Champion Juicer Wheatgrass and Leafy Green Attachment

[DebB]

Wow - I was very surprised to see this video by John Kohler today from the trade show. He demonstrates an all new wheatgrass and leafy greens attachment for the Champion juicer!

He said it will sell for around $90 and be available on Champion's website April 15. *Ü*

[Arky]

Hmm...thanks for the heads-up, DebB, well spotted!

Personally, I don't own a Champion (I have an Oscar 900 / Omega 8006), but I'm sure Champion owners will be eager to use this new attachment.

That said, I must confess that, on the basis of that video I am very unimpressed with the attachment (no reflection on John Kohler - I think he's great - very informative, enthusiastic, helpful and sincere, and really making a positive contribution to the health scene, on a number of levels).

It simply isn't logical to juice cereal grasses or other leafy greens with an auger turning at 1700 RPM. If they wanted to make an attachment for the Champion to juice leafy greens, it would have required a reduction gearbox (which, of course, would require expensive engineering in order to make the gearing robust enough to handle the torsional stresses).

As it is, I view it as, frankly, laughable for Champion to be offering this attachment - it's like trying to pound a big square peg into a tiny round hole. The Champion is great in certain areas (e.g. grinding root vegetables for subsequent squeezing in a manual hydraulic press such as the Health Stream) but juicing leafy greens is NOT one of the Champion's forte's and it never will be, until such time as the auger speed is reduced (by whatever method).

If I owned a Champion and I didn't want to spend on an expensive second juicer for grasses and leafy greens, I'd consider the Lexen juicer (manual or electric) - Michael Bergonzi is a big advocate of the Lexen juicers for wheatgrass, and he's been in the game a very long time indeed. The Lexens are very competitively priced and a considerably more viable proposition for a Champion owner wanting to juice greens than spending $90 on a silly attachment that can't possibly overcome the limitations of an auger that runs insanely quickly...

Of course, for another hundred, an Omega 8006 also does a superb job of greens, but that might be a bit too much to spend on a second juicer, hence my suggestion of the Lexen.

Just my 2 cents, and I'm sure others will disagree. I mean no disrespect at all to owners of the Champion, least of all you, DebB. I'm just bemused at the manufacturer for seriously believing they are solving an issue with this attachment when, self-evidently, they are not.

What do you currently do when you juice greens, DebB ?

[Aleesha Sattva]

i'll be ordering one as soon as they are available!!! i loooooooooooooove my champion. love my greenstar too but i end up using my champion way more often.

so this will be a great addition

[DebB]

Hmm...thanks for the heads-up, DebB, well spotted!

Personally, I don't own a Champion (I have an Oscar 900 / Omega 8006), but I'm sure Champion owners will be eager to use this new attachment.

That said, I must confess that, on the basis of that video I am very unimpressed with the attachment (no reflection on John Kohler - I think he's great - very informative, enthusiastic, helpful and sincere, and really making a positive contribution to the health scene, on a number of levels).

It simply isn't logical to juice cereal grasses or other leafy greens with an auger turning at 1700 RPM. If they wanted to make an attachment for the Champion to juice leafy greens, it would have required a reduction gearbox (which, of course, would require expensive engineering in order to make the gearing robust enough to handle the torsional stresses).

As it is, I view it as, frankly, laughable for Champion to be offering this attachment - it's like trying to pound a big square peg into a tiny round hole. The Champion is great in certain areas (e.g. grinding root vegetables for subsequent squeezing in a manual hydraulic press such as the Health Stream) but juicing leafy greens is NOT one of the Champion's forte's and it never will be, until such time as the auger speed is reduced (by whatever method).

If I owned a Champion and I didn't want to spend on an expensive second juicer for grasses and leafy greens, I'd consider the Lexen juicer (manual or electric) - Michael Bergonzi is a big advocate of the Lexen juicers for wheatgrass, and he's been in the game a very long time indeed. The Lexens are very competitively priced and a considerably more viable proposition for a Champion owner wanting to juice greens than spending $90 on a silly attachment that can't possibly overcome the limitations of an auger that runs insanely quickly...

