to keep tripping like the Krupps model we replaced.

3) The electrical cord is nicely designed, but a little too short. I'd prefer to see a 6' cord to reach to the nearest outlet while allowing flexibility in where to place the juicer on the countertop.

4) If you leave the juicer out on the countertop where there's a cabinet above, the handle (press) bangs against the top of the cabinet and requires a little finesse to pull it towards the edge of the countertop when you're ready to use it. The typical height between the countertop and bottom of a cabinet is 18" +/- 1" and often the face frame of the cabinet protrudes about 1/2" or so below the bottom of the cabinet underside. If Breville offered a locking position with the handle down, this wouldn't be a problem and it would be easier to slide out the juicer into position from the back of the counter.

5) The handle itself seems a little flimsy when compared to the rest of the die-cast machine. While it's functional and certainly strong enough, I would prefer a solid convex die-cast handle arm (oval cross section) versus the inverted "U" type cross section of the current design. Although the current arm does appear to be die cast, during the extraction process, juice and pulp tend to splatter on the concave underside of the handle. This makes cleaning the handle a little harder than it should if the handle cross section were convex on top and bottom.

Overall, this is an excellent product with bold design and good looks. I recommend this model to anyone who wants to add freshly squeezed citrus to your daily or weekly regimen. I can't comment on the long-term reliability of the motor since we've only had the unit for a few weeks. But so far so good.

I thought this citrus juicer was very good when I got it in July of 2007. It is nicely finished in easy-to-clean stainless-steel, the lever action makes it less of a strain to get some pressure on the citrus, and it is fairly easy to clean the parts.

I make about 1/2 - 1 cup of juice daily. After a couple of months, something bent or stretched or broke in the hinge mechanism, and it became a little loose. Everything kept working though.

Well, the six month mark came yesteday, and it died. I juiced half of a lime, and when I put the other half in... nothing. I guess the internal switch that activates the motor when one depresses the lever failed.

For $160, I would have hoped that it make to the one year mark. Who knows, maybe I can get it repaired or replaced, but I can no longer recommend this juicer without reservations.

(I have rewritten parts of this review as of Apr 1, 2006 after much more usage.) In summary: I am very happy with the juicer.

I was also prompted to write a review because of the person who writes about all the problems with the spout. I think I may know what the problem there is: It sounds like he juices with the spout in the up position instead of down. When juicing, the spout is supposed to be down. In fact, one of the nice things about this juicer is the spout. When you have enough juice or want to remove the juice catcher, lift the spout up and it closes off the flow of juice.

I have found the machine very easy to use and to clean. I was impressed with the cleanup. It takes me about 2 minutes -- literally. Just rinse the parts, scrub the strainer with a stiff brush, and then leave to dry.

I juice a lot of lemons and I have had only minor difficulty: If the lemon is too pointy I have to cut that point off to keep the lemon from spinning in the top "cup" that holds it. I haven't had the same problem with oranges.

I think it is a little on the pricey side. I got mine as Macy's on sale for $135.

I also have a Black and Decker motorized citrus juicer. It is a lot more work and does not get all of the juice. The Breville gets every last drop faster and easier.

I have the red-colored model(800CPXLR) of the otherwise identical juicer that I bought from Golda's Kitchen of Canada, while it was on clearance sale. It seems the red model is not available from U.S. dealers. It cost me a bit more to buy from a Canadian company because of the higher shipping cost and the currently unfavorable exchange rate, but to me the apple red color is much more visually appealing than the cold look of brushed stainless steel and was worth the extra cost.

This is the highest quality consumer-grade citrus juicer on the market by a wide margin. All the parts that come into direct contact with juice are made of stainless steel and it is easy to clean. Even the cone is made of very heavy cast stainless steel, a rare feature among orange juicers. The juicer is very heavy as far as home-duty orange juicers go, on account of the heavy 110W motor and heavy cast metal components. The heft definitely spells quality. The 110W motor has plenty of power. It comes with 2 strainers, coarse and fine, but this is clearly a low pulp machine. The coarse strainer will pass through a moderate amount of pulp; the fine will pass through almost none. Folks who desire high pulp from this juicer will likely have to scrape up some pulp from the strainer with a spoon and add it to their cups.

This is by far the easiest and fastest orange juicer I've ever used. Center a half orange on the cone and press the lever moderately hard and the pulp will be extracted cleanly from the orange. However, getting wet pulp off the orange is only half the battle. The other half of the battle is to extract juice from the wet pulp mesh using the strainer basket. For this machine, it does the first part with lightning efficiency, but on the second part it only does an average job. The overall result is that the total juice extraction rate is good, but not superb, because it does leave behind a considerable amount of very wet pulp in the strainer basket. The pulp has the consistency of wet apple sauce and I usually eat the tasty pulp after I finish drinking the juice. In comparison, very expensive commercial orange juicers ($600 and up) typically have a sieve spinning at 1500 rpm or so to extract every possible drop of juice from the wet pulp to give 15% to 20% more juice than home juicers. The missing spin feature is the only major design feature lacking that I really wish it had, but then the spin extraction feature is rarely found on consumer-grade machines.

