Ninja SLUSHi Twist Review: Two Flavours, One Brilliant Frozen-Drink Machine

Ninja SLUSHi Twist review: the short version

The Twist is the most capable and entertaining SLUSHi yet. Its killer feature is not actually the Instagram-ready spiral. It is the freedom to run two genuinely different recipes at the same time. One can be dairy-free, one creamy; one alcoholic, one alcohol-free; one sharp and citrusy, the other sweet. Each side senses and chills its own mixture independently, and one side reaching Ready before the other does not upset the batch.

At £419.99, however, this is a party appliance rather than a sensible route to a cold drink. It is 44.4cm deep, 30.3cm wide, 41.3cm high and roughly 15.4kg in the mocha FS702UKBR finish. You need a serious patch of worktop, 10cm of ventilation behind and at each side, and a place to hand-wash two vessels, two augers, two condensation catches and the dispensing parts. The original one-vessel SLUSHi costs £120 less and is enough for most couples.

Where to buy

Prices and stock move constantly, so check the current figure on Amazon before buying.

See the Ninja SLUSHi Twist on Amazon UK
£409.99price at 12 Aug, may change

What the Twist does differently

The FS702UK is effectively two compact refrigerated slush machines sharing one compressor housing and control panel. Each clear vessel has its own evaporator, auger, sensor logic, SlushAssist button, temperature controls and Rinse button. Press the large central Dual SlushAssist control and both sides begin together, but they do not blindly receive the same programme. During a 10-15 minute sensing phase, the machine reads each mixture and chooses a target temperature for that side.

That is an important change from the original FS301UK. The first SLUSHi asks you to choose Slush, Frozen Cocktail, Frappé, Milkshake or Frozen Juice. The Twist has no row of named drink presets. Its automatic mode is intended to recognise the recipe instead. You can still nudge either side warmer with the small snowflake for a thinner, more sippable texture, or colder with the large snowflake for a firmer result.

There are actually two ways to run the automation. Individual SlushAssist aims for a smoother, more drinkable texture when using one vessel or dispensing two recipes separately. Dual SlushAssist makes both sides thicker so the stripes survive as they leave the angled spouts. Ninja recommends a straw or spoon for that denser Twist output. This subtle distinction is the answer when an otherwise tasty pair merges into one muddy colour.

The FS702 pack includes two straight spouts and two slanted spouts. Fit the straight pair with the wide static tray when serving separate glasses; use the angled pair and three-piece spinning tray for a combined drink. The cheaper blue FS701UKBL is £409.99 at launch, but has fixed angled spouts and a smaller one-glass tray. For £10, the FS702's serving flexibility is the better buy.

Specifications, capacity and what is in the box

Inside the FS702 box are the motor base, left and right vessels with the premium dual dispense handle, two augers, two condensation catches, two straight spouts, two slanted spouts, a three-piece spinning tray and a two-piece static tray. The unused tray hangs from a storage point on the machine's left side; there is no equally neat home for the spare spouts.

Do not confuse a vessel's physical size with working capacity. Each clear chamber is larger than 1.42 litres so the frozen mixture has room to move, but 1,420ml is the liquid MAX line. Equally, the auger needs at least 475ml to work properly. The total 2.84-litre fill sounds huge, yet it is split: you cannot put 2 litres of a single flavour into one side. Ten 260ml servings is plausible across a nearly full pair, with some mixture retained around the augers; generous 400ml party glasses will cut that number considerably.

How long it takes - and what the machine sounds like

Ninja's broad answer is 15-60 minutes, because volume, starting temperature, sugar, alcohol and fat all change the freezing point. The UK quick-start guide is more useful: it suggests roughly 20 minutes for two servings, 40 minutes for four and 55 minutes for six when using ready-made juice, sports drinks, cider, wine or mixed drinks. Its official chocolate-and-vanilla milkshake pair is listed at around 20 minutes for four servings and 30 minutes for six. Start with properly chilled ingredients and chilled glasses if speed matters.

