When life gives you lemons, squeeze them with a top-quality manual juicer and enjoy fresh lemon juice each morning. If you only juice one or two lemons or limes a day, there is no need to invest in a commercial stand juicer. Manual or handheld juicers are ideal for citrus fruits and offer a convenient, efficient solution.
On the other hand, electric juicers are more suited for people who juice a lot. If you run a home juice bar, you have a couple of different juicing options. As for me, I still prefer to use hand juicers for oranges, lime, citrus, and similar types of fruits because they seem to get the most juice out.
The best part about using a manual citrus press juicer is that, with proper maintenance and occasional oiling, it can last nearly indefinitely. Additionally, manual juicers have fewer parts than electric models, making them easier to clean and maintain.
Our Top Picks – Overview
- Zulay Professional Citrus Juicer
- Zulay Premium Quality Juicer
- Bellemain Lemon Squeezer
- OXO Good Grips 2-in-1
- ROVSUN Hand Press Juicer
- Lexen GP27 Healthy Juicer
- Chef’n FreshForce Citrus Juicer
- Zulay Lemon Squeezer
- IMUSA J100 -00285 Lime Squeezer
- Hand Juicer Citrus Squeezer
Top 10 Best Manual Citrus Juicers Reviews
We have a couple of different hand-operated citrus press juicers on this list. Make sure to go through the reviews to find the best manual juicer for citrus.
1. Zulay Professional Citrus Juicer
While there are a couple of mixed reviews about this one, the Zulay professional citrus juicer is hands down the best juicer for citrus. A lot of restaurants use this hand-press juicer because of its efficiency in extracting juice.
The juicer is made using heavy-duty cast iron and has rubber feet to keep the juicer firmly in place. This citrus press juicer is not only durable but also ergonomically designed, which makes it the most efficient juicer squeezer.
The lever-action mechanism uses gravity and leverage to extract every drop of juice from limes, lemons, oranges, and even pomegranates. It’s easy to hold the handle, which has a comfortable, firm grip.
This allows for easy and fast citrus juicing while keeping your hands clean. The cup has a 5-inch diameter, which can hold even the largest grapefruits. Making juice using this lever action is so easy that you will be making juice every day.
- Heavy-duty cast iron body
- Ergonomic design for easy use
- Comfortable and firm handle grip
- Dishwasher friendly parts
- Might have quality control issues
2. Zulay Premium Quality Manual Citrus Juicer
This is a 2-in-1 lemon/lime press juicer from Zulay that is made using industrial-grade, food-safe aluminum with a protective coating. The ergonomic shape of the handle is engineered to be easy on the hands.
With this hand juicer, you can get every last drop of juice from your fruit without letting any seeds out. This hand-press juicer is easy to clean and also dishwasher safe. It’s a simple tool that does its job perfectly with less effort.
This lemon squeezer is sturdy and also very efficient at extracting lemon juice. If you have been squeezing lemons by hand, stop doing that. You are wasting a lot of lemons this way; Not to mention the wet and sore hands.
It has a simple mechanism. Cut your lemons, put the cut side down, and squeeze the lever. The best part is it keeps all the seeds out and gives you consistent results every time. In the end, you will be saving more money on lemons.
- Sturdy lemon squeezer
- Easy to use lever handle
- Heavy-duty metal bowl
- Dishwasher safe juicer
- Nothing to nitpick about
3. Bellemain Premium Quality Lemon Squeezer
Bellemain means a beautiful hand in French. The name fits perfectly with this hand juicer. This is a citrus squeezer that is made using 100% food-grade 18/10 stainless steel that won’t scratch, dent, or corrode in acidic juices.
It has rugged and reinforced hinges that make this one a true chef-grade lemon squeezer. The ergonomic silicone handle is comfortable and also absorbs pressure. It is easier on the hands and allows you to exert more pressure.
The sieve is cleverly designed that easily capture seeds. The bottom of the bow won’t let any seeds out no matter how small it is. Also, the grooves are designed in a way so that they can direct every drop of juice you squeeze into the bowl.