Another minor flaw is that the upper mold that fits on the cone is held loosely in the lever arm by a flimsy hard plastic snap ring. Daily removal of the upper piece will most likely wear off the snap ring's friction in short order. For this reason, it may be wiser to just wipe the upper piece clean after each juicing session instead of popping it out for washing, but it is held so loosely that wiping it softly is enough to make it pop out from the arm.

In this price range, this is the best orange juicer I have seen yet.

This is my second Breville product, the first being the 800JEXL fruit-vegetable juicer. If you read the reviews for that product, you will see 50+ reviews nearly all giving the product 5 stars. That product deserves 5 stars, and the Citrus Press is in the same high-end line of that juicer, and also deserves 5 stars.

When Breville came out with the 800CPXL Citrus Press, I had full confidence that it would be yet another first-rate product, and I am happy to say it is even 'more perfect' than their fruit-vegetable juicer. I really don't understand the other reviewer for this Citrus Press who gave the product 2 stars. Nearly all of Breville's top-of-the-line products get 5 star reviews, and for me this product looks and works exceptionally well, and I can't imagine anyone being dissatisfied with it.

The other reviewer who talks about rust, juice not flowing properly, parts difficult to remove, etc. prompted me to write this review, as I think he either got a defective unit--or I don't know what. This unit, like the other top-of-the-line Breville products, is absolutely first-rate, and I urge you to consider whether my review is more consistent with the other top-of-the-line Breville products or the anomaly of the other reviewer's review.

The combination of mechanical pressing and motorized turning is brilliant, as you extract every bit of juice from citrus. The unit is heavy and sturdy, and the few parts that make it up are constructed to feel, appear, and operate flawlessly. I've used it for a couple of months so far, and both operating it and cleaning the parts is easy beyond words. I use a tall glass to collect the juice, and there is no spilling or outside dripping of any kind whatsoever, so much so that I don't need to clean the base unit or the counter around the unit after I juice--at all!

I have a Braun electric citrus juicer, and still decided to buy this Breville unit even though it costs several times the price of other electric citrus juicers, but I was so impressed with their 800JEXL juicer that I knew this Citrus Press would not disappoint, and I could not be happier with it.

See the company's web site for more info on this unit:
http://www.brevilleusa.com/diecastseries/

This appliance is absolutely magnificent. I tried two other juicers, one automatic and one manual both of which were not even close to being good. So far I've used it with lemons and limes.

1. The Breville 800CPXL is quiet, sturdy, and delivers citrus juice instantaneously.
2. It strains fast, presses lemons and limes easily, and has a phenomenally sturdy base. I'm sure it does oranges and grapefruits exceptionally well also.
3. The base has a notch in it so that you can fit a pretty large / tall cup under the spout.
4. The spout pours the juice down as long as you release it. If you remove the cup, just lock the spout in place so residual juice doesn't drip down.
5. The strainers are very good. If you use the coarse strainer, very fine pits (smaller than the pulp) will sometimes fall through. In addition, not all pulp seeps through the strainer but you can pick out what you want. The fine pits and reduced pulp are to be expected from the coarse strainer. If you only want juice to seep through, then use the fine strainer.
6. Assembly is very easy and there are not too many parts. Be sure to snap the fruit dome into place. I didn't and it kept flying off during operation until I realized I didn't snap it in tightly.
7. Yes, the handle is too high for storing under counters but you can remedy this by hooking a loose rubber band at the edge of the handle and stretching it down to the underside of the lip on the drip spout. Then get yourself a nice appliance cover (like a mixer or coffee maker cover--both of mine work) and store it on your counter.
8. I didn't feel the press was too heavy compared to my full-size Kitchen Aid mixer. However, it is heavier than most of the cheaper citrus juicers on the market but that is to be expected from such a sturdy appliance.
9. I found clean-up to be extremely easy unlike some of the other users.

It takes less pressure than flushing a toilet to operate--you can even hold the lever down with your chin if for some reason your hands were occupied or troubling you. If you press too hard, you'll strip the fruit; a light touch is all that's needed.

For me, this is a fabulous appliance, that is quick, easy, sturdy, and a pleasure to use. Operation and assembly is almost intuitive.

The whole thing IS heavy, and you get the feeling of something built to last (so rare nowadays), and with lots of power. Also, the style immediately draws attention of most people entering our kitchen.

Advantages:
1. Large handle makes it easy and convenient to operate the machine (plus you do not have to press with your hands). Torque is limitless, and juice extraction efficient.
2. A really important (and unexpected) advantage is the possibility to lift the nozzle that clicks and stays up (no dripping!) when you remove the upper part and carry it to the sink. That's the first ever no-dripping citrus press we've ever owned.
3. When not operational, the pulp/juice container and press are protected by a transparent plastic cover that prevents dust accumulation (and injuries) and can be removed instantly.
4. The whole upper part is light and very easy to remove and wash, and there are no stains left on the metal so far.
5. Last but not the least, one can also quickly remove the lid/cover (that covers the citrus half from the top and presses down on it) from the handle and wash it as well.