The 10-15 minute sensing animation is not the finished-drink countdown. Once the blue target is chosen, white LEDs fill towards it as the auger keeps moving. Each side beeps and turns solid blue when ready, possibly at different times. Leave the programme running while dispensing: the compressor maintains texture rather than letting the batch melt. Ninja permits up to 12 hours of operation, but dairy drinks should be served within 30 minutes of reaching Ready to avoid a foamy output.

This is quieter than crushing ice in a blender, not silent. The constant sound is a refrigerator-compressor hum plus the slow rotation of two augers. In independent UK hands-on testing, Ideal Home measured about 58dB. Conversation can continue around it; after several hours, you will notice when it stops.

How to use the Ninja SLUSHi Twist

1. Let it settle. After delivery or any journey on its side, stand the machine upright for at least two hours before switching on so the refrigerant oil settles.
2. Choose its home. Put the 15kg base on a flat, dry, solid worktop with at least 10cm clear behind and on both sides. Do not use an extension lead.
3. Wash and assemble. Slide each condensation catch into its rails. Match the L and R augers to their evaporators and rotate until seated. With the large bail handle raised, slide on the matching vessels, then push the handle back to seal them.
4. Fit the serving parts. Use angled spouts and spinning tray for a twisted glass, or straight spouts and the broad static tray for separate drinks. Check the tray clicks home.
5. Prepare liquid recipes elsewhere. Dissolve sugar, whisk cocoa and blend or strain fruit in a jug or blender before it goes near the machine. Everything entering the fill port must be cool, smooth and pourable.
6. Fill between the lines. Add 475-1,420ml per active vessel through its top port. Never exceed MAX and never run below MIN.
7. Start intelligently. Turn on the mechanical switch at the rear, then the front power button. Press the central Dual SlushAssist for a thick two-flavour twist, or each side's SlushAssist for separate, more sippable drinks.
8. Let sensing finish. The controls rotate for 10-15 minutes, then show a blue target. Only after that should you use the small snowflake to go thinner/warmer or the large snowflake to go thicker/colder. Allow 5-15 minutes after each change.
9. Twist. Chill a wide, heavy glass under 5.75 inches (14.6cm) tall. Put it in the tray centre, use your thumb to give the front wheel one controlled spin, then pull both handles. Stop at three-quarters full; the moving slush continues to settle.

Fruit juice slushes: the easiest place to start

A pair of chilled carton juices is the ideal first run: cheap, low-risk and a quick lesson in how each side behaves. Check both nutrition panels first. The UK Twist requires at least 5g of sugar per 100ml. Most pure orange, apple, grape and pineapple juices clear that mark naturally; some reduced-sugar juice drinks do not.

More two-juice combinations that actually make sense

• Cloudy apple + blackcurrant: sweet orchard flavour against a deep, tart berry stripe. Use 850ml of each, or soften blackcurrant with one part apple juice.
• Pineapple + pink grapefruit: tropical sweetness cuts grapefruit bitterness. Choose a sweetened grapefruit juice that reaches the 5g/100ml minimum.
• Peach nectar + raspberry lemonade: a softer pastel pair. Nectar is thick, so blend it 3:1 with apple juice if it barely pours from the carton.
• Watermelon + strawberry-lime: blend fresh fruit with apple juice outside the machine, then fine-strain it. Whole seeds, pulp and fibres do not belong in the vessels.
• Breakfast Twist: orange juice on one side, apple-and-mango on the other. It is simple, crowd-friendly and considerably better than adding ice to juice in a blender.

Carbonated drinks also work, but add them to a large jug slowly and let aggressive foam settle before filling. British sugar-tax formulations are the trap: many normal-looking fizzy drinks sit around 4.5g sugar per 100ml, just below Ninja's UK requirement. Read the label instead of trusting the word “original”.

Milkshakes: chocolate, vanilla and proper two-flavour ideas

The Twist makes a very different milkshake from a blade blender. There is no crushed ice and therefore no watery finish; the machine freezes a sweet dairy base while the auger keeps the crystals tiny. The result is smooth, dense and closer to a soft, pourable dessert. Start cold and serve within 30 minutes of Ready.

