Tribest Greenstar GSE-5050 Elite Twin Gear Cold Press Slow Masticating Juicer (Chrome)

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!

An excellent product in every way. A few points right away. Cleaning this unit is simple and takes about 12 minutes from start to finish including drying. This is after juicing many carrots, celery, ginger and kale. Second point is that since preparing the veggies for juicing does not require slicing them into smaller half inch pieces for carrot, celery etc the total time of use may be 5 minutes longer on the cleanup, but 5-8 minutes less on the preparation. It takes 10 minutes to clean up after breakfast or lunch. I am not sure why some reviews state the cleanup time is unreasonable...maybe the expectation is juice and walk away For cleaning, I removed the screen and set it in hot soapy water to soak while I clean the other parts. If I want to walk away from the sink, the screen is still soaking and when I return it is an easy process. I use the dull side of a butter knife to clean the few parts of the screen that need more work. This method is suggested in the user manual. Kale goes in completely un-trimmed...just feed it into the juicer with the stem end first and use the tamper with a little push. Carrots and celery are processed just as easily. The amount of juice that is produced was a surprise...just about all available juice is extracted.Mixing up the veggies, fruit and citrus will ensure good results. Another review suggested juicing a lemon or lime as the last item and I tried that with good results. Also, ginger. The citrus and ginger help to clean the screen and also add great flavor and nutrients. I use only organic produce. Before I had the GSE5000 I would walk through the grocer and not pick up many greens I wanted simply because it was not always effiecient to get kale, spinach, collards, chard, cabbage and many others because of the potential for not using them timely. With the GSE5000, if it is green or otherwise interesting, it is a simple choice to buy the greens and easily juice them while still fresh.The quality of the juice is very good. I am new to juicing and always add either a lime, lemon or ginger to my green juices. Beets and red cabbage are very good for you. Citrus and apples are used only to add flavor. I think that 90% of the juice I make is green and 10% or less will be one piece of fruit and then lime or ginger. The lime and ginger goes a long way. A 2 inch piece of ginger easily adds good flavor to 2-3 quarts of green and red (beet) juice. As FoodBabe states, mix up your greens using all that is available. Do not simply juice kale and spinach over and over and over. Variety is important.I have not yet used the GSE5000 for nuts or grains, though I plan to do so. I have no doubt it will do a great job.And, the 12 year warranty is good. The unit is quiet and has plenty of power, very easy to use. Not too heavy, but not super light either. The carrying grip is well balanced and makes picking and carrying it easy.As others have said, and I agree, if you are thinking about a juicer, even if this is your first, get the GSE5000. You will be happy with your decision.