Some channels direct all the liquid down. On top of that, this juicer has a smooth, solid steel body that makes cleaning a breeze. In short, you are looking at rust-proof, dishwasher-safe, easy-to-use hand-press citrus juices.
- A chef-grade lemon squeezer
- Comfortable silicone handle
- Made using food-grade stainless steel
- Designed for optimal juice flow
- Expensive
4. OXO Good Grips 2-in-1
Squeeze every drop of lemon and lime with this 2-in-1 juicer from OXO. I know how annoying it is to hand-press lemons, and it also wastes a lot of fruit in the process. But not anymore. Introducing the best juicer for citrus fruits.
This one can squeeze the life out of lemons and make the whole process look very easy. It’s also easy and quick to clean up. This juicer comes with two different reamers to extract every last drop of juice from lime/lemons.
It also works with large or small citrus from lime to grapefruits. For lemons, simply snap on the small reamer, and for larger fruits like oranges and grapefruits, put on the large reamer. It also comes with a 350ml cup with measurement markings.
When it’s time for cleaning, you can quickly snap off the reamers. You can also rest the reamers on top of one another for quick storage. The plastic container is BPA-free and also dishwasher-safe.
- Ergonomically shaped body for better grip
- BPA free juice container
- It comes with two reamers
- Easy to store and clean
- All plastic body
5. ROVSUN Commercial Grade Citrus Juicer
Getting the right juice isn’t always an easy task. You will need a juicer that you can rely on for consistent results. When it comes to making juice, you can rely on this reliable and beautiful tabletop juice extractor from ROVSUN.
This is a commercial-grade citrus juicer that will work great for grapefruit, lime, lemons, oranges, and all other citrus fruits. This one-hand citrus juicer features a stainless-steel top strainer to eliminate seeds and pulps easily.
If you prefer freshly squeezed citrus juice in the morning every day, this one is the perfect manual juicer for you. It has a high-quality cast-iron body with rubber and silicone feet for stability. The juice weighs around 14 pounds.
The material that comes in contact with food items is made using food-grade stainless steel. The long and light handle on this heavy-duty juice crusher is easy to hold and feels comfortable.
- A heavy-duty cast iron body
- Food-grade 304 stainless steel strainer
- Long and lightweight lever with rubber grip
- Silicone and rubber feet for stability
- A bit heavy to carry around
6. The Original Healthy Juicer (Lexen GP27)
Juice in your kitchen or juice on the go with the Lexen GP27, aka the original healthy juicer. This manual juicer can make juice out of any type of leafy green. Wheatgrass, celery, kale, collard greens, lettuce, just drop it in and see the magic.
It’s hands down the best manual juicer on this list for a lot of reasons. You think of it as a slow-masticating juicer without a motor. It’s easy to clean, easy to use, and also very affordable. In short, this is the best electric juicer alternative.
If you want to juice at home but are too worried about the juicer’s cost, this one can be an excellent option for you to go with. It’s super easy to use thanks to the extra-long handle that can exert more force while reducing stress on your hands.
In a nutshell, this juicer can do any type of leafy green and is not limited to citrus only. It’s got cold press technology in there that keeps all the nutrients preserved. It’s versatile, mobile, and designed to be simple.
- Ideal manual juicer for leafy greens
- Allows you to juice anywhere you go
- An extra-long lever to better juicing
- Stays firm and stable on the table
- Weird container design
7. Chef’n (Lemon) FreshForce Citrus Juicer
Almost halfway through this list, and we are still not done yet. The next product is something that we are familiar with. It is an easy-to-clean lime and lemon hand juicer that is manufactured by none other than Chef’n.
Compared to conventional handheld citrus juicers, this one is capable of extracting 20% more juice thanks to its innovative bowl design. To increase the pressing power; the dual gear mechanism is completely redesigned from scratch.
Furthermore, it also reduces hand fatigue. This means you can squeeze more lemons without getting sore hands. If you need a small kitchen tool that you can use to press small citrus fruits, go with this one.
It has a durable nylon base and a food-grade stainless steel squeezer to ensure usage for years to come. For easy cleanup, simply detach the steel bow and put it on the top rack of your dishwasher.
