Everybody loves a kitchen gadget.
From the first waffle iron way back in 1911, to the pressure cooker of the 60s and the salad spinner of the 80s - home cooks and dinner party hosts have always been keen to jump on a trend.
Remember how wild everyone went over the spiraliser in the 2010s?
These days, Ninja is arguably one of the frontrunners in the funky appliance game, with their Creami frozen dessert maker going mega viral since its launch in 2021.
They followed this up with the Slushi, which also managed to generate massive hype, selling out constantly overseas, and amassing an incredible 50,000 person wait-list in Australia and NZ.
It's finally made its way to our corner of the world, where it also sold out almost instantly, but not before I managed to get my mitts on one to review. And don't worry, it's back in stock now.
It's a beast of a machine - not one for limited kitchen space - and with a $599.99 price tag, I knew I was really going to have to put it through its paces… so the first thing I did was take it to work, where 25 of my thirsty coworkers were eagerly waiting. Check out the video below to see the chaos the Slushi created at Rova HQ:
I set up the Slushi in the office on a Friday morning - and the reaction from people walking by showed just how popular the Slushi is. Some people literally ran to get a closer look, some yelled "IS THAT A NINJA SLUSHI?!" from the mezzanine floor, and even those who hadn't heard of it were doing double takes.
To round off the end of the week, my team and I would have chocolate milkshakes in the morning and a cheeky frozen cocktail in the afternoon. I could test making dairy-based beverages, alcoholic drinks and see how easily the Slushi could quench a crowd.
For the chocolate slush, I followed a recipe on the Ninja Test Kitchen website, which seemed a bit over-complicated. It called for granulated sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate syrup. This meant it all had to be mixed separately in a jug before being added to the machine so everything could dissolve, which was messy and inconvenient.
Once we got it all in there and hit the 'milkshake' setting, though - things took a turn for the better. In about 40 minutes, we had a delicious concoction that had both the texture and taste of a Wendy's Frosty, and people absolutely loved it.
I thought maybe you'd get away with just using a chocolate milk to get the same result, but after having a taste, I was pretty sure all those different ingredients were what levelled it up.
The other thing is that the Slushi doesn't require any ice. It takes away the chunky, crunchy texture you get from a Starbucks frappuccino or any other drinks made with ice in a blender, and instead leaves you with a silky smooth slushie.
Add to this the fact that it literally comes out like soft serve when you pull the lever to dispense, and the whole thing becomes a very exciting experience.
I was a bit worried when it came to cleaning, especially after making a milkshake, but I needn't have been. Even though there's quite a few components, there's a rinse cycle that uses warm water to get rid of most of the residue, and the whole thing comes apart easily. Normally, you'd just chuck the different parts in the dishwasher, but I had to give them a quick scrub by hand, as there were cocktails to make.
When it came to the frozen piña coladas that afternoon, the 'no ice' technology further came into its own - no need to worry about ending up with a watery, diluted drink if you leave it too long.
At first I found the instructions in the manual quite overwhelming - too much alcohol or too little sugar can prevent the Slushi from slushing - but turns out if your recipe is off, the machine alerts you, and you can just adjust on the go.
The cocktail was much simpler - pineapple juice, simple syrup, rum and coconut milk - and it transformed a drizzly arvo in the office into a happy hour at a tropical resort.
What's really noticeable is how much FUN a bit of kit like the Slushi brings to proceedings. It's a novelty, certainly not a necessity, but that's why people love it.
And here's where I realised there is one thing about the Slushi that really makes it a worthy investment if you love to entertain: The 'help yourself' effect.
If you've got a gathering where everyone is mostly drinking the same thing, it totally takes the hassle out of hosting. You basically never have to get anyone a drink ever again - time and again I watched people eager to jump up and get themself a refill.
The machine also keeps drinks cold for 12 hours, so there's no need to cram a bunch of bottles into the fridge or constantly refill ice trays. Plus, once you've got your recipe going, it's easy to top it up.
If you want to keep things super simple for a kids birthday party or similar, you can just dump a bunch of lemonade, cola or juice in and let the magic happen - no mixing or measuring needed.
So, does anyone really need a Slushi? No. Do I get why everyone wants one now? Yes.
Monika was provided with a Ninja Slushi for the purposes of this review.