Besides that, the machine significantly outperforms a conventional citrus press that we had before both in terms of output/efficiency and convenience, let alone design.

On the downside, the pulp container (with the filter at its bottom) is shallow enough, so you can't extract too much juice before having to empty it. Still, I guess that juice extraction becomes significantly less efficient when too much pulp accumulates on top of the filter, and the machine accommodates enough pulp to get at least 4 glasses of juice, that is typically sufficient unless one tries business applications.

I have never written a review on Amazon before, but I was just so darn impressed with this product that I felt I should share.

Our new home has 6 citrus trees, all producing beautifully. We own a hand press juicer, the Metrokane Might OJ, but making a quart of OJ is a fairly laborious and very messy affair with that. We were married in May, and decided to register for a citrus juicer. After reading the reviews, we selected the Breville 800CPXL.

We have been using the juicer for two months now, and I have to say that it is by far the most amazing product I could imagine! It is sturdy and powerful and quiet. It is beautifully designed. And it is so easy to use. Juicing is effortless. It yields so much more juice that the hand press ever did. I used to need about 10-12 oranges to make 2 cups of OJ, now I get that from 5 oranges.

You can tell that an amazing amount of effort went into the design, because it all seems so simple. You know how everyone raves about the ease of use of the iPod? Well if Apple Computer made a citrus juicer, this is the juicer they would make.

The anti-drip spout is ingenious. It really works! And clean up is so so so so easy. Seriously, I am a messy clumsy person, but the design on this is so good that I don't drip a single drop on the counters. Cutting the citrus in half is the messiest part of the process...the juicer, and clean up afterwards, is a breeze.

Also the juicing process is FUN with this. Lately, when I have friends over, I have been getting them to try it out, and everyone loves it. It is entertainment!

If you are considering purchasing a citrus juicer, have no hesitations...this Breville juicer is perfection.

UPDATE: July 2009
We have had this Breville juicer for 3 years now, and after uncountable glasses of OJ, and many pitchers of margaritas, still love it as much as we originally did. It still runs absolutely perfectly. We have had several friends buy one based on seeing it at our home, and they all enjoy theirs as well. If Amazon had more than 5 stars, I would give this more stars.

The guy who only rated this juicer 2 stars obviously didn't read the instructions, and isn't using the machine properly. This is the finest machine I've ever used, both in design and manufacture. I live in Florida, and have my own orange, grapefruit, lemon, and lime trees, and do a lot of batch juicing. I've burned out the cheaper models, and burned myself out on the manual types of presses. Finally, I found the Breville juicer, and it was the answer to my prayers. It's built like a tank, and will last a lifetime. It juices evey size of citrus fruit with ease, and extracts every drop of juice, all with very little effort, and is very easy to clean afterwards. It's a nice looking, heavy duty machine that should last a lifetime.

And for that guy who had a problem with the spout... try juicing with the spout open. The only time you need to close it is when removing the container from below the spout to empty the juice or clean the pulp screen. Heck, this machine juices so darned fast you can overflow the spout when doing a large grapefruit or ponderosa lemon. This fact is so minor it isn't even worth mentioning, except it attests to the power of the machine. I can juice a whole bushel of oranges in twenty minutes, and be all cleaned up ten minutes after that.

In fact..... if that guy doesn't want his machine, I'll take it. It's worth every penny and then some!

My wife bought one for my birthday. It looked really sleek and beautiful and I was so pleased with my present. Then we used it... We set it up and began making lemonade for the party. After squeezing lemons AS DIRECTED IN THE MANUAL for 15-20 minutes it stopped working and would not start again. We looked in the manual under trouble shooting but no help there. We put it away and pulled out our old Cuisinart plastic citrus juicer ($29.95) we have owned for years and finished making lemonade for my birthday party. This morning I tried the Breville again and it worked!? So, I called the company and after a very long hold, finally entering my phone number and hanging up, got a call back. I described the problem and the customer service rep did not know what to tell me. After holding a long time further, she picked up again to say that THE CITRUS PRESS SHOULD ONLY BE USED FOR 10 MINUTES AT A TIME AND THEN TURNED OFF! Unbelievable for a juicer at this price level. So, if you are rich with money to burn and want to make a glass of juice for yourself maybe this will work for you, but if you want to make a pitcher of lemonade or orange juice you better get it done in 10 minutes or less according to the factory! If all you get is time to make a glass or two there are a lot of less expensive citrus juicers around. We are returning ours for a refund!!

I have never written a review of a product but I am so amazed and disappointed in what a rip-off this product is I had to warn others.