- Durable stainless steel and nylon construction
- An improved dual gear mechanism
- Able to produce 20% more juice
- Easy to maintain and clean
- Can’t handle larger citrus
8. Zulay Lemon Squeezer Stainless Steel
Juice lemons with pleasure with a decent citrus juicer like this Zulay Lemon Squeezer. While I won’t recommend this one for the casual juicer, it is recommended that you juice one or two lemons at a time.
It’s well made, very sturdy, and is reasonably easy to use the grip. Also, this juicer filters lemon pips reasonably well. This premium lemon squeezer is made using ultra-strong and high-quality stainless steel.
It can get every last drop from your limes and lemon, and can also be used for small oranges while preventing any seeds from getting through into your juice. While other lemon squeezers break after three months, this one can last a lifetime.
The heavy-duty metal squeezer bowl presses hard on the fruit and extracts every drop of juice. It is large enough to house even the biggest oranges with ease. The silicone handles make pressing much easier.
- Heavy-duty metal squeezer
- Comfortable silicone handle
- Large manual juicer
- Unpainted, rust-proof stainless steel
- No gears
9. IMUSA USA J100 -00285 Lime Squeezer
This green line squeezer by IMUSA is made using high-quality aluminum that ensures every single drop of lime juice gets extracted from your lime. It has a metal ring on top that is perfect for hanging.
It has a built-in filter that ensures no seeds can get past it. The durable aluminum is painted green, which might be a dealbreaker for a lot of juicer fanatics. However, there are no records of the paint chipping.
This squeezer in green makes for a handy tool that makes the whole extracting process a breeze. The ergonomic design of this handheld press ensures comfortable use for longer durations.
The paint is not overly bright or too dark. It has the right color tone that gives the right amount of color to your kitchen. However, don’t exert too much force, or it will snap right off.
- Good for occasional use
- Filter designed to keep seeds in
- No mess, no-spill design
- Comfortable handle shape
- It can only press small limes
10. Hand Juicer Citrus Orange Squeezer
This isn’t just another ordinary hand juicer. Although we are at the very bottom of our list, I’ve saved the last spot for a neat little manual juicer. The Benwish hand juicer is an easy-to-use kitchen appliance with an innovative design.
It has a rotary lid handle that will give your hand a break. Instead of squeezing oranges using your hand, you can use the lid handle to squeeze the fruit effortlessly and hygienically without making your hands sticky.
This juicer is made using food-grade, BPA-free plastic, which is also dishwasher-safe. You won’t have to worry about toxic decomposition or noxious odor. It has a size that is perfect for squeezing larger fruits with minimum effort and time.
Even the holes have a perfect size that lets all the juice out while keeping the heavy pulps and the seeds in. If you want to speed up and simplify your juice extraction process, go with this one.
- Speeds up the juicing process
- Prevents hands from getting sticky
- Easy to use a hand juicer
- Extracts more juice at once
- The lid needs cleaning every time
Choosing The Best Manual Juicers | A Definitive Buyer’s Guide
From lime to grapefruit, it’s not that hard to find a good quality juice press that does a good job of extracting juice fast and effectively. A lot of juice bars and restaurants still use those big heavy-duty manual juice presses to squeeze all of their juice fresh.
Those manual juice pressers will squeeze just about any kind of citrus fruit. However, since we are talking about general-purpose hand juicers, we will have to take a look at the smaller ones. If you do a little searching online, you will find a lot of juicing options.
So, how do you go about finding the best one? Well, there are a couple of things you will have to look for in a manual juicer. There are hand-press juicers that are a bit flimsy-looking and/or quite expensive.
Keep these words in mind: simple, fast, efficient, and easy. Also, what is more, important than the price is the size. For daily use, you are better off using a commercial-quality juicer. If not, any decent handheld juicer will do.
FYI, the only real option for lemons & limes is handheld citrus presses.
Source: Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail
What Is A Manual Juicer?
A manual juicer is small or slightly bigger, depending on the type of getting, and is a kitchen appliance that simplifies the juicing process without having to rely on electricity or a motor. Instead, these juicers rely on the user’s muscular strength to either squeeze or press the ingredient to procure juice.
