My very first juicer was the Black & Decker CitrusMate citrus juicer.  The first thing is that it only costs about $25.  It is an electric model and is very easy to handle.  The juice container sits on top of the base, and a rod rotates in the middle when pressure is applied down.  When the lid is placed on top, the rod is connected to the reamer that is used to juice the citrus fruit.  As you push down on the reamer, it rotates and will juice the fruit.  It even alternates between clockwise and counter-clockwise to really get all the juice out of your fruit.  The lid conveniently has a strainer that doesn’t allow the pulp to fall through into the juice container.  It has 3 settings that let you control how much pulp goes through – no pulp, a little pulp, most of the pulp.  Finally, there are two different sized reamers, allowing you to juice big and small citrus fruits.

The CitrusMate is actually a great product if you are only interested in citrus juice.  If all you want is to be able to make orange juice in the morning, or fresh lemon juice to make lemonade, this is the juicer for you.  It will juice oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, lemons, limes, and so on.  It is quick and easy to use, and does a great job of getting most of the juice.  Compared to what you would pay for a good citrus press (about $150), you are definitely getting plenty of bang for your buck with the CitrusMate.

The first downside is obvious – it only juices citrus fruits.  You will HAVE to upgrade to juice any kind of vegetable.  Another disadvantage is cleaning.  For such simple tasks, washing the lid and container each time is a pain.  Finally, this citrus juicer will not be able to juice the rinds, which contain a lot of nutrients that you don’t want to miss out on.

Overall, the CitrusMate citrus juicer does its job, and it does it well.  As a first juicer, you cannot go wrong.