Omega Cold Press 365 Juicer Review

We purchased the Omega Cold Press 365 Juicer so our reviewer could put it to the test in her kitchen. Keep reading for our full product review.

Fresh homemade fruit and vegetable juices are delicious, and all you need is a juicer to get started. There are two main types of juicers: centrifugal and cold press (also known as masticating) juicers. Centrifugal juicers use powerful, high-speed blades to break up fruit and vegetables, while cold press juicers slowly crush and squeeze them instead.

A highly regarded cold press juicer is the Omega Cold Press 365 Juicer. Having used plenty of juicers before, I lined up all of my fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens and put this juicer to the test. Read on for all my thoughts.

Setup: Quick and easy

I found that assembling this was easy and pretty much intuitive. There doesn’t seem to be a way to put any of the parts together the wrong way, and there are no parts that are puzzling. Rather than the drum twisting on and off, a large lever on top of the juicer body secures it. Lifting the lever releases it when it’s time to clean up after juicing.

A small booklet comes with the machine that has safety information, parts, assembly, and cleaning information, as well as some recipes.

While the information in the book was useful, I thought it should have included whether or not the parts are actually dishwasher safe. Also, the instructions repeatedly say that the machine is turned on by pressing REV (reverse) rather than ON. While pressing REV isn’t going to hurt anything, the juicer only makes juice when it’s ON.

Design: It’s cute

Compared to giant, bulky juicers, this is adorably cute with a shiny black exterior that looks modern and appealing (also available in red). Everything about this juicer is petite, both inside and out. But it’s still well-built and very sturdy. For easy storage, the juice cup fits inside the pulp cup and they can both slide under the drum and auger assembly so they won’t take extra space on a shelf.

The juice cup holds 28 ounces (3.5 cups). While that’s enough for a tasty drink or two, it will need to be emptied regularly if the plan is to juice a lot of fruits and vegetables in one session. The clear juice cup, with measurements on one side, makes it easy to see how much juice has accumulated and when it’s time to be emptied. Similarly, the drum and feed chute are clear, making it easy to see the food entering the auger, watch the progress, and look out for any jams. To help thwart any possible jamming, this juicer has a reverse switch that lets food back out of the auger.

Lightweight appliances like this one are great when they need to be moved around, but lightweight can be a disadvantage if the machines move too easily on the counter. This one solves the problem with suction cup feet that hold the juicer firmly on the counter so it won’t wander in use and it won’t tip or slide if it gets bumped.

This juicer also came with an extra strainer/filter. This piece separates the juice from the pulp and fits at the end of the auger. At first, I thought that perhaps the extra strainer had a different-sized mesh to allow more or less pulp, but the mesh was identical. I couldn’t find any markings or any documentation indicating that they were different, so it’s just a spare part. While I can’t grumble about getting a replacement piece I might eventually need, I would have preferred a strainer with a different-size mesh to make the machine more versatile.

Features: Pretty basic

This juicer doesn’t come with a lot of extra features, which is understandable given the price. However, according to the manual, there are accessories that can be purchased separately to make the machine more versatile, including a slicing/shredding attachment and a sorbet-making attachment. While these were mentioned in the manual, I couldn’t find them for sale, so perhaps they have not yet been released.

Performance: Small, but mighty

I've used Omega juicers before, so I had high expectations of this machine, but I also wondered if performance was sacrificed in order to make a smaller, less expensive juicer. Fortunately, I discovered that the Omega Cold Press 365 Juicer still has enough power to juice everything from carrots to apples to leafy greens.

When starting the machine, it doesn’t respond immediately, and that’s by design. Instead, there’s a short pause before the machine starts chewing the food and sending juice into the cup. While the machine never had issues juicing anything I fed it, the small feed tube meant that I couldn’t shove large quantities of food down its maw. When I tried to feed greens a little too fast, they tended to get hung up inside the feed tube as I tried to push them in with the included pusher.

I found that while most whole carrots and celery stalks fit into the machine—giant ones needed some trimming—I did have to cut other fruits and vegetables to fit. However, I didn't mind setting up this juicer for small tasks, like juicing the core and spare bits of fresh pineapple after I cut it up. I also juiced scraps from apples that were left when I made applesauce.

Understandably, this machine was slower than larger machines I've used, but it was quick enough to not be tedious, and the juice cup filled faster than expected.

Since this machine is designed to be affordable, it doesn’t have all the features of more expensive machines. It doesn’t have a foam separator, but when I didn’t want foam in my juice, I simply poured the juice through a strainer.

The other thing this machine lacks is the ability to choose how much pulp you want in the juice. The juice I got had a little body to it because of pulp, but it wasn’t super pulpy. When I wanted a clearer juice, I pulled out the trusty strainer again to capture more of the pulp and get a clearer juice.

Cleaning: Easy by hand

Online information says that removable parts are dishwasher safe, but there was no cleaning information in the manual aside from disassembly instructions and a note that the parts should not be exposed to water above 176 degrees Fahrenheit. I opted to clean by hand, and it wasn’t difficult. Most of the parts are smooth, so they were easy to wipe and rinse. The juice strainer, with its small holes, required a bit more cleaning. The included cleaning brush took care of it easily, and since the strainer is so small, there wasn’t a lot to clean. When I wasn't able to clean that strainer right after use, I filled the empty juice cup with water and let the strainer soak there so food wouldn’t dry out and adhere to the tiny holes.

Price: Affordable for this type

Horizontal masticating juicers tend to be expensive, but this one is quite affordable, retailing at around $150. It’s not a super-cheap purchase, but it’s a great price for a good juicer. Based on the brand, I expect this will work well and last a long time.

Omega Cold Press 365 Juicer vs. Omega NC900HDC Premium Juicer and Nutrition System

Another offering from Omega is the Omega NC900HDC Premium Juicer and Nutrition System, which is larger, heavier, and pricier (it retails around $380). It also has a wide range of functions aside from making juice. For folks who want to have more control of what’s in their food, the NC900HDC can make nut butters and nut milks. It can also extrude dough for breadsticks and pasta.

While I like appliances that have multiple uses, not everyone needs a juicer that can also extrude pasta. Not everyone needs a juicer that can grind nuts. So, if those functions aren’t needed, the NC900HDC may be overkill. However, people who do a lot of juicing may appreciate its power and capacity.

For more casual juice drinkers, the 365 comes at a good price and it does its job well. I like both machines, for very different audiences.