The massively popular Ninja Slushi drink maker will soon be available to buy in the UK, and is expected to arrive on shelves before Christmas - though it probably won't stay there long. The frozen drink maker went viral on social media after launching in the US in July, selling out repeatedly as slushie aficionados struggle to grab one for themselves. At the time of writing, the machine is sold out at Amazon, and Ninja's own online store.
• While the Ninja Slushi is still not on sale, the Ninja Creami is discounted for Prime Day
We don't have an exact UK release date for the Slushi yet, but our friends at TechRadar's sister site Ideal Home have heard that it'll be arriving on this side of the Atlantic some time in November. The US price is $299.99, which converts to roughly £230, but considering the relative cost of other Ninja products, we suspect the UK price is more likely to be £250.
Ninja's UK site says that the Slushi is "coming soon" and offers a form to request updates as soon as more details are available, but if you're intrigued and want to know whether it lives up to the hype, we've been hands-on with it in the US, and can bring you the full lowdown before it lands over here.
What is the Ninja Slushi?
The Ninja Slushi, as the name suggests, is a machine for making frozen drinks. Pour in your ingredients, and the Slushi will use a system called RapidChill to freeze it while stirring to ensure an even texture.
You can use it to make frozen juice drinks, milkshakes, iced coffee, and frozen cocktails - all without hard chunks, or the wateriness that tends to result from using crushed ice in a beverage.
The machine comes with its own list of recipes, and there are certain restrictions (the Slushi will warn you if you add too much alcohol for example, and the drink needs to contain sugar for the ice to crystallise correctly), but a lot of the fun comes from experimenting with ingredients to make your own creations.
How good is the Ninja Slushi?
Our reviewer Danielle Abraham spent a couple of weeks with the Slushi, making a wide variety of drinks following Ninja's recipes and trying her own creations. You can check out her full Ninja Slushi review for our complete testing and evaluation process, but there are a few key things UK shoppers should know if they're thinking about grabbing one.
First of all, the Slushi is tall but narrow, so you should be able to slide it in between your existing kitchen gadgets, but you'll need enough clearance at the top – it stands 16.28in / 414mm tall, which is pretty substantial. According to kitchen units supplier DIY Kitchens, "the gap required between the top of the worktop and the base of the wall units is usually around 490mm", which would make the Slushi a tight fit.
Our tester found the machine very easy to use, and enjoyed using it to make slushies, frappes and frozen juice, but she warns that it's probably only worth the investment if you really love those types of drinks and plan to make them on a regular basis - or you want to make them for guests at dinner parties. The Slushi is a premium single-use machine, so you'll need to be certain you'll get your money's worth.
The resulting beverages were delicious, but our reviewer sometimes found that the texture was a little strange. Her frappe, for example, tasted good, but was very foamy and thick. You can adjust the temperature of the drink with the simple controls on the front of the machine, but bear in mind that getting the perfect frozen drink may not always be as straightforward as pressing a single button.
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