| Our verdict at a glance Fridja F1900 Slow Juicer – around £220. Rating: 8.3/10 One-line verdict: the most sensible entry point into cold press juicing – yield and juice quality close to machines costing twice as much, in exchange for smaller feed openings and more time spent chopping and feeding. Buy it if you want to find out whether juicing becomes a habit before committing £500, you value quiet running, and you do not mind a few minutes of prep. Skip it if you already know you juice several times a week and want to load a hopper and walk away, or you mainly want thick smoothies rather than juice. |
There is a strong argument that nobody should spend £500 on their first juicer. Juicing is a habit that either takes hold or does not, and the failure rate is high – not because the juice disappoints but because the chopping, feeding and cleaning add up to something that does not survive contact with a Tuesday morning. Spending £550 to discover that is an expensive way to find out.
The Fridja F1900 is the machine that answers the question properly for around £220. It is a genuine vertical cold press juicer with a slow-turning auger, not a centrifugal machine dressed up as one, and it produces juice that is very close in quality and yield to the premium vertical machines at the top of the best juicers UK shortlist. What it asks in return is more of the cook’s time: smaller feed openings, more chopping, and more standing at the worktop with a plunger.
This review covers how the yield and juice quality actually compare to the expensive machines, how much prep is really involved, what cleaning is like, and who should buy this instead of spending more or less.
Cold press at £220: what is and is not compromised
The cold press category runs from around £150 to well past £600, and the interesting thing about it is how little the core performance varies across that range. A slow auger crushing produce against a screen extracts a similar amount of juice whether the machine cost £200 or £550, because the physics are the same and the motors are all adequate. Yield differences between a good £220 machine and a good £550 machine are real but modest.
What the extra money buys is convenience and construction. Premium machines have wider feed chutes or hoppers that reduce or eliminate chopping and feeding, larger and coarser screens that clean faster, better-finished housings, longer motor warranties and quieter gearboxes. None of that changes what ends up in the glass; all of it changes how often the machine gets used.
The Fridja sits at the point where the juice is genuinely good and the convenience is basic. That is a defensible place to be, and for a first cold press juicer it is arguably the right one – the convenience features are exactly what a buyer cannot yet judge the value of, because they have not yet found out how often they will juice.
Build, design and footprint
The F1900 is a vertical machine with the motor in the base, a juicing chamber above it and a feed chute in the lid. The housing is ABS plastic with a brushed-effect panel, and the juicing components are the usual food-grade Tritan and nylon. It is not a luxurious object – the plastics are clearly plastics and the finish will not be mistaken for a Nama or a Hurom – but the fit between parts is good and nothing flexes or rattles under load.
The motor is geared and low-speed, turning the auger at roughly 60rpm, which is squarely in the correct range for cold press extraction. Torque is adequate for hard produce: whole carrots cut into lengths, beetroot and apple quarters all go through without stalling. There is a reverse function, which is essential on any auger juicer and gets used more on a narrow-chute machine than on a wide one.
Footprint is a real advantage over the premium machines. Without a hopper stacked on top, the F1900 is short enough to sit under a standard wall unit, which means it can live on the worktop rather than in a cupboard. That matters more than it sounds – a juicer that has to be lifted out and assembled before use gets used far less often than one that is already standing there.
Fridja is a UK brand with UK support and parts, which is worth something on an appliance with consumable components. Augers and screens wear over years of use, and being able to buy a replacement screen without importing it is a practical advantage over some direct-from-Asia competitors at the same price.
Yield and juice quality
Yield on hard produce is strong and close to what the premium verticals manage. Apple, carrot, beetroot and ginger all come out with pulp that is dry rather than damp – squeezing a handful yields little – which is the practical test that matters. On a kilo of mixed hard produce the difference against a £550 machine is small enough to be within the variation between batches of fruit.
Citrus works well provided it is peeled, and the peel really does need removing – the pith and oils make the juice bitter and the auger struggles with the rind. Soft fruit like peaches, mango and berries needs pairing with harder produce or it turns to a thick purée that clogs the screen rather than separating.
Leafy greens are adequate rather than good. Spinach and chard go through when layered between apple or carrot; a large handful of kale on its own will wrap around the auger and need the reverse function. This is a characteristic of every vertical slow juicer rather than a Fridja failing, but the narrower chute makes it slightly more pronounced because the greens go in as a denser plug.
Juice quality itself is exactly what cold press should deliver: almost no foam, no warmth in the glass, very little separation in the first hour and a realistic fridge life of two to three days in a sealed container. Side by side with a centrifugal juicer the difference is immediate and one-sided.
Prep, feeding and cleaning time
This is where the price shows. The feed chute is narrow, so produce needs cutting into pieces roughly the size of a large chip – apples into eighths, carrots into lengths, celery into sections. For a two-glass batch that is around five to six minutes of chopping, against perhaps three on a wide-chute machine and four on the hopper-fed Nama J2.
Feeding then takes another three to four minutes of standing at the machine with the plunger, adding pieces as the auger takes them. That is the part that no amount of familiarity makes shorter, and it is the single biggest practical difference between this machine and the premium alternatives described in the Nama J2 review. Anyone who finds that they resent those four minutes has learned something useful about which juicer they should own.
Cleaning is better than expected. There are four main parts – lid, chamber, auger and screen – and the screen needs a brush through the mesh, which is supplied. Done immediately it takes three minutes; left to dry it takes closer to eight. The habit that makes the biggest difference is pouring a jug of water through the assembled machine as soon as the juice stops running, which flushes most of the loose pulp before it sets hard.
Noise is excellent, as it is for all cold press machines. The low-speed geared motor produces a quiet hum rather than a whine, comfortably quiet enough for early mornings in a flat with thin walls. This is one area where the cheap cold press machine matches the expensive one exactly.