Of course, for another hundred, an Omega 8006 also does a superb job of greens, but that might be a bit too much to spend on a second juicer, hence my suggestion of the Lexen.

Just my 2 cents, and I'm sure others will disagree. I mean no disrespect at all to owners of the Champion, least of all you, DebB. I'm just bemused at the manufacturer for seriously believing they are solving an issue with this attachment when, self-evidently, they are not.

What do you currently do when you juice greens, DebB ?

No disrespect taken! To be honest, I was wondering the same thing. Wondering how it will do because it runs quickly. I look forward to reviews from Aleesha - if you order one!

You asked how I juice my greens. We bought a second juicer, a Samson and I use that to juice my greens. Also juices my wheatgrass -and- it cold presses our flax oil ;) I use them both daily because the Samson does not do a good job on fruit or cucumbers, all of which go into my green juice.

I do love my kitchen appliances!! *Ü*

[Aleesha Sattva]

oh i'll be ordering one!!!

[DebB]

Well - the air went outa my balloon when he said these were for models made after 1988 (?) I don't recall the exact year - but ours is from the early 80s, so according to that it wouldn't work/fit. But it did make me wonder what the difference from mine to newer models is....

I look forward to your review ~ I know we both LOVE our Champions! *Ü*

[Aleesha Sattva]

i know mine will work... just got it 3 years ago. i'm so excited. first thing i said to my hubby when he got home... "mama's getting a new attachment for her champion!!!"

[Arky]

No disrespect taken! To be honest, I was wondering the same thing. Wondering how it will do because it runs quickly. I look forward to reviews from Aleesha - if you order one!

You asked how I juice my greens. We bought a second juicer, a Samson and I use that to juice my greens. Also juices my wheatgrass -and- it cold presses our flax oil ;) I use them both daily because the Samson does not do a good job on fruit or cucumbers, all of which go into my green juice.

I do love my kitchen appliances!! *Ü*

Oh, I used to own a Matstone, which is pretty much identical to the Samson. I liked it and I must say I concur absolutely 100% with your stated pros and cons of that juicer. Even the Oscar 900/Omega 8006 struggles a bit with soft fruits and cucumbers, but it does manage them ok if you alternate which items of produce you feed in, and provided the silicone seal is not too worn, on the front of the conical juice screen.

How do you get on with the Samson oil extractor? I very nearly bought one of these attachments before I gave away my Matstone. Do you find it cost-effective for making flax oil? I was concerned that it might not yield enough to be cost-effective. Be interested to hear your experiences with this...

As far as wheatgrass juicing goes, the Samson is a great little machine and from what I recall, it does as good a job as the Oscar 900/Omega 8003/4/5/6 on grasses and fibrous leafy greens.





@ Aleesha - save yer money and get a dedicated greens juicer such as the lexen, rather than the Champion attachment! LOL ...Well, whatever you decide, I hope it works out for you. Gotta have a good solution for making those green, green juices ;)

[DebB]

How do you get on with the Samson oil extractor? I very nearly bought one of these attachments before I gave away my Matstone. Do you find it cost-effective for making flax oil? I was concerned that it might not yield enough to be cost-effective. Be interested to hear your experiences with this...)

The Samson does a really good job making the flax oil. We make 4 (14oz) containers of it and put it in the freezer. I make those over the course of 1 day - letting it completely cool down between batches. I can press 1 (14oz) bottle's worth in about 30=+/- minutes.

My husband did the math and he figured our savings just in pressing our own flax oil alone would pay for the juicer in about 6 months. We both take 1-2T per day and we were paying $14 per 14oz bottle through my doctor's office. We order 25# bags of organic flax (brown) through Azure Standard.

And I tell ya - we love the taste. There's something about it being freshly pressed, albeit frozen - it still tastes better than Barlean's brand that we were buying.

