Breville Die-Cast Citrus Press 800CPXL

If you're looking for a top-of-the-line citrus juicer, reviews point to the Breville Die-Cast Citrus Press 800CPXL (*Est. $200) as the best of its kind. Its electric reamer and press handle are the perfect combination of convenience, ease and efficiency.

The bottom line

The Breville Die-Cast Citrus Press 800CPXL performs very well with all sorts of citrus, but several less-expensive juicers, including the Black & Decker CitrusMate Plus CJ625 (*Est. $20) also work well. That said, while less expensive juicers are reasonable choices for those who use their juicers less often and need to keep an eye on the bottom line, frequent juicers who want an investment that will last for years should consider the Breville Die-Cast Citrus Press.

Note, however, that this juicer only processes citrus fruits. If you want to juice other fruits and vegetables, look for a centrifugal juice extractor like the Breville Ikon Variable-Speed Juice Extractor BJE510XL (*Est. $200) or the less expensive Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Pro 67650 (*Est. $70).

Performance

Fast, efficient and dead quiet to boot. "It was love at first squeeze," say the editors at BonAppetit.com in a 2008 review, praising the 800CPXL's two different filter baskets, which let you choose between juice with or without pulp. Those results are echoed elsewhere, though we also saw comments from some experts that say some less expensive juicers they evaluated worked almost as well.

Users agree, saying that the Breville 800CPXL is fast and efficient and that it works well with all sizes of citrus fruits, from lemons and limes to large grapefruit (although a few say it performs the absolute best with medium-sized fruit). They particularly appreciate that peeling citrus before juicing isn't necessary; just slice it in half, put it on the reamer (the cone the citrus fruit sits on) and press down on the handle. Although the reamer is electric, the 800CPXL draws lots of praise for being silent while operating.

Ease of use

As close to hands-free juicing as you'll ever get. Reviewers love the Breville 800CPXL's combination of an electric reamer with a manual squeezer; they say it takes almost no effort to get every drop of juice from citrus fruits. "This product is the best ever for juicing citrus," says one Cooking.com reviewer who has hand, arm and shoulder weakness. Another says this juicer is simple enough for her kids to use and appreciates that you can clean it by simply rinsing it out, or you can put the removable parts in the dishwasher.

However, in a review for The Wall Street Journal, Joseph De Avila notes a potential problem: The Breville Die-Cast Citrus Press is larger and heavier than many comparable models. This is the only consistent complaint we found echoed here and there, although frequent juicers solve the issue by leaving the 800CPXL on the counter -- they say it looks great. The other complaints are all minor, isolated and non-deal-breakers for most, like a single stray mention that it'd be nice if the cord were a little longer.

Durability

Near universal reviewer consensus that this model is a solid investment. While there are a few scattered reports of durability problems, we found many accounts from users who have used their 800CPXL for years. When problems do arise -- such as when one Amazon.com user replaced a four-year old 800CPXL with a new one, and that one began to fail after seven months -- reports say that Breville customer service is responsive and friendly.

A smattering of such comments aside, almost everybody agrees that the Breville 800CPXL is an excellent investment that's built to last. "Solid as a rock," declares one ABT.com reviewer, who says most manual juicers only last a year or so with her (she juices grapefruit daily). "Sturdy and well built," agrees a user on Cooking.com.