Margaritaville Tahiti Margarita Machine 24 Oz Ivory

So far, so good! We've used it for three parties in the last 6 weeks, and it has been great, working flawlessly... unless a 3 inch blob of ice gets caught in the hopper. It can't deal with anything larger than a regular ice cube, and note that we always use the bagged ice and let it get a tiny bit melty as suggested in the instructions. My dear hubby was hesitant about buying such an expensive item, but is now a convert, not just because the machine keeps the party flowing with drinks, but also because it is a showstopper and great conversation starter. The funny thing is, the men gather around it like it is a shiny new Corvette and ooh and ahhh over it.... You can see the glazed look in their eyes as they watch it whip out batch after batch of frozen concoctions. I almost expect them to start grunting and waving cave man clubs in the air. (Just kidding, guys!) But suffice it to say that the Tahiti Frozen concoction maker has been a hit here! The guys have renamed it "That Tsunami Margarita maker!" One thing I have to warn you about... (and many thanks to the other posters for the heads up)... do NOT just think you can use the recipes in the recipe book and find satisfaction! Au Contraire! We tried the Margarita recipe exactly.. UCK! too tart, just awful.... took us 5-6 tries to get it right. (But it was fun practicing!) Finally involved a combo of Minutemaid limeaid, Masters of Mix Margarita mix, Triple Sec, Tequila and just a tiny dash of OJ. The Mojito recipe and Daiquiri recipes in the book also required major tweaking. Also, you will need to PRACTICE before you do it for a party... So glad we read the reviews and did so, because it would have been rather embarrassing otherwise. It isn't hard to operate, its just a little different from a standard blender. And you have to remember to take the "lid" off before you try and pour. The function of being able to add more shaved ice and reblend is a great help. In hot sun, it only takes a few moments for any drinks left in a pitcher to separate, but a quick shave of more ice and a quick blend brings it back to par. Also, be warned... SERIOUSLY! It says it in the warning info several times... DO NOT STICK YOUR HANDS NEAR THE BLADES! I didn't think and was trying to get the last of some shaved ice out of the pitcher with my finger, and discovered just how RAZOR SHARP those blades in the three pitchers really are! ( No worries, all healed, now!) BUT be careful with them! Another thing you need to account for... you can't over fill the pitcher and get a bigger batch. When it blends, it is very powerful, and the level rises significantly. That said, once the ice is in, a pitcher of drinks yields about 24 oz, and will generally provide 3.5 drinks per pitcher. No biggie if you only have 8 people standing around, but if your party lends itself to a larger guest list, say 25-30, you'll have to hustle to get those drinks out. At least the first round. Our answer to this problem was to premix the "batches" of drinks. We used the SCREW ON TOP FOOD CONTAINERS by rubbermaid/glad or whoever, because I have found they DO NOT LEAK, and kept them in a cooler. Once you get your recipe to your satisfaction, you should end up with about 1.5 cups of "mix" (That is the flavored mix ingredients plus the alcohol. If you add fresh or frozen fruit, it will be closer to 2 cups.) We labeled the containers... about 10 of each...Mojito..."Rita"... Daiquiri...then we froze them until the morning of the party. We kept them in a cooler under the bar. They were NOT frozen when we put them into the blender. Making these up ahead of time eliminated error, and standing around measuring things into the pitcher. Big time saver! Any "batches" unused went back to the freezer for the next event. Note we did not find any single bottled mix that really did the trick alone when mixed with the spirits. All bottled mixes just seemed to be missing something. Be aware that if you make "Virgin" non-alcoholic drinks, you will need to use water to replace the spirits in a double amount. i.e if your recipe calls for 2 jiggers of spirits, the non-alcoholic recipe will likely need 4 jiggers of water. That's because the spirits really melt the ice. Without it, the drink is quite thick and hard to pour. So, if you are thinking about taking this plunge... go for it if it is in your budget. We haven't regretted it and would surely buy it again. Just be sure to perfect your recipes, practice, and prepare enough pre-mixed "batches" in advance. ;-)

We love to throw parties and this allows us to add frozen drinks much more easily to our parties. Easy clean-up, easy to use and the smoothest drinks we have had (even better than the all inclusive hotels we have stayed at). We enjoy the drinks in the winter and will enjoy them even more by the pool in the summer. Fun to watch even more fun to drink. Like the idea of having three different drink types going at once. Our friends loved it too. One negative would be that can be loud but at our home bar it is usually very loud anyway. Makes good fruit smoothies. As suggested by others you do have to experiment with the amount of liquid to get the right smoothness in you drink. 5 stars in my book.

The old adage, "You get what you pay for" really sticks to this one... I bought this to replace an older kitchen-counter ice shaver which cost under $50. That one was loud, slow, and messy. The DM3000 is unbelievable! It effortlessly prepares 3 pitchers of drinks (for both adults and kids -at the same time!), and does so in spectacular fashion! Why spend so much money on an ice shaver? Because the DM3000 has a reservoir to collect the ice water- it doesn't spill into your drinks, or on your bar/counter. Because the DM3000 has individual controls for each pitcher, allowing you to create an assortment of drinks, with varying consistencies, at one time- no washing the pitcher in between mixes- you've got three of them! Because the DM3000 thought of everything: You can add more ice or blend further using a toggle switch for each individual pitcher! Because you can use the left over ice for sno-cones in a fraction of a second! Need I write more? This is a high quality, center-of-attention drink mixer that will not disappoint anyone at your party!

