Sage 3x Bluicer Pro - Review

Standout Features:

Ability to blend, juice, or both!
Powerful 1350w machine with 10 speed settings
Large 1.5l pulp bin and blending jug
Large 88mm feed chute - juice whole apples!
5 preset functions including pulse/ice crush, auto clean and frozen cocktails

With Summer in full swing, there’s nothing more refreshing than a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Or maybe a mango smoothie, or even a frozen margarita. How about a healthy and vibrant green vegetable juice?

Whatever takes your fancy, the Sage 3X Bluicer™ Pro is the ultimate machine to create delicious fresh juices, tasty slushies, healthy smoothies, decadent cocktails and much much more. In fact, with the 3x Bluicer Pro you can blend, juice or combine both. Yes, you can make your very own bluices!

After using this machine practically everyday for a month, I would like to share my experiences, both good and bad, in this Tried & Tested review.

In the Box & Assembly:

In the box you get the main unit along side:

1.5l blending jug and lid (dishwasher safe)
1.5l pulp bin (dishwasher safe)
Food pusher
Juicer cover (dishwasher safe)
Stainless steel filter basket
Filter bowl surround (dishwasher safe),
Cleaning brush
Nozzle to juice into a glass
Instructions manual

It sounds like a lot of parts but the machine is very easy to assemble with easy to follow instructions in the manual. Once you put it together once you won’t forget how to assemble it.

The main unit has a good weight to it and is finished in a sleek brushed stainless steel with large buttons and dials and the plastic components are made from heavy duty and durable plastics which won’t be damaged easily.

Features:

Alongside a clear LCD panel, there are 5 preset functions: Smoothie, Green Smoothie, Pulse/Ice Crush, Auto Clean and Frozen Cocktail. These pre-programmed cycles automatically adjust the blending time and speeds to optimise blending results. For instance, if you press Smoothie, the speed starts off at the highest speed (10) before gradually slowing down to aerate the smoothie for optimum taste. The Pulse/Ice Crush button allows you to turn ice into ‘snow’ for slushie style drinks by breaking down the ice at higher speeds.

The Auto Clean button allows you to clean the blender jug with added soapy water after you’ve used the machine, but this is more for when the jug is too dirty to clean by hand.

There are a whopping 10 speed settings that can be quickly changed at a turn of the Speed Control Dial. The lower speeds are more for soft fruit/vegetable juicing and for ‘stirring’ during blending and the higher speeds are for juicing harder fruit/vegetables like apples and carrots and ‘pulverizing’ during blending.

There is also a handy timer on the Panel which tells you how long the machine has been in use and will automatically stop at 2 minutes to prevent overheating. It’s all quite fool-proof and easy to use.

As the 3x in the name suggests, there are 3 main functions of the machine: Juicing, Blending and Bluicing. You simply attach the blender to the machine to blend or you can juice INTO the blender first and then attach the blender in order to create a blended juice or ‘bluice.’ More on this later.

The Italian-made stainless steel filter basket and blending jug blades are super sharp and designed to extract juice and blend ingredients as efficiently as possible. The machine has Cold Spin Technology which allows juice to flow up without increasing the temperature significantly and therefore keeping flavour intact. The feed chute is massive at 88mm, which easily allows you to juice apples whole without needing to cut them beforehand.

There is also a cleaver locking system that must be clicked into place before the juicing/blending functions can be activated.

Performance:

At 1350w, this machine is seriously powerful and you immediately tell the difference between other blenders/juicers that are 1000w and below. When using the blender at full speed, for instance, the machine can jump on the counter such is the power of the machine. The build quality is fantastic and Sage are experts at making high-quality appliances that produce impressive results and the 3x Bluicer Pro is no different.

In terms of juicing, the super sharp filter basket extracts juice really well and the pulp comes out virtually bone dry. I have juiced oranges, apples, carrots and more and then rejuiced the pulp and there was virtually no remaining juice left in the pulp. Having owned a few juicers in the past, this is the first time that I have not needed to rejuice the pulp such is the excellent juice extraction of the machine.

The pulp bin itself is the ideal size and you don’t need to keep emptying it out during use which makes life a lot easier too. My only criticism is that the bin could be made more secure to the machine as I’ve noticed juicing harder fruit/veg at higher speeds can sometimes result in pulp flying out and creating a mess. I’ve experimented at different speeds and it still tends to fly out at certain times. It doesn’t create a huge mess but an air-tight connection to the main unit would definitely help.

The extra large chute is one of the standout features and makes quick work of apples, pears and other large fruit/veg. It saves a lot of time and the juice yield remains very impressive.

Blending using the preset functions is shockingly good, thanks to the power of the machine plus the sharp blades of the blender. I have been juicing apple and ginger juice and then bluicing it with a handful of spinach and kale to create a green ‘bluice.’ The end result has consistently been an ultra smooth liquid that you’d never guess has blended leafy vegetables inside. I’m sometimes wary of preset functions as being a bit gimmicky and I seldom use them in reality, but I have repeatedly used the presets on this machine and the results haven’t let me down once.

The Pulse/Ice Crush makes light-work of ice, turning it into light and fluffy snow that’s perfect for slushies and the frozen cocktail preset is great for making daiquiris and frozen margaritas. The fun is experimenting with fruit and vegetables to create different juices, smoothies and bluices and the combinations are endless.

Cleaning:

Cleaning is the most hated part about juicing and it’s no surprise when you consider how many separate parts, big and small, you need to clean by hand. However, with the 3X Bluicer Pro, many of the parts are dishwasher safe which makes cleaning much more straight-forward.

The cleaning brush is also effective at clearing the filter but the Auto-clean preset is more of a gimmick for me as the blender can easily be cleaned by hand with warm soapy water and there is no auto-clean for the juicer, which almost defeats the purpose of having the preset. Having used it a few times, it doesn’t always completely clean the jug so I wouldn’t waste time using this function personally. Cleaning overall though isn’t too much of a chore if you clean/rinse immediately after use or if you stick the parts straight in the dishwasher!

Overall:

The Sage 3x Bluicer Pro is by far the best juicer/blender I have ever used. Super easy to use with clear dials and buttons and high-quality components, fruit and vegetable juice is extracted so cleanly that the pulp is left consistently bone dry. The high powered machine and 10 speed settings also makes blending a doddle, and whether you’re making green smoothies or frozen cocktails, the presets are perfect for quickly whipping up exotic concoctions. As I mentioned, the fun is experimenting with different juices, smoothies and ‘bluices’ and it’s been great seeing what I can create with different fruit and veg.

At £369.95, the machine isn’t cheap, but for that price you’re getting a juicer and blender, essentially it’s two appliances in one and both are top of the range in terms of build and performance. All in all. the Sage 3X Bluicer™ Pro is a fantastic appliance that will make juicing, blending and bluicing a real joy and you certainly won’t be disappointed with the end results.