Luvele (UK) Limited Anmeldelser 

I’m new to yogurt making and chose the Luvele Pure Plus yogurt maker because of the one large 2l glass jar you use for the yogurt . So far I very pleased with my purchase and have used it non stop since I received it. Great results and the yogurt is perfect. Customer service is excellent, the delivery is super fast and I would recommend this company, and yogurt maker, to anyone.

Simply put, the homemade yogurt that I make in the Luvele Yoghurt Maker works for me and is of great benefit for treating my IBS.

Using a commercially available yogurt (Vaalia Natural Yogurt) as a starter and UHT milk combined with the Luvele yogurt maker, nothing could be simpler.

It has literally changed my life.

I can now consume reasonable amounts of known "IBS trigger foods" without suffering consequences.

Perhaps one extra key to the equation is that I strain the 24 Hr cultured yogurt through a simple muslin filter to drain off the whey.

Daryl

When I was looking to buy a yoghurt maker, Luvele had two. There was the up-market and relatively pricey Luvele 'Pure' and the very basic but cheaper Luvele 'Grand'. I bought the 'Pure' because it was advertised with some impressive performance figures which no other yoghurt maker on the market was able to match. In particular, it was claimed to keep the milk at within 1.5C of the temperature it was set at.

Sadly, the promise of stress-free yoghurt making never materialised! No matter what setting was used the appliance nearly always curdled the milk. Instead of really nice thick yogurt, it was producing a mixture of curds, whey, completely fermented milk and partially fermented milk which isn't exactly what you can call yoghurt! Yet, the large majority of reviews on Amazon rated it five stars which suggests that the buyer of a yoghurt maker needs to take glowing reports with a large pinch of salt!

Luvele knew about the problem and simply advised discarding the whey which had risen to the surface. Great! It's the whey that contains virtually all the beneficial bacteria and why people eat yoghurt in the first place! It wasn't fermenting the milk properly but why? To find out I extensively tested it. There were three main problems.

(1) It had a concentrated heat source at the base
(2) It was unduly affected by the ambient temperature
(3) It didn't ferment properly at less than full capacity

I posted a review on Amazon detailing how, at a setting of 38C and under different operating conditions, the temperature of the milk varied between 39.9C and 45.0C.

I had already contacted Luvele and told them about the problems. They not only refunded the 'Pure', but also generously supplied, free of charge, their 'Grand' model. As many buyers have noted, Luvele's customer service cannot be faulted!

Despite being a very basic yoghurt maker, the 'Grand' has consistently produced outstanding yoghurt. I was curious to know why it worked so well when the 'Pure' didn't so I had a close look. It has what is widely regarded as the best design which, in effect, wraps the bowl completely with heat from a continuous coiled electric element. No other method better maintains all of the milk at a uniform temperature which, as a consequence, produces an even fermentation and is therefore why it produces such good results.

The 'Grand' has a capacity of 1.8 litres but you are not confined to making that much. It has no thermostat to set. I've found that depending on room temperature, it maintains the milk somewhere between 36.4C and 40.2C which is fine for culturing most bacterial strains. The main effect of different temperatures within this range is that fermentation time will vary. The actual quality of the yoghurt depends primarily on uniformity of temperature within the bowl and this is where the 'Grand' excels.

Luvele took the 'Grand' off the UK market which made the new and very expensive 'Pure Plus' the only option. They continue to offer the 'Grand' on the Australian market which suggests that to remove it here was a commercial decision based on the expectation it would have otherwise undermined sales of the 'PurePlus'. Of course, their decision, but not one I can applaud!

In her review on TrustPilot, Mrs Dryden compares the 'PurePlus' to the 'Grand' and says that it is “immensely inferior”. I had made earlier a comparison on Amazon between the original 'Pure' and the 'Grand' and came to a similar conclusion, so I was interested to take a look.

The 'Pure Plus' uses a water system. A major problem with the original 'Pure' was that the concentrated heat source close to the bowl fermented the milk unevenly. The idea, therefore, was to distribute the heat over a wider area. This it does by heating water and that heat is then transferred to the base of the bowl. As intended, it's an improvement. However, there remains a very significant drawback. Because it's only the base that's heated, in order to maintain the milk as a whole at the required temperature, the temperature at the base has to be higher. Consequently, the milk still isn't heated uniformly. Inevitably, therefore, the 'Pure Plus' won't match the consistently high quality yogurt produced by designs like the 'Grand' that heat all of the airspace around the bowl and which therefore maintain the most even fermentation possible. Because yoghurt makers that work by heating the base of the bowl of milk don't give the best results, they are usually associated with the bottom end of the price market. The 'PurePlus', however, currently at £65, is one the most expensive you are likely to find.