Four more pairs worth trying

• Chocolate + salted caramel: use the vanilla base on side two, replace 35g of its sugar with 60ml caramel syrup, then add a restrained pinch of fine sea salt. Twist it with the chocolate side.
• Chocolate + mint: keep the chocolate recipe unchanged; make the vanilla side with 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and a little green gel colour if wanted. Peppermint is powerful - measure it.
• Strawberry + vanilla: replace 80ml of milk in one vanilla base with 80ml seedless strawberry dessert sauce. Do not tip berries straight into the vessel.
• Mocha + vanilla: dissolve 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder in 30ml hot water, cool it completely, then add it to the chocolate side. A chocolate-vanilla-coffee twist is the adult milkshake the machine was born to make.

For a less rich result, use whipping cream as Ninja does in its quick-start recipe: per roughly four servings, 750ml whole milk, 160ml whipping cream, 135g sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla; the chocolate version adds chocolate syrup and cocoa. Do not substitute a protein shake and assume it will freeze. Protein, stabilisers and artificial sweeteners alter texture, while the base still needs the required freezing-point balance.

Cocktails, mocktails and coffee combinations

Two vessels make the Twist unusually good at inclusive entertaining. A frozen cocktail can run beside a visually matching mocktail, with separate straight-spout service for anyone avoiding alcohol. Just remember that the 20% ABV limit applies to the complete liquid in a vessel, not the bottle strength. Ninja's spirit guide allows at most 120ml of 40% spirit in a 710ml recipe, 175ml in 1,065ml or 235ml in a full 1,420ml vessel.

Coffee and after-dinner pairings

For a simple coffee frappé, combine 600ml chilled strong coffee, 250ml whole milk, 100ml double or whipping cream, 100g sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Whisk until dissolved, chill and run on one side. Pair it with the vanilla milkshake base for an affogato-style Twist, or with chocolate for frozen mocha. Never pour freshly brewed hot coffee into the machine: cool it completely in the fridge first.

A useful hosting rule is to design pairs by contrast plus overlap: one shared flavour makes the combination coherent, while one contrast keeps each side interesting. Lime joins margarita to strawberry; vanilla joins coffee to chocolate; apple joins berry juice to tropical fruit. Two random drinks may look exciting but taste like the bottom of a cinema cup.

The sugar rule, diet drinks and the Add Sugar light

Sugar is not merely there for sweetness. Dissolved sugar lowers the freezing point, allowing part of the drink to remain liquid while tiny ice crystals form. With too little, the mixture tries to become a hard cylinder around the evaporator; with too much sugar or alcohol, it refuses to freeze. The UK manual's minimum is unambiguous: 5g sugar per 100ml of finished mixture. That means at least 37.5g in 750ml or 50g in one litre.

Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame K and saccharin do not provide the physical effect the machine needs. Ninja offers an erythritol method for diet and low-sugar drinks: for 800ml drink, mix in 45g erythritol, 30ml lemon juice and a small pinch of salt; for 1,150ml, use 60g erythritol, 40ml lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add erythritol gradually in a jug because carbonated drinks can foam dramatically. This is a functional recipe adjustment, not a 1:1 sweetness replacement for sugar.

If the machine detects too little sugar, the relevant side lights Add Sugar and beeps once a minute. Ninja's corrective dose is two tablespoons (about 30ml) of simple or flavoured syrup, honey, agave, maple syrup or grenadine for every 230ml of liquid. Mix granulated sugar into a portion removed from the vessel until fully dissolved; do not pour gritty crystals straight onto the cold evaporator. Restart SlushAssist after correcting it. Ignore the warning for 15 minutes and that side shuts down.

An Add Water alert means the recipe is too alcoholic and/or too sugary to freeze at the selected range. Add three tablespoons (45ml) of water per 230ml of mixture, then press the programme again. At MAX fill, remove some recipe before adding any correction so the vessel never overflows.

Cleaning it properly

The rinse buttons are genuinely helpful, but “built-in rinse” should not be read as self-cleaning. Each Rinse cycle moves warm water around the vessel without refrigeration. It removes most visible drink and makes the sticky parts far easier to handle; Ninja still requires a full hand-wash after every use.

