Tried & Tested
Sage: The 3X Bluicer Juicer
It’s a blender, it’s a juicer. Getting my five-a-day has never been easier
What’s a Bluicer?
The Sage Bluicer Juicer is an all-in-one blending and juicing ninja that makes whipping up juices, slushies, smoothies or frozen cocktails a doddle. It features Sage’s award-winning Kinetix contoured blade and bowl system to reduce preparation time and has cold-spin technology to ensure your drinks are always served chilled.
On arrival, the Bluicer looks a tad complicated – there are 13 parts in a box that’s so big, my six-year-old used it as a playhouse for the weekend. However, don’t let this put you off. There are super simple instructions and once you’ve worked out your food pusher from your juicing nozzle, you’re pretty much good to go.
What’s the difference between juicing and blending?
The difference is essentially what is left out. With juicing, all the skin and pulp is removed to leave you with just the liquid from the fruit or vegetables. If you’re blending, you get everything whizzed up so it’s a much thicker consistency. The Bluicer can do both.
If you’re blending, just add food and liquid to the jug, clip the safety arm in place, and you’re away.
If you’re juicing you just need to add the filter bowl to the top of the motor base, then add the Kinetix blade and bowl. Pop the juicer cover on, lock the safety arm and slide the food pusher down the chute. Place the pulp container into position and start feeding food down the spout with your pusher. Strangely satisfying.
How does the Bluicer work?
Let’s break it down into bitesize pieces that are as digestible as the drinks you’ll be making…
The Kinetix blade and bowl combines a powerful blending and food-processing so you can crush and chop ice and frozen fruit, as well as fold and aerate to create thicker smoothies.
It has an interchangeable single base for juicing or blending and a 3-litre pulp bin that can be removed when not in use to save space on your worktop.
There’s an extra-wide 88mm chute so you don’t have to spend ages chopping. Bung in a whole apple – skin, core and all – and it’ll be turned into juice. Genius. It also comes with a 1.5-litre jug with an airtight lid, so you can batch-make drinks and keep them in the fridge all week.
Some blenders tend to warm the juice because the motor is working so hard, but the Bluicer has cold-spin technology to ensure the temperature won’t increase by more than 1C.
There are five one-touch programmes with different times and speeds so you can perfect smoothies, crush ice for cocktails and get creative with the frozen desserts function. Or go bespoke – there are a whopping 10 speed settings to play with.
How do you look after it?
The majority of the Bluicer can be put in the dishwasher which is a BIG help. Huge. It also comes with a two-year guarantee so if anything goes awry you’re covered.
Is it worth it?
If you’re a keen juicer or smoothie maker then yes, it’s worth the hefty price tag because it’ll be an investment you’ll use for years to come, plus making your own juices and smoothies is much cheaper than buying them out and about. If you’re a fair-weather fan you might want to opt for Sage’s entry-level juicer.
I make smoothies and juices every week and have done for years (show-off), so I’ve had quite a few blenders in my time. This is in a different league. It’s easy to use, the settings are great for a variety of textures and it looks really slick on the worktop (albeit rather large in my tiny galley kitchen).
In comparison to other machines, the Bluicer makes the smoothies a really palatable consistency, versus having to repeatedly blend because chunks of fruit or skin have been missed.