Most of the time, a small hand squeezer or a vertical press lever action manual juicer makes use of leverage and gravity as well as the user’s strength to extract the liquid out of fruits and vegetables.
Since these are electricity-free units, they require some degree of physical effort to work. People still prefer manual juicers and hand presses for a lot of reasons.
First of all, when it comes to applying pressure, a manual juicer offers much more flexibility. In return, you control the whole process, which results in a greater volume of dissolved nutrients being preserved.
Also, manually operated juicers are lighter and smaller, which makes them easy to carry, store, and use. If you are not a heavy juicer, you are the best option is to get a hand juicer.
Handheld Juicer Type Comparison
There are different varieties of handheld juicers. Some look like your average masticating electric juicers but use a hand lever to rotate the auger. On the other hand, there are manual vertical press lever action juicers that are widely used in juice bars. What we have here are widely known as squeezers.
In comparison, you can’t compare a lever juicer with a hand squeeze juicer because the former has way more juicing power. Now, for orange juice lovers, there is a third option.
A simple, well-made reamer is all you need to get much more thoroughly juiced oranges. It’s also way better than using a squeeze-style juicer. A little drawback is that you will get juice on the one hand, which will make your hand sticky.
However, performance-wise, it will be a lot closer to a lever-style juicer and will certainly beat any clam-shell squeeze-style juicer.
Why Do You Need A Manual Press Juicer?
Enjoy freshly squeezed orange juice every morning. Honestly, this is the only reason I could think of. No matter how you look at it, there is no denying that a handheld juicer is a way to go if you want to make lemon and lime juice.
The larger ones are suitable for orange and grapefruit. Citrus fruit juice is best served when the fruit is squeezed using a manual hand-press juicer machine. You simply put the cut end of the citrus down, squeeze the handle, or drop down the lever, and the juice comes out, just like that.
The perforated cone presses hard against the fruit and breaks up the pulp leaving only the juice out and the seeds and the pulps in. The juice that comes out will have a far better taste than what you would get from store-bought, processed juice.
If you want to make a few glasses of grapefruit or orange juice at a time, or a few cups of lime or lemon juice for limeade and lemonade on the hotter days, you will need a manual juicer.
Also, you can’t get the texture of fresh-squeezed juice or the superior flavor from a can, jar, or store-bought juice carton.
Electric Citrus Juicer Vs. Manual Citrus Juicer: What’s The Difference?
Instead of talking about how both of these juicers work, why not talk about the pros and cons of each type? This way, you will better understand their differences.
Manually Operated Juicer
The first advantage is the price. There is no doubt that manual juicers are more affordable than their electric counterpart. They are also more portable and can be used anywhere because you are not relying on an electric motor. Another reason is that these juicers don’t have any noise levels.
They remain completely silent during the juice extraction process. Now, for the most part, which is cleaning. Manual juicers are by far the easiest to clean because they make use of fewer components.
Manual juicer machines have their fair share of drawbacks. If you juice a lot, you are better off buying an electric juicer because when it comes to efficiency, manual juicers can’t compete with electric juicers.
Also, manual juicers are only good for citrus fruits. If you prefer leafy greens, you won’t find a manual juicer that is capable of dealing with dense vegetables and greens. Although there are a couple of juicers that are designed for leafy greens, your hands will quickly get sore.
Electric Juicer
This type of juicer requires very little effort and little to no physical exertion. You can rely on the best electric citrus juicer to do all the manual tasks for you. However, electric models aren’t cheap, and you won’t have full control over the extraction process.
When it comes to lemon and limes, electric models are the ideal mode of operation. However, for leafy greens, your only option is to go with electric juicers. There are a bunch of different juicers on the market with different juicing mechanisms. I will leave it here as it is because that’s a topic for another article.
Things To Look For
Once you have decided on the type, there are a few other key features that you will need to look for. In the following section, I’ll be discussing some of the most important ones to make your juicer buying decision much easier.
Durability
Even though manual juicers use leverage and gravity to exert pressure, some models tend to break after just a few months of use. That’s why you need durable material-constructed juicers. For example, high-quality stainless steel and cast-iron body are usually better and longer-lasting.
