Are you looking for an affordable juicer to kick start your new healthy lifestyle? Or are you a couple who would love to include drinking healthy juices into your everyday routine? Then we highly recommend the Breville BJE200XL Compact Juicer.
This juicer is very popular nowadays and the internet is littered with reviews, both brief and mostly fluff. How can you easily check if this is the right juicer for you?
This is exactly what we’re we would like to accomplish in this review. As you continue to read further, you’ll learn what this juicer can really do. We will not only be discussing the features but the actual benefits and how they can (or cannot) make juicing easier.
Breville BJE200XL Juicer Review
The Breville BJE200XL Compact Juice Fountain is one of the more affordable models that Breville has to offer in their line of juicing machines. It’s compact and is perfect even for those with small studio kitchen counter.
This is a centrifugal juicer so it’s quite fast compared to cold-press juicers when it comes to juicing. If you’re a busy person, then this type of juicer is for you. You have to understand though, it comes with one major and most obvious challenge — it is quite loud.
But what’s the catch with such an affordable juicer, especially that it’s from a known brand like Breville? How effective can it juice leafy green veggies? Is this model easy to clean? Let’s debunk this further in the next sections.
Power & Speed
The Breville BJE200XL juicer has a powerful 700-watt motor installed which is able to juice just about any fruits or veggies you drop into it. Aside from tough veggies like carrots or fruits like beets, it can also handle quartered cabbage heads with ease.
This model operates with a single speed setting only, which is at 14,000 rpm. It basically spins the produce like a blender while it cuts into pieces with its centered knife blade design. The juice is filtered out from the pulp with a stainless steel mesh filter.
This means that while it is able to extract juices from hard produce easily, it cannot be adjusted to accommodate green leafy veggies like kale. It can still process these but the yield is not great.
To overcome this shortcoming, you can bind the greens into a small pack and add them together with hard produce. The more solid ingredients will help add volume and mass to the leafy greens.
Noise Level
Centrifugal juicers are known to operate fast, with blades spinning fast and loud. This juicer is no different. It can produce a sound that is as loud as a vacuum cleaner or a high powered blender.
This is another important factor that you will need to consider when buying the right juicer. Do you have old household members who are sensitive to noise? Or perhaps there’s a new baby in the house. If in case loud noise is a big issue, we recommend you check our list of slow juicers instead.
If you really want this juicer, though, you can always adjust the schedule when you make your juices. That way you don’t end up waking your kids too early or disturbing your next door neighbors.
Feed Chute
Breville is known to create centrifugal juicers with wide feed chutes, and BJE200XL juicer is no exception. Even if its size is more compact compared to other models, it also has a 3-inch wide chute to further speed up juicing.
Before you can start having your juicer extract the nutrients from your ingredients, they have to be cut up first. The beauty of having a bigger feed chute is that you don’t have to cut your fruit and veggies too small. This feature greatly decreases prep time.
Juice Jug Capacity
As a compact juicer, expect that the juice jug capacity is small. The juice jug can hold up to 25 ounces of juice, which is perfect for up to 2 servings. This is why Breville BJE200XL Juicer is perfect if you’re going to create juices just for yourself. It’s an excellent gift for your health conscious kid who’s going to college.
Another great feature of the juice jug is the froth separator. It is only natural for a centrifugal juicer to produce a froth, so the built-in froth separator is a great design. You just need to pour the juice into your glass and the froth will be held back by the separator.
Juicing Operation
Operating the unit is so simple which is why this model is recommended to those who are just starting out with juicing. You basically just have to turn it on and drop the ingredients. No other settings to worry about.
Of course, you will need to prepare your fruits and veggies beforehand but since it has a nice wide 3-inch feed chute, you don’t necessarily have to cut them into small bite-sized pieces. In fact, if you can eat a fruit unpeeled, then you can juice it without peeling as well.
