The juice machine showdown: Which campus squeeze wins?

by Adhip Koshy

Orange juice – the cult favourite

iJooz

🏷️ $2.00

📍 South Spine, SS2, B3 / North Spine (outside Civil & Environmental Engineering lobby) / Art, Design & Media Building, B1 / Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Building, L1 / Wee Cho Yaw Plaza, L1 / The Arc, B2, L1 & L2 / UOB Innovation Hub, B5 / CresPion Halls (Blk 17B)

With over 10 machines scattered around NTU, iJooz is a campus fixture for good reason. It’s consistent, affordable and genuinely refreshing. You even get a choice of ice or no ice. Ice makes your juice last longer on a hot day, but going without lets the flavour fully shine.

The cup I had was slightly sweet with a bright acidic kick that cuts through afternoon fatigue. With four oranges squeezed per cup, you can practically taste the effort. At $2, it’s the best value of the three and the easiest yes.

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Apple juice that feels like a treat

QBjooze

🏷️ $2.50

📍 The Arc, B2 & L1

 

AP Juice

🏷️ $2.80

📍 Wee Cho Yaw Plaza, L1

Not as established as freshly squeezed orange juice, and not as novel as sugarcane. But the apple juices – from two different brands – still impress. I was drawn by QBjooze’s fun, eye-catching packaging, and the juice itself turned out to be a sensory experience. The heady aroma hits even before the first sip, followed by an intense apple flavour that’s rich and sweet. QBjooze is thicker, while AP Juice has a slightly sweeter finish. Juices from both machines are pricier than the rest, but if you’re after something bold and fragrant that feels like a proper treat, apple is a strong pick.

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Liquid sugarcane that hits on the first sip

Supercane

🏷️ $2.40

📍 North Spine (outside Civil & Environmental Engineering lobby) / South Spine, B3

The newest addition to NTU’s juice machine scene arrived last December, and it’s arguably the most theatrical of the lot. Watching the machine crush whole sugarcane stalks in real time is genuinely satisfying, and half the fun is just standing there. The juice itself is extremely sweet, so it’s best sipped slowly. Drink it too quickly and your stomach will let you know. It’s also the most Southeast Asian of the three, stirring up childhood memories. Somehow, gulps of it hit differently between lectures. At $2.40, it’s a fun occasional indulgence, as long as you don’t chug it.

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The truth about your daily juice habit Swapping bubble tea for fresh juice sounds like a “good” choice, but how healthy is it really? I asked Asst Prof Kazuyuki Kasahara, who specialises in metabolic health and gut microbiome research at NTU’s medical school. So... is fresh juice actually healthy? It’s not unhealthy, but not entirely a green flag either. Fresh juice can pack a surprising amount of natural sugar, so think of it as an occasional treat, rather than a daily hydration source. Juice vs whole fruit: What's better? The whole fruit, hands down. Juicing strips away most of a fruit’s fibre – the part that feeds the “good” bacteria in your gut and supports digestive health. Do these machines keep the nutrients? Good news: yes. Freshly squeezed juice retains more vitamins and minerals than pre-packaged versions from the supermarket, especially when drunk right away. Heathiest pick? Orange and apple juices both contain vitamins and polyphenols, beneficial compounds that help protect your body. Sugarcane juice, while delicious, has fewer nutritional benefits. If you’re choosing with your health in mind, or want to cut down on sugar, go citrus or apple. The bottom line Fresh juice beats a can of soda. But whole fruit still wins.