There's one ingredient I've never been able to turn into a smoothie – until I tried this super powerful blender

I love a good smoothie, particularly on a baking hot day, but no matter how many blenders I try (and there have been a lot), there's one tasty ingredient they all seem to struggle with: blackcurrants. A big handful of mixed frozen fruit makes a delicious post-gym drink when blended with a scoop of protein powder, a banana, and plenty of oat milk, but without fail, I end up with gritty seeds that stick between my teeth and form a layer of silt at the bottom of the cup.

I sometimes manage to ignore it, particularly on a hot day, but it does spoil the enjoyment of an otherwise delicious drink. That was until I tried the Beast Mighty 850 Plus, which is the first appliance I've found that can successfully pulverize those little pips, leaving me with a berry-infused smoothie that's actually, well, smooth.

The Beast blender comes in three versions - the Mighty 650, the 850 Plus, and the top-end Mega 1000 Plus. The number of each model corresponds to the wattage of its motor, and the 'Plus' refers to a pack of additional blending vessels, lids, and straws for preparing and preparing different portions.

The 850 Plus that's currently gracing my kitchen is the mid-range model, and comes bundled with 638ml, 786ml, and 415ml vessels, plus a drinking lid with carry cap, a straw cap and two straws, a pair of cleaning brushes, a blade unit, and the base containing the blender's motor.

Despite its imposing name, the Beast is extremely easy to use, and I barely needed to glance at its modest instruction manual. After loading your chosen vessel with ingredients (you're advised to use plenty of liquid but take care not to exceed the 'max' line), just screw the blade unit on top, then flip it upside down and attach it to the base with a quick twist.

You'll notice a single LED on the front of the blender base. Orange means that the base is powered on (using a large yellow button on the back) but has no vessel attached, white means that it's ready to start blending, and green means blending is in progress.

I'll have to mix up a portion of TechRadar's standard test smoothie over the weekend (Ninja's Banana Kale Blueberry Freeze, which poses a challenge for any blender and can be a challenge to chug), but I wasn't able to face that amount of greenery first thing this morning, so instead I tossed in a ripe banana, a good glug of oat milk, and a big handful of frozen forest fruits into the largest vessel, and screwed it in place.

Sometimes I pick out just the strawberries and raspberries in the hopes of achieving a seedless smoothie, but by this point I was reaching the bottom of the bag and there was very little left except blackberries, redcurrants, and blackcurrants - all delicious, but full of tiny pips. Hoping this time would be different, I mentally crossed my fingers.

When the LED turns white, pressing the front button for less than a second will perform a quick pulse, while holding it briefly will start a one-minute blending cycle. I'll use a decibel meter to check how loudly the Beast roars during my full review, but my initial impression is that it's no louder than a typical smoothie-maker, despite its powerful motor. It is, however, more stable. Some compact blenders tend to wobble across the kitchen counter when tackling tough ingredients, but not this one.

I suspected that completely pulverizing the frozen fruit might involve running it twice, as it has for some other blenders I've tested, but after one minute my concoction looked sufficiently smooth, so I flipped over the Beast, removed the blending unit, attached the drinking lid, and pushed a straw through its silicone top.

The result? A smoothie that was startlingly seed-free, despite being loaded with pips that would be skipped by a lesser blender's blades. No grit – just a smooth, tasty concoction that was a pleasure to sip.

It's impressive stuff, and I'm looking forward to testing it out with some other tricky recipes over the coming days.

So far my only reservation is that all of the Beast's blending vessels have vertical ridges, which look stylish but seem to be a bit trickier to clean by hand than a conventional smooth blending jug. However, according to the manufacturer, everything except the blending base is dishwasher-safe, so hopefully that won't be an issue.

Come back soon for my full review, and to see whether the Beast can earn a place in TechRadar's roundup of the best blenders you can buy today.