1. Keep the machine running until every wanted drink has been dispensed, then stop SlushAssist.
2. Put a large bowl under both spouts or move the front of the machine carefully towards the sink.
3. Add warm water to the top of each used vessel. For rinsing only, the water may go above the normal MAX line.
4. Press each side's Rinse button and let it agitate for 1-2 minutes.
5. Pull the handles gradually. Rinse water exits surprisingly quickly. Repeat with clean warm water until it runs clear, then stop Rinse and power off.
6. Unplug. Pull the bail handle forwards and remove each vessel with its front tipped slightly down so residue does not escape from the open rear.
7. Slide off the augers and condensation catches; remove tray covers and spout shrouds as needed.
8. Hand-wash all removable parts in warm soapy water. Wipe each fixed evaporator and the base beneath it with a warm damp cloth. Never immerse the motor base.
9. Air-dry every part completely before reassembly. Store the machine upright and empty.

Dairy is the test of your cleaning discipline. Fat from double cream leaves a film that clear rinse water can disguise, so feel the inside surfaces and wash twice when necessary. The manual says hand-wash; do not rely on retailer copy that generically claims “dishwasher-safe parts”. Cleaning two complete sides is the machine's biggest everyday drawback, and a reason to fill the second vessel only when you genuinely want it.

Troubleshooting: fix the batch without wasting it

If all alternate temperature LEDs flash, Ninja classifies it as a unit fault; use UK customer service rather than dismantling the base. If the top five and bottom five alternate, the sideways sensor has triggered: stand the machine upright for at least two hours before trying again.

Twist vs original, XL and Max: which Ninja SLUSHi should you buy?

Buy the original if most batches are Coke, orange juice or one family milkshake. Buy the XL or Max if your parties want litres of a single margarita. Buy the Twist only when choice is the point: adults and children, dairy and dairy-free, sweet and sharp, cocktail and mocktail. Its total working fill matches the XL, but its value comes from division rather than raw scale.

Who it is for - and who should save the money

The ideal owner hosts often enough to leave a 15kg appliance on the worktop through summer. Families who need alcohol-free and adult options simultaneously will use the split vessels properly. So will keen home bartenders, coffee-frappé households, and anyone whose guests never agree on one flavour. The Twist also makes sense for lactose-free separation, provided the dedicated side and shared dispensing area are cleaned appropriately; it is not a certified allergen-free system.

Skip it if you mostly want one frozen drink for two people. A £120-cheaper original SLUSHi has more working room in its single vessel and fewer parts to wash. Skip it if almost everything you drink is sugar-free and you do not want to measure erythritol or another functional recipe base. Skip it if your fantasy involves dropping fruit, ice cream and biscuits into the top: that is a Ninja blender or CREAMi job, not a SLUSHi one.

Also measure the intended space rather than admiring the photos. The machine is deeper than many microwaves, needs another 10cm behind for airflow and cannot safely live under every low wall cupboard while open. At over 15kg, “we'll keep it in a cupboard” becomes less appealing after the second lift.

Ten small tricks that make a big difference

1. Chill every liquid first; the compressor then spends its time building texture, not cooling room-temperature juice.
2. Write successful ratios down. Tiny changes in syrup, alcohol and starting temperature can change a repeat batch.
3. Use contrasting colours but compatible flavours for the cleanest Twist.
4. Match the two textures before pulling both handles. Similar viscosity makes even stripes.
5. Choose wide, weighty, pre-chilled glasses. Narrow plastic cups can wander as the tray spins.
6. Test one empty tray spin before dispensing; one controlled turn is enough.
7. Keep the machine running until the final glass is poured.
8. Use smaller glasses than you think. A 260ml serving is already substantial for a rich milkshake.
9. For a child/adult pair, fit straight spouts first and avoid a combined pour that creates ambiguity.
10. Start the warmest or boozier recipe a few minutes earlier using its individual button if both sides must finish together.

The best Twist drinks do not need seventeen ingredients. A red juice, a gold juice and five minutes spent balancing their sweetness will impress more people than an elaborate cocktail that never freezes. Learn the machine with inexpensive liquids, then bring out the good tequila and double cream.

Frequently asked questions