Love, love, love this machine! I had my first trip to Margaritaville in Jamaica at age 25 and have been a Jimmy Buffett fan ever since. Seeing the machine reminds me of great weather, ocean views, and relaxing island life and time. The machine is very easy to use. The instructions aren't super clear on how it works, but you add your mix ingredients in the pitcher, select your mix option (Smoothies, Mojitos, etc.), hit the start button and the machine does the rest. I usually hit the blend option a few more times to thoroughly mix the drink. The instructions are also unclear on using the 2 pitchers on the sides. Follow the same instructions as you would the mixer in the middle and the machine top automatically rotates to fill the pitchers on the side. I'm looking forward to many years of making mixed cocktails and smoothies with my Frozen Concoction Maker (I also love this name)! Also, I leave it outside unplugged even during rain storms. It's under a roof so doesn't get direct rain but if there's a storm and rain comes through the sides and it gets wet, it's fine. Just wipe it off thoroughly and get to mixing!

I gave this beauty to my husband for his birthday and he absolutely loves it!!! He's entertained at home with it, and has also packed it up and taken it with him to the party. Everywhere its gone it has been a major hit!! It includes recipes for Ritas, Slides, Colada's, Daiquiris, Smoothies and Coladas. He's also made snow cones, which the grand kids love!! So yeah, it's guaranteed to be an all around crowd pleaser, and without a doubt, worth the money! It is large and we have a small kitchen with limited counter space, so I bought a beverage cart and a couple metal baskets to hold bottles, and he just rolls that baby wherever the party is, and it's on!!!!! Only complaint is the cord could be a little longer, and ok, it's a little loud ~ so don't take it to a funeral.

Everyone LOVED it! Used it for the 1st time at our pool party. I love that you can make 3 different drinks at once and its fun to watch. So glad my husband upgraded to this one. For Mothers Day, he would walk around with the pitchers just topping our drinks off. So much fun!

The unit works as advertised but the fit and finish is not what the marketing leads you to believe. The entire unit is plastic including the jars. I sent an email to the manufacturer voicing my disappointment and they said they can't control the descrptions placed on third party web sites. Well, the description is the same on their web site. For the price, I was expecting this unit to be built like my Kitchen-aid mixer, but it's not... it's cheap. That being said, I decided to keep it because it does make three different frozen drinks all at once and it is fun to watch. It is a great conversation piece, just don't mention what you paid for it or your guests will think you lost your marbles paying that amount for a hunk of plastic. I'm giving the unit three stars. I subtracted one for the build quality and one for manufactures customer service. UPDATE 12/2/2010: I figured since I was critical in my review I should update this since I've had it for some time and used it for multiple parties. My major complaint was the fact the unit was all plastic other than the knobs, switches and blades. Well, I must say that it has held up very well. It's super easy to clean and there have been a couple times I was glad the jars were plastic instead of glass or else the party would have ended. I've had tipsy buddies spill drinks everywhere on this unit and it always cleans up and looks great. Guests love watching as drinks are being made and I'm now glad I made the decision to keep it. UPDATE 03/14/2015: I bumped the rating up from three to four stars as the unit is still blending and mixing drinks, three at a time. It's also easy to clean which is a plus! UPDATE 06/24/2016: After six years of blending drinks one of the jars needed to be replaced. Luckily, I was able to find a reasonably priced replacement on their website. Still looks great, blending and going strong. UPDATE 07/04/2016: This 4th of July we made red, white and blue Daiquiris! I took a video of the machine in action. The first batch the jars were only filled halfway because I was testing the recipes. Subsequent batches we filled the jars. Also attached is a photo of the finished cocktail. It was definitely the hit of the party.

The Tahiti Frozen drink maker is GREAT! The top of the machine is a holder for about a full bag of ice from the gas station. The top ice tank has a sharp blade on the inside, and it shaves the ice as it drops into the pitcher. It blends PERFECTLY! I'm really amazed at how well the Tahiti blends frozen fruits and drinks. We've used frozen peaches, strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, rasberries, etc. Each pitcher pours a perfectly blended drink. I have had pitchers overflow, running down the side of the pitcher. Cleanup is usually a breeze. Instead of using a typical wash cloth on the blender portion, I like to use wet whipes. The hardest thing to clean is the underside of the ice shute. The shute moves up & down to accomidate the middle pitcher. It feels delicate to move up and down. What I have been doing is laying the empty machine on its backside, and with my left hand I hold the shute in place, and I scrub with my right hand. Lots of seeds from our frozen fruit will get stuck on the lip of the ice shute, and up on the inside. Of course, if you put your hand on the inside of the shute, please be careful, due to the ice shaving blade being very sharp. I purchased this 2/18/11, and cannot wait to enjoy it for many summers and midwest WINTERS to come!

I have use the product I had thought it would move from cylinder to cylinder and also the cap you can’t put on when you put it under the ice dispenser I almost want to return it It’s not worth the money I spent