Good machine but long term questionable.
Written: Dec 15 '03 (Updated Sep 21 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Makes real tasting Soy milk.
Pays for itself in a short time.
Cons: Uncertain long term life of motor.
Optimistic 50oz output.
The Bottom Line: Buy with extended warranty on your credit card. Long term durability of motor questionable for a machine that makes good soy milk.
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| bilbo777's Full Review: Soyajoy Soy Milk Maker |
Having had this machine for 5 months, I thought I'd write a real review after some usage of the product. You get a blender sized machine. Soak your beans, fill the water, load up the beans and go.
First and foremost is that you are literally drinking bean soup. Don't think milk. I had a lot of people ask me about the machine that I have and I make that quite clear.
Output:
However, 50 oz is totally optimistic. Your actual usable non-gritty output after secondary straining is about 40 oz. So drinking a large 16 oz glass, you have about 2 and a half glass fulls. If you don't strain the grit well enough, the storage life decreases dramatically. Drink in 3-5 days on average. Don't think long term storage. That large picture you see you only fill up the bottom 1/4 of the container.
Taste:
Growing up drinking the small ultra high temperature boxed versions before they became popular in the large quart cold refrigerated sections of the store today, I am use to its unique true taste that is not the same as those in the store. The only way to get close to that taste easily is use 2 Equal packets per 8 oz but then it tastes a lot like Equal.
Having had about 10 people curious about the machine and Soy since I have it at the office for my morning 'coffee', 9 out of 10 did not like the taste. One I managed to have one drink it when I used the Equal trick above at 3 bags/8 oz.
Try this as a major deal breaker: if you can't drink the non sugared plain one in the refrigerated case at the store, do not go this route. You will end up with an expensive counter item. Fortunately, I like the taste so it works for me.
Long term usage:
At its basic level, this is a motorized chopper that chops up the beans and boils it for you. In my usage out of the box, the motor was loud. And it has gotten progressively louder as the people around me can attest. With cleanup involved and you have to clean the machine ASAP, it is about 25 minutes a batch start/finish. I'd advise making 2 batches at once if you can to save yourself labor of cleaning.
From using the Soyajoy, I can hear that the motor appears to be quickly wearing out. While there is a 1 year warranty, to send this back at your cost would be about $15. So I recommend strongly that you use some credit card that extends the warranty. Don't misread the 5 year warranty as that applies to the pot and strainer only.
I like the machine that it produces genuine soy milk. I am concerned about the life of the machine's motor.
Update 9/21/06
Machine works but louder and additional commentary below on cleaning, noise and another overall thought.
Cleaning:
The cleaning aspect of this machine really made me shelve it more often than not. Extra straining required me to have another storage container on top of the mason jars I was using to store the soymilk when I was done just added to the cleanup. Extra container and strainers needed to be cleaned. The screen cup that comes with the machine just gets clogged too easily even if you instantly try to clean it but a dish washer does do the trick when it gets bad. I started out thinking it would be like a coffee machine quick cleanup but I faced reality that it takes a lot longer. Make the extra batch so you don't have to do it daily.
Noise:
It has gotten to the point that I use a box to cover the machine when I run it. Co-workers were noting the noise even thought I'm in cubicle land and its loud here with people talking over cubes. The noise was a disappointment. I read the new Soyapower model tries to deal with the noise so that is good.
Taste:
I've read other people's reviews after mine and I stress it along with their commentary that the end product is not the same as you see in stores. You are going to read rave reviews but there needs to be realism. The taste is totally DIFFERENT unless you add flavoring or sugar. Bean soup is the image to keep in mind so it will be watery but with extra filtration, you can avoid the solids. The trick I suggested with Equal or the new winner Splenda works but after a while, even I got tired of the artificial sweeteners.
Overall:
I started buying the soy milk in the stores to supplement the Soyajoy. I reach for the store bought stuff because I like the taste and consistency so I like drinking it. I drink the Soyajoy soy milk because I mask the true taste with sweeteners now but its a cheaper version. I'm concerned over the long term of what I add but life is too short to drink it plain because its healthy. Because I've been exposed to the real taste fresh out of the machine so much,I almost never drink it as is after I make it hot or cold but I need to do something to it as I've stated.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
bilbo777
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Location: Boston, MA
Reviews written: 3
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