Cleaning
Most manual juicers are fairly easy to clean because they have fewer parts compared to electric models. Also, the detachable parts are dishwasher-safe. However, you should still look at this feature because maintaining and keeping the juicer clean will greatly increase its lifespan.
Size
There are a couple of different size options when it comes to hand juicers. If you mostly juice lemons and limes, small hand-press juicers will do. If you prefer larger fruits like oranges and grapefruits, you will need a bigger juicer.
On the other hand, if you juice a lot of oranges and other citrus fruit, you should go with a large vertical press/lever action juicer. This type of juicer is better at dealing with larger quantities of fruits.
Ease Of Use
Even though manual juicers will require some degree of physical activity, the juicer should be easier on the hands. It shouldn’t feel like a hand workout. All that twisting and cranking required to use a manual juicer means you have got to have some strength.
Storage
Lastly, you will have to look at storage. When not in use, you should be able to store the juicer easily. Some models come with a metal hanger, while some don’t. On the other hand, large lever action juicers will take a bit of space, so keep that in mind.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How to clean a manual juicer?
Most of the handheld manual juicers are top-rack dishwasher safe. At least the removable parts are. Also, a good practice is to soak or rinse off those detachable parts immediately after you use them. This will help prevent any juice from drying on them.
If the pulp gets dried out and you leave it as it is, there are chances of mold growth. And for the parts that aren’t dishwasher friendly, simply wiping them with a paper towel or damp cloth will do.
Also, if you work with a lot of fruits, the strainer might get blocked after a few squeezes. It’s a good idea to clean the strainer midway or after a few fruits. This will prevent pulp buildup, or else it will block the juice from going through the strainer.
2. Are leafy greens good for manual juicing?
No. Leafy greens are dense and require a powerful electric juicer to crush and extract all the liquid. There is one juicer that is designed to deal with leafy greens, but that’s not ideal in most cases.
For example, the Lexen G27 has the same mechanism as a cold press masticating juicer but doesn’t have a motor. It’s a manual juicer that has a long lever that you rotate, which then rotates the auger. While it’s good for some small quantity of leafy greens, it will quickly tire your arm out.
3. What fruits can you use in a manual juicer?
If you are using a hand-crank strainer, you can use any type of leafy greens. It works just like a slow-masticating juicer. A tabletop hand-press juicer is perfect for citrus fruits. There are reamers that work best with oranges. Finally, handheld manual juicers or lemon squeezers are more suited for lime and lemon.
4. What is a jug reamer?
It’s a type of manual juicer that consists of two primary components. The first one is the juicing cone, and the second one is the juice receptacle. When you put the two together, you get a jug reamer.
The advantage of a jug reamer is that you can apply pressure to the fruit vertically while rubbing it back and forth. The cone breaks down the cell to extract liquid, which then runs down the funnel. The container or the receptacle collects all the juice.
A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | FEATURES | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
|
BEST FOR CITRUS
 |
Zulay Professional
|
9.9
|
CHECK PRICE |
|
BEST HAND JUICER
 |
Zulay Manual
|
9.7
|
CHECK PRICE |
|
BEST COLD PRESS
 |
Bellemain Squeezer
|
9.6
|
CHECK PRICE |
|
BEST FOR CITRUS FRUITS
 |
OXO Good Grips
|
9.4
|
CHECK PRICE |
|
COMMERCIAL GRADE
 |
ROVSUN Commercial
|
9.8
|
CHECK PRICE |
Final Words
So, which one here is the best manual juicer? There are actually three of them that I want to recommend. The first one is a pretty simple kitchen appliance with a lever-action mechanism: Zulay Professional Citrus Juicer. It’s a sturdy manual juicer that has cast-iron and stainless-steel construction.
This will allow you to make orange and citrus juice for the whole family in a short time. On the other hand, Bellemain Premium Quality Stainless Steel Lemon Squeezer is perfect for making lemonade or a glass of lemon juice. If you want an even simpler solution, you can use the OXO Good Grips 2-in-1 Juicer.
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