The Ninja Slushi is as epic as you think it will be

50,000 people across Australia and New Zealand signed up to be notified when Ninja launched its Slushi appliance down here. 50,000!

Having unboxed the thing this weekend for my review, I can see why. It promises not only slushies, but frozen cocktails, frappés, milkshakes and frozen juices in under an hour or so, with minimal effort.

My first frozen beverage, shown in the unboxing video above, was delicious and simple. My kids are now talking about how they wish they could have a "portable" Slushi for school so they can enjoy frozen drinks anywhere.

My second attempt was an iced coffee frappé, which was just a little too sweet for my tastes, but was once again simple to create.

The controls are straightforward, and cleaning has been fairly easy – you can put the various components in the dishwasher, though I found the main plastic barrel was a bit too big and awkward to fit, so I had to wash it up. Still, that's easy enough.

The biggest problem I've found so far is storage. I asked Ninja's Product Marketing Manager, Will Tran, about this when the Slushi was announced, and he told me "If cabinet space is limited, consider storing less frequently used appliances elsewhere and rotating them in as needed."

That's still easier said than done. The Slushi is tall, and I'm not sure I can fit it in any of my cupboards or drawers. Currently it's sitting on a cupboard between uses, but it looks messy.

I'll be looking at this, as well as performance and versatility, as I make my way through testing the product for the review.

Next up I think I'm trying some frozen cocktails, which could get a little messy. But that's half the fun, right?