Sugarcane Juicer Tested: Shipping, Assembly, and First Impressions
We bought this sugarcane juicer a while ago, and I had meant to write this review months ago… but time flies, and here it finally is!
We tried to find a machine made in Australia, but it seems these small sugarcane juicers aren’t manufactured locally.
I think this juicer is fairly standard—there are many visually similar sugar cane machines on the market. We managed to get a special deal that included free shipping from China, with a fairly typical price of around $200. This was probably a one-off opportunity, because normally the cost of a proper sugarcane juicer would far exceed the price of this little machine! It arrived well packed, was easy to assemble, and at first glance appeared sturdy.
How We Planted Sugarcane
I planted sugarcane downhill from the nursery so it can absorb nutrients and water runoff, which works really well. Sugarcane is a perennial, and once you cut it back to the ground, it will regrow and look even better than before. Growing sugarcane is very easy, and it seems that deer and kangaroos leave it alone.
Sugarcane Juicer Review: Nothing for the Weak
The pressing process went quite well, and I found it astounding how much juice you can get from a single cane! We did have some trouble feeding the cane in at first, but that was because we hadn’t bevelled the ends. In fact, the machine comes with a special knife for that purpose.
We also plan (one day) to mount the juicer on a large, heavy board that can be clamped to a table during use. This is absolutely necessary, as cranking the juicer is quite a workout! So much so that I wouldn’t want to process all of my harvest in one go—unless the machine were somehow connected to a motor, an electric drill (though the drill might break), or even a bicycle.
The machine feels quite solid, but it does require effort to crank. For large amounts, some mechanisation would be a real advantage. If you only want to press a little on a hot summer day, bear in mind that cleaning isn’t a huge task, but you do have to unscrew the casing, so it takes a bit of effort—something I wouldn’t want to do every day.
While some videos suggest pressing the canes twice, we were happy with the juice from the first go. With lemon or lime and plenty of ice, it’s delicious!
Our sugarcane mulch, while not as neat-looking as the commercial variety, is much more valuable—not only because it’s free of chemicals, but also because it still contains plenty of leftover sugar.
Verdict: The machine is much better than we expected. A bit too much to clean for everyday use and a bit too hard to use for bigger amounts. It seems to be fairly doable to motorize it. I’ve included some detailed pictures at the bottom so you can take a closer look at the juicer.