The setting up of the 'Pure Plus' also brings its own complication and is where things might go wrong. The first rule of fermenting says that once you have added the starter you must keep the milk at an even temperature. Here, the instructions are to insert the bowl of milk into the water chamber and then add cold water. That will shock the milk at the base. Depending on where you live and time of year the water from the tap could be down to just a few degrees above freezing. Maybe adding the water at room temperature doesn't affect the results by much but if Luvele haven't done any testing then it's not known. In a water system I'm familiar with, the water was added to the chamber, brought to operating temperature and then the bowl of milk was inserted which gives fermentation the best chance.

A yoghurt maker with a well designed air system is unaffected by the ambient temperature. You can use it anywhere. It's also unaffected by the quantity of milk you are fermenting. You might have a 2 litre bowl but if you want to make 500ml of yoghurt in it you can. However, the 'Pure Plus' might be able to work at its best only at normal room temperature and at full capacity. That was the case with the original 'Pure'. Luvele don't say if these limitations still apply.

Water systems have been tried before and found to have drawbacks and no advantages compared with well designed air systems which is why they are not popular. My guess is that Luvele haven't made any comparison between their PurePlus and the 'Grand' models and that therefore have no basis on which to claim that the 'PurePlus' is superior. If that's not true I would invite Luvele to say what tests they have done.

In her review, Mrs Dryden says that adding water is a big complication. Luvele responded by saying that because the 'Pure Plus' is a different product to the 'Grand' it will therefore require different setup and operational procedures. The reality is that the 'Grand' doesn't have any setup or operational procedures. You just put the bowl of milk in and switch it on. So what you have is not only a yoghurt maker that makes the best yoghurt, it is also the most user friendly.

Luvele are currently selling the 'Grand' in Australia for the equivalent of £18. In stark contrast the 'Pure Plus' costs £65 which I suggest is particularly poor value. The two star rating that accompanies this review is a reflection of that situation.

REPLY TO LUVELE'S RESPONSE (24/05/18)

Thank you for responding to the review

Let's begin with the 'Pure'

For the record, you supplied an appliance which failed. You supplied another which I tested. Because it was producing inferior yoghurt, I took the failed one apart to see why. I describe the design here. To be frank, it's the worst I have come across – and I've seen one or two! I identified the electrical fault in the failed appliance, repaired it and there was a period I had both makers operating side by side, both making identically inferior yoghurt!

I'm sorry, it's entirely unrealistic to dismiss out of hand the detailed report on the 'Pure' which you haven't read on the grounds that the appliance tested must have been faulty. The report clearly shows it's affected by the ambient temperature. The reason is the position of the thermostat. It's a fundamental design fault which prevents it from achieving the performance claimed and is therefore why you can't offer any evidence to support the assertion that you have had customers who were able to achieve very accurate temperatures with it. If you wish, I can post the report here.

The founder of your company describes the 'PurePlus' as “a far superior product”. That's hardly a commendation of the 'Pure'! I can return one of the appliances for you to test for yourself if you would like me to do that.

Now to the 'PurePlus'

When you recently initiated a private conversation about the review, you were concerned to question my 'right' to include the 'PurePlus' rather than to address the issues raised. Sadly, that is continuing here.

The comments I make are not based on using the appliance. I comment on the basic design which I am familiar with together with its inherent drawbacks. I offer readers my experience. How can that not be “fair”? It's a review!! If there is anything in it you don't consider to be factual or disagree with, you are completely free to say! Certainly, it raises questions and I imagine there will be potential buyers who would appreciate having answers to.

I agree that the 'PurePlus' is an improvement on the 'Pure' and I explain why. I also explain that the water system it uses is inferior to a good air system and suggest it doesn't, therefore, justify a price of £65! I'm currently testing the Vovoir, a small maker retailing at £11 which provides uniform heat to the base of the bowl of milk, similar to the 'PurePlus' but without the water complexities. As evidenced by your own 'Grand' which you are no longer willing to offer the UK buyer, a yoghurt maker doesn't have to be expensive to be able to produce the best possible yoghurt!

Sorry, still two stars!

Regards
.

Excellent customer service. Very fast delivery and supports

Quick and efficient service and easy to navigate website. Many thanks

Postage was so quick. Well done Luvele. I so appreciate good service and quick response time.

Not only is there bag sealer excellent and very good value for money, the rolls of bags they sell compliment it superbly.

Have had one of these type of sealers a few years ago but stopped using it as it was difficult to use and never seemed to seal properly.
Against my better judgement ( the wife said she needed one|) I bought a sealer and bags from Luvele after checking reviews of all of the ones available.