The only down side is cleaning the auger or grinding rod housing (not sure what it's called). Where the metal meets the plastic - the compressed flax cake gets caught up in there, so one has to be very mindful to get that all cleaned out (which I do with a turkey skewer thing, metal pin with a sharp point). That's the only design flaw that I've come across so far. But if I keep that nice and clean -- I am good to GO! *Ü*

[Aleesha Sattva]

@ Aleesha - save yer money and get a dedicated greens juicer such as the lexen, rather than the Champion attachment! LOL ...Well, whatever you decide, I hope it works out for you. Gotta have a good solution for making those green, green juices ;)

i have a greenstar!

[Arky]

i have a greenstar!

(Scratching my head here...) LOL! - Errr...so, if you have a Greenstar, why do you need a greens-juicing attachment for your Champion?!

=> BEWILDERED ! <=

;)

[Onewho Knows]

Hmm...thanks for the heads-up, DebB, well spotted!

Personally, I don't own a Champion (I have an Oscar 900 / Omega 8006), but I'm sure Champion owners will be eager to use this new attachment.

That said, I must confess that, on the basis of that video I am very unimpressed with the attachment (no reflection on John Kohler - I think he's great - very informative, enthusiastic, helpful and sincere, and really making a positive contribution to the health scene, on a number of levels).

It simply isn't logical to juice cereal grasses or other leafy greens with an auger turning at 1700 RPM. If they wanted to make an attachment for the Champion to juice leafy greens, it would have required a reduction gearbox (which, of course, would require expensive engineering in order to make the gearing robust enough to handle the torsional stresses).

As it is, I view it as, frankly, laughable for Champion to be offering this attachment - it's like trying to pound a big square peg into a tiny round hole. The Champion is great in certain areas (e.g. grinding root vegetables for subsequent squeezing in a manual hydraulic press such as the Health Stream) but juicing leafy greens is NOT one of the Champion's forte's and it never will be, until such time as the auger speed is reduced (by whatever method).

If I owned a Champion and I didn't want to spend on an expensive second juicer for grasses and leafy greens, I'd consider the Lexen juicer (manual or electric) - Michael Bergonzi is a big advocate of the Lexen juicers for wheatgrass, and he's been in the game a very long time indeed. The Lexens are very competitively priced and a considerably more viable proposition for a Champion owner wanting to juice greens than spending $90 on a silly attachment that can't possibly overcome the limitations of an auger that runs insanely quickly...

Of course, for another hundred, an Omega 8006 also does a superb job of greens, but that might be a bit too much to spend on a second juicer, hence my suggestion of the Lexen.

Just my 2 cents, and I'm sure others will disagree. I mean no disrespect at all to owners of the Champion, least of all you, DebB. I'm just bemused at the manufacturer for seriously believing they are solving an issue with this attachment when, self-evidently, they are not.

What do you currently do when you juice greens, DebB ?

Hey Arky, it’s very curious how you could have so many negative opinions about a product that you’ve never used and about a company you have never dealt with.* You stated “It simply isn’t logical to juice cereal grasses …. At 1700 RPM.* Well take it from someone who has actually used the greens attachment, logical or not, Champion accomplished just that!* It does a great job of juicing wheatgrass and other greens (kale, celery, chard, spinach).* When comparing it to my Omega 8003, it juices faster, produces cooler juice, and is easier to clean.**
Guess what?* It cost me $250 for my Omega and only $75 for the Champion Greens Attachment; sounds like a good deal to me.* Besides that, Champion does a much better job on everything else anyway, so I no longer have any use for my Omega and can get some extra money when I sell it.* As long as Champion stands behind this new product as well as they have stood behind my Champion juicer, I’ll be happy.

[johnr]

Hmm...thanks for the heads-up, DebB, well spotted!

Personally, I don't own a Champion (I have an Oscar 900 / Omega 8006), but I'm sure Champion owners will be eager to use this new attachment.

That said, I must confess that, on the basis of that video I am very unimpressed with the attachment (no reflection on John Kohler - I think he's great - very informative, enthusiastic, helpful and sincere, and really making a positive contribution to the health scene, on a number of levels).

