We extensively tested Sana's new wide-mouth vertical juicer, and were pleased with the results. Wide feeding tubes are great in theory, but we often find this leads to jammed juicers, and the rest of the machine isn't powerful or sturdy enough to handle certain large pieces of produce like beets or carrots. The Sana's 240 watt motor handles these quite well overall. We did manage to jam the machine once with a very fat carrot, but reversing the motor cleared it up fast.
While some manufacturers offer some optional screens, its unheard of to see a juicer include four screens. The two juicing screens - fine and coarse - worked well as expected, as did the sorbet screen. We were most impressed with the smoothie screen. We tested it with a green smoothie - apples, banana, spinach, and lime - and the result was very smooth, without the foam or oxidation we'd get in a blender. Kudos to them for including this as standard. The included citrus attachment in this specially-priced combo is useful for those who like to make orange juice (or pomegranate juice) without having to peel the fruit.
Of course, no vertical will clean up as easily as a horizontal juicer, except for Sana's screenless 848 vertical. But the 868's clever full-screen cleaning brush which snaps onto the screen helped a lot with cleaning. And we didn't notice excessive pulp buildup under the auger as often happens with many vertical juicers. They even included a handy wrench to remove the hopper from the juicing drum, in case it gets jammed by overfeeding. We never needed to try it, but its nice to see it there.
As always, the juice and pulp containers are a standout. We like to see manufacturers pay attention to this often ocerlooked aspect of juicing, and always look forward to seeing what Sana comes up with next. They included their large stainless steel pulp container, which looks like the one from their flagship 727. And the glass pitcher is the biggest we've seen at 1500ml. Thankfully its plenty thick, and made from borosilicate glass for shatter resistance.
We'd love to see a vacuum container, as the one included with the Sana 848 really makes juicing easier. While we love juicing, we'll always take juicing a lot twice as week (and storing it under a vacuum) versus juicing every day.
Overall, this is a great juicer for a wide range of produce. The smoothie screen is probably our favorite thing about it - it's not a gimmick, and if you like smoothies it can be a game changer.
