Omega J8006 Nutrition Center Juicer review: Omega's outstanding, pricey juicer is worth every penny

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Compared with cheaper centrifugal models, the $300 Omega J8006 Nutrition Center Juicer is a big investment. If you're serious about making fresh fruit and vegetable drinks at home though, this machine's excellent cold-press juicing abilities and superb design more than offset the steep price.

8.4

Omega J8006 Nutrition Center Juicer

$200 at Walmart

The Good

The Omega J8006 Nutrition Center Juicer uses its mighty motor and auger to cold press an impressive amount of juice from even the most troublesome produce. The machine is small, sturdily built, and is simple to operate. The Omega J8006 is also very easy to clean by hand and uses dishwasher-safe parts. The machine can operate as a pasta maker or basic food processor in a pinch.

The Bad

The Omega J8006 Nutrition Center Juicer costs a lot more than less capable centrifugal juice extractors. The Omega J8006's food chute has a small opening that only accepts chopped or diced produce.

The Bottom Line

The Omega J8006 Nutrition Center Juicer doesn't come cheap, but it offers outstanding juicing performance and is a breeze to clean, both making the machine a shrewd purchase for the juicing set.

Looking more like a stand mixer or a sewing machine than a juicer, the Omega J8006 may not seem like it can crush produce items and unlock their nutritious nectar. Looks can be deceiving, though, and sure enough, the Omega J8006 excels at transforming raw ingredients into liquid. In fact, it extracted more juice from our trial oranges than any other machine I've tested to date, earning a high 76.8 extraction percentage (based on amount of ingredients, remaining pulp, and extracted juice).

It's a higher result than the Hamilton Beach 67601A (71.8 percent) and Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus (66.4 percent). The VonShef Premium Slow Masticating Juicer, another cold-press juice-maker, couldn't keep up here, either (64.5 percent). That said, both the Omega J8006 and VonShef appliances create juice that's clear, lacks foam, and generally has a cleaner taste than their centrifugal counterparts.

The Omega pulled moisture from leafy greens with ease as well, notching an impressive average extraction percentage of 44.2 when processing kale and trouncing the VonShef's weak kale showing (18.6 percent). More importantly the J8006 produced very consistent juice amounts during each respective test, the only product I've yet seen to do so.

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Also key, the Omega J8006 uses few parts (all dishwasher-safe) and creates less waste material, making cleanup a cinch. Add to this skillset the ability to stand in as a pasta maker, food processor, even coffee grinder in a bind and it's clear why this juicer should be on your short list despite having a high price. If cash is tight, however, you can enjoy similar though less consistent performance by choosing the $80 Hamilton Beach 67601A Juice Extractor.