It simply isn't logical to juice cereal grasses or other leafy greens with an auger turning at 1700 RPM. If they wanted to make an attachment for the Champion to juice leafy greens, it would have required a reduction gearbox (which, of course, would require expensive engineering in order to make the gearing robust enough to handle the torsional stresses).

As it is, I view it as, frankly, laughable for Champion to be offering this attachment - it's like trying to pound a big square peg into a tiny round hole. The Champion is great in certain areas (e.g. grinding root vegetables for subsequent squeezing in a manual hydraulic press such as the Health Stream) but juicing leafy greens is NOT one of the Champion's forte's and it never will be, until such time as the auger speed is reduced (by whatever method).

If I owned a Champion and I didn't want to spend on an expensive second juicer for grasses and leafy greens, I'd consider the Lexen juicer (manual or electric) - Michael Bergonzi is a big advocate of the Lexen juicers for wheatgrass, and he's been in the game a very long time indeed. The Lexens are very competitively priced and a considerably more viable proposition for a Champion owner wanting to juice greens than spending $90 on a silly attachment that can't possibly overcome the limitations of an auger that runs insanely quickly...

Of course, for another hundred, an Omega 8006 also does a superb job of greens, but that might be a bit too much to spend on a second juicer, hence my suggestion of the Lexen.

Just my 2 cents, and I'm sure others will disagree. I mean no disrespect at all to owners of the Champion, least of all you, DebB. I'm just bemused at the manufacturer for seriously believing they are solving an issue with this attachment when, self-evidently, they are not.

What do you currently do when you juice greens, DebB ?

I've been juicing for 30+ years; have owned a Champion for 25 of those years, still do. While I use an Omega 8003 for my leafy greens, a friend has this attachment and it works beautifully. My Champion has been through thousands of juicings, I've had to replace the cutter a few times, but it just keeps on going. I own a dozen juicers now just because I like them; however, with this attachment I could confine myself to one. Don't be misled by all the hoopla over grinding speed; the best juicer is the one you'll use every day. I've done manual greens juicing (when camping) and it ain't fun at all.

[michigan roman]

grinding speed matters !!!!!!! a juicer like a champion , i own brand new commercial model , spins too fast and froths up and heats juices . plus alters tastes of soft things like tomato and pineapple . plus leaks out of the shute . it has a GREAT heavy duty GE motor ands thee most super heavy duty unit on market ive seen and may last for 50 years and do hard roots vegis well , but it still froths and heats . champion could have the best juicer on market if they slowed down rpms and redesigned grinding head to an auger type like on omega 8006 and such because the champion motor is way more powerful then others . but nobody listens to me so its a flawed design

now how the new attachment works cant say yet as have not used , but at $75 damn dollars it better be awesome . way to gouge your customers that already payed $250 for juicer champion

[Barbara Parker]

I hope the following feedback will be helpful. I just bought one of these Champion wheat grass attachments here in the UK for my 16 year old Champion Juicer and I am thrilled to bits with it. I am impressed by the sturdiness of all the parts, just as you would expect from the manufacturer of such a durable juicer. I'll be surprised if the tough screen on this Champion attachment breaks, like the brittle screen on the old single auger wheat grass juicer I bought 7 years ago kept doing. I had to buy 5 replacement screens for it over the years. I've never yet had to buy a replacement part for my Champion Juicer.

The Champion wg attachment does work extremely fast, too fast to have any chance of heating up the pulp or the juice it produces. The greens fly through the juicer in a second! To put the pulp through the recommended second time only takes a few extra seconds. Its fabulous! I like the fact that I don't have to stand and wait the way I did with my single auger juicer while it wobbled and ground its way through a slow speed juicing session (surely subjecting the greens to more friction and heat than the Champion wg attachment).

Now I can juice every thing quickly in one juicer by just swapping over the juicing parts. I still have 2 sets of juicing parts to clean, but the Champion wg attachment is just as easy to clean as my old single auger juicer parts. I can now retire my single auger juicer and free up some counter space. Hoorah!