You will have to take note that this juicer is designed to create up to 2 glasses of juice, and it does that well and fast. If you’re planning to make big batches though or several glasses for your friends or family, the process can become unbearable. The juicer can still handle the load but you’ll end up taking it apart after 2 to 3 runs to empty the pulp.
There have been some users who had issues with the amount of juice yield when it comes to juicing greens like kale. This is a common shortcoming for centrifugal juicers and the best way to remedy it is bunch it up and drop it in together with hard fruits like apple.
All in all, this Breville BJE200XL juicer is an easy to use machine for almost every juice diet recipes.
Cleanup
Part of the juicing process is cleaning up the juicer itself after every use. We believe the most practical reason for doing this, aside from avoiding health risks, is that it’s a lot easier to clean when the pulp and food bits have not dried up yet.
Not all juicers are easy to clean, and sometimes the process becomes so tedious that one would end up discouraged from making juices regularly. Fortunately, Breville BJE200XL has a very easy cleanup process. This is because it doesn’t have a lot of parts to disassemble and wash.
This unit comes with a spatula/brush tool for scraping out the pulp bowl and brushing the mesh filter in running water. The juicer cover, pulp container, filter basket, and pitcher are all dishwasher safe. Most prefer to clean by hand, though, because it’s as easy rinsing out the parts and brushing the mesh filter. You can have them done in just a couple of minutes.
Dimensions
The size of Breville BJE200XL is one of its selling points. It has a smaller footprint compared to other centrifugal juicers and even way smaller than most masticating juicers.
The size is perfect if you’re living in a small apartment or in a college dormitory. In fact, the unit’s design is sleek that it can be a great addition to just about any kitchen, and is easy to store as well.
The entire juicer has the following exact dimensions:
- Length: 10 inches
- Width: 12 inches
- Height: 16 inches
To give you a better perspective, it is just about the size of an ice cream maker. The only thing you need to worry about is the vertical clearance which can be too high to some if you’re planning to store it under a kitchen cabinet.
Warranty & Customer Support
As with other Breville models, this juicer comes with a 1-year limited warranty. In truth, though, the product is durable enough to last for more than 2 years, even with regular use.
If anything breaks down during the warranty period, they will replace your unit and shoulder the shipping expenses of the old unit as well. For more information, you can always reach them at their customer support website.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- One of the more affordable Breville juicer models
- Compact size does not require you to clear to allocate a large area in the kitchen
- Powerful motor that can juice even hard fruits like carrots or beets
- 3-inch wide chute greatly decreases prep time in cutting fruits and veggies
- Easy disassembly and cleanup due to smaller number of parts
Cons
- Single-speed setting only
- Produces sound similar to a vacuum cleaner when in use
Consumer Ratings
Breville BJE200XL received a very high rating on Amazon. Out of more than 5,000 buyers who reviewed the product, 88% of them gave 4 to 5 stars. This is a very clear indication that almost all who purchased this juicer are very happy with it.
The rest who gave low ratings are among those who received a defective unit (and wrote a bad review even before receiving a replacement). Some of them had a different expectation of what the juicer can do and so ended up disappointed. If you want to see more about what other buyers are saying, be sure to check the Amazon reviews.
Final Words
In case you’re planning on juicing lots of leafy greens more often, this juicer may not be for you. We recommend masticating juicers instead which are very efficient with this type of ingredient. This juicer is also not recommended if you plan on juice for the entire family on a regular basis.
If you’re living in a small apartment and just starting out with a healthy juicing lifestyle for yourself, this juicer will give the best value for your money.
The Breville BJE200XL Juice Fountain is your best option for couples looking for the perfect centrifugal juicer. It is compact, easy to operate & clean, and can create up to 2 glasses of juice in between cleanups. Most of all, if you’re on a budget then this juicer machine under $100 is quite a steal.
I’m retiring my old juicer and upgrading to a new one. This breville juicer certainly fits my preferences.