I can honestly say I was impressed. I am now more than happy to do all the sealing for my wife as we are now on our own it is easier to buy multi packs of things like chicken breasts and seal and freeze into portions for the two of us.
Great products which I highly recommend.

Great machine, good value and delivered when expected

Fab company speedy delivery even durning our UK snow, cant wait to get stuck in with my new recipes

I have a life time experience with making home made yogurt and over the last few years was very happy using the older version of Luvele yogurt maker ( the yellow one) for which I wrote 5 star reviews as the most excellent and very reliable yogurt maker on the UK market. As a health supplement for a big family I came to require a second yogurt maker and not being able any more to purchase the old version I spent double the money on a machine which is immensely inferior to its predecessor. For start the electric cord is so short it hardly reaches the socket situated right above it, the inner 2 L jar is so thin, it adds great stress to its handling. I compared the performance of the two yogurt makers side by side with the use of the same organic whole milk and the yellow one consistently as before delivers perfect results in 6 hours the new one (green)even after 10 hours still remains sloppy. The process of adding warm water does not improve the results, in fact i had the machine simply failing to switch on the heating element with yogurt thus ruined, since it requires sometimes (without obvious reason) two clicks other than one to switch it on. Also due to occasional power cut off the new digital (improved?) yogurt maker switches itself off and therefore if not noticed ruins the yogurt. I am still using only the old yellow one with success each time. Luvele please return to your old trusted design !

This is my follow up reply to the response of the founder of Luvele Joe Dutch to my review of his new yogurt maker.

I have made myself fully acquainted with the instruction manual on your web side well before I decided to buy your new yogurt maker and went ahead with the purchase due to no other available good enough alternative on the English market. I was very fond of the nearly 2L in capacity glass jar I experienced with your previous model and thought initially that the function of added timer might be of benefit.

Each time I very carefully added the water to the base of the yogurt maker, exactly to the required mark and sometimes even carefully warmed to the required temperature, before setting the glass jar in it, because I have previously learn in my experience with making yogurt that setting the yogurt into cold water will cause a very undesirable drop of few degrees in temperature on the onset of the process which would effect the microbial count. In my experience the ideal temperature should be 43 degrees C at start and even if this is then maintained with temperature of 40 C would result with much quicker process and much less sour yogurt which in terms of health is a lot more desired. So this as you can see is a necessary but a big complication added to this process and therefore not an improvement on your older model .The claims of the greater efficiency of the water heated system I find unsubstantiated since the small quantity of the water added at the bottom , around the jar creates in fact different temperature levels in the overall system and so it messes with the results, where in the old model the temperature was quite even. By the way the other two temperature settings of 36 and 38 C don't give good results.

Finally thank you for your words and also the refund which I was truly not expecting. My intention was always only to share my experience of your product with you and those like me in search of good quality yogurt maker. As I said before your previous model when it was on the market was undoubtedly the best and the simplest and most reliable of its kind in England. I am still not aware of an existing alternative to yours especially in regards of the 2L glass jar which is so important to those who need larger quantities of yogurt and its flawless consistency of good results. I would like to think that my feedback may cause you to carry out in the future the small necessary changes to your new design resulting in a market winner once again.
And thank you Trustpilot for providing the platform for honest sharing of experiences.

Very pleased with this, has strong motor and can handle most meats. Does struggle a bit with stringy tendon type meat. You just have to clean the mince head more often. Provided with a good selection of accessories
It’s never let me down over the past year. Would highly recommend
It would have been nice to be able to clean the parts in a dishwasher
I

I had trouble looking for a good quality meat slicer for domestic use, as I often cook joints of gammon. Was about to buy a Graef but then I found the Luvele. Really pleased with the quality. Very reasonably priced. Glad to have supported British product. It comes with 2 blades (serrated and smooth), really handy. Delivery was prompt and well packaged. I have not needed to contact customer service but so far, the aftercare is very good.

I bought the Luvele Ultimate Electric Meat Grinder and Sausage Maker. It's well made and really up to the job. A sound, sturdy and quality machine. I had excellent service and wouldn't hesitate to order again from Luvele.

Excellent service and communication throughout. Well packaged and fast delivery. Informative website.

i bought the luvele supreme vacuum sealer and it works first time every time.

the company are excellent to deal with, offering great customer service, speedy delivery and a first class product.

would recommend and use they company in the future!

Bought my slicer last year and it was delivered earlier than expected. From what I have read and heard Luvele is a company who will attend to any problems that occur with their products. I would hope that this is true

Brilliant, had a problem with the one blade, so messaged to seek advice; and with no quibbles sent out a replacement blade which fits as it should.
Happy bunny who would highly recommend this company.

Fist year growing chillies and produced some great chilli powder and flakes using this food dehydrater.

Good service and good products, I would recommend this company