Is the Fridja F1900 the right juicer to buy?
For a first cold press juicer, in most cases yes. It delivers the thing that actually distinguishes cold press from centrifugal – higher yield, dry pulp, no foam, no heat, multi-day fridge life, quiet running – for well under half the price of the premium machines. The juice in the glass is the point, and the juice in the glass is very good.
The case for spending more is entirely about frequency. Someone who already juices four or five times a week and knows it is a fixture will get real value from a hopper-fed machine, because the time saved compounds. Someone who juices twice a week will find the F1900’s extra few minutes of prep an acceptable price for saving £300, and can always upgrade later with the benefit of knowing what they actually want.
The case for spending less is weak. The £150 and under bracket is where build quality, motor torque and screen design start to genuinely suffer, and a stalling auger or a screen that will not clean properly is how a juicer gets abandoned. The F1900 sits just above that line, which is the useful place for it to be.
The 8.3 rating reflects a machine that gets the fundamentals right and charges sensibly for them. Yield, juice quality, noise and footprint are all strong; the narrow chute, the prep time and the plain plastic construction are the compromises, and they are visible rather than hidden.
- EASY TO CLEAN DESIGN: Powerful 240W matte black stainless steel, easy-to-clean metal with a large 75mm tilting feeding tube for minimal waste. Easy to assemble, operate, and clean, 100% BPA-free parts ensure safe cleanup. Runs quietly - less than 60 decibels. Heavy-duty stainless steel and a sturdy, stable body ensure a quiet and calm environment when juicing, and look amazing in your kitchen
- HIGHER NUTRITIONAL VALUE: As a masticating juicer machine, the auger spins at 60 RPM, which preserves the vitamins, enzymes, minerals, trace minerals and nutrients from being destroyed as opposed to centrifugal juicers. Maintain minimal oxidation, low heat buildup, reduced foaming, and no clogging. Features a tilted, wide-mouth feeding chute for minimal waste and faster operation, requiring less preparation time
- NEW SIEVE INCLUDED: In our latest version, we've included a sieve. That means you can decide if you'd like the pulp bits in or out! Simply place it on top of the juice jug, and it will catch all the pulp as the juice is being made
- MORE THAN JUST JUICE: High yield and dry pulp extraction. Use the new sieve to decide if you want bits in or out! This machine extracts your fruits, vegetables, sorbets, nut milks, nut butters, and fruit ice creams. Two filters are included for all drinks, fruit ice cream, and fruit sorbets. Comes with two 1-litre jugs and a cleaning brush. Slow juicers have a higher juice yield compared to centrifugal juicers due to the auger squeezing and reverse function
- JUICES & NUT MILKS: Feeding in whole fruits like apples, carrots, and lemons is easier than ever! Cold-pressed juice, citric juices, and vegetable juices are quickly prepared. Not only does your juicer machine produce juice, but the f1900 whole fruit juicer also produces sorbets, fruit ice cream, nut butters and nut milks quickly
FAQ
Is the Fridja F1900 a real cold press juicer?
Yes. It uses a slow-turning auger – roughly 60rpm – to crush and press produce against a screen, which is the defining mechanism of cold press or masticating juicing. It is not a centrifugal machine with slow-juicer marketing. The evidence is in the output: dry pulp, minimal foam, no warmth in the glass and juice that keeps for two to three days rather than two hours.
Fridja F1900 or Nama J2?
The juice is comparable; the effort is not. The Nama has a hopper that holds a whole batch and juices unattended, and a wider opening that reduces chopping, for roughly £330 more. The Fridja needs produce cut small and fed piece by piece with a plunger, adding perhaps five minutes per session. If juicing is already a several-times-a-week habit, the Nama pays for itself in time and gets used more. If it is new or occasional, the Fridja is the sensible purchase.
How much chopping does it need?
More than a wide-chute machine. Produce needs cutting to roughly the size of a large chip: apples into eighths, carrots into lengths, celery into sections, citrus peeled and halved. For a two-glass batch that is around five to six minutes of preparation, plus three to four minutes of feeding. Soft fruit should be alternated with hard produce, and leafy greens fed between harder items rather than in a mass.
Can it make smoothies?
Not properly. A juicer separates juice from fibre; a smoothie keeps the fibre. Some slow juicers ship a coarse strainer that lets more pulp through for a thicker drink, which is closer to juice with body than to a smoothie. For actual smoothies with whole fruit, banana, yoghurt or oats, a blender is the correct appliance and the results are not comparable.
How long does cleaning take?
Around three minutes if done straight away, and closer to eight if the pulp has dried on. There are four parts to rinse and the screen needs the supplied brush worked through the mesh. Pouring a jug of water through the assembled machine immediately after juicing clears most of the loose pulp and makes a large difference. Parts are top-rack dishwasher safe, though rinsing by hand is quicker.
How long will it last?
The motor and gearbox are the components that determine the life of a slow juicer, and both are conservatively specified here. The wearing parts are the auger and the screen, which soften and lose efficiency over several years of regular use and can be replaced. Fridja is a UK brand with UK parts availability, which makes that replacement practical rather than theoretical – a real advantage over comparable imported machines.
The final word
The Fridja F1900 is the juicer to buy when the honest answer to how often you will juice is “not sure yet”. It produces genuinely good cold press juice, runs quietly, fits under a wall unit and costs little enough that finding out is not an expensive mistake.
The premium machines are better, and the way they are better is specific: they save time rather than improve the juice. That is worth paying for once the habit exists and worth nothing before it does. Starting here and upgrading later, with a clear idea of what the extra money should be buying, is the sensible order to do it in.
