Hotel Chocolat velvetiser

[EatPrayYoga]

I recently got my velvetiser and I am really pleased with it.

A couple of things I'm interested in

1- Any other hot chocolate recommendations whether HC or other brands? So far I'm actually thinking the HC classic one might be my favourite, though I'd previously thought it not sweet enough. The orange one is nice too.

2- Will my hot choc by more thick and frothy with whole milk? We usually buy semi skimmed and it's fine but if I was in the shop buying a hot choc I would be adding cream!

Sloane's Sumptuous Smooth Milk is lovely, Ocado sell it, though my favourite is the HC white vanilla.

I've not found any real difference between milks to be honest, though I have found microwaving it for ten seconds or so and adding a drop of cream then works well. Problem with the Velvetiser is it isn't hot enough for me.

As an aside, for anyone else reading this, you don't need an expensive velvetiser. I have a £25 Godmorn one I bought from Amazon, it works in exactly the same way and produces exactly the same results. As long as it heats and froths it will melt the chocolate and work in exactly the same was as the £100 version.

Aldi also do a version that's tonnes cheaper.

I use semi skimmed and Green and Blacks. Sometimes with a spoonful of nutella. I also overfill it as we have massive mugs.

The kids find it far easier to use than the microwave and obviously there's no lumps.

I got a hot chocolate maker/milk frother thing from Lidl for £17. It works brilliantly but was a special buy so pot luck if/when you can get one.

I got some nice hot chocolate flakes from M&S - they were reduced after Christmas one year but they probably always have them in.

You could probably make very nice and far cheaper hot chocolate by grating the value 30 p chocolate bars that most supermarkets do.

A big slug of Baileys also works well.

Sloane's Sumptuous Smooth Milk is lovely

I haven't heard of this so will look it up

Someone else recommended Green & Blacks so I will look into that too as it's a bit cheaper

I think the HC ones are expensive for everyday!

Apparently the Dualit milk frothier is the same thing as the velvetiser (same manufacturer as well) but I can't say for sure if this is correct

I was wondering how well nutella works . I will definitely try that

I have also thought of grating in some nice chocolate

I love the HC salted caramel 😍
We sometimes use Whittard hot chocolate in it or just any chocolate bar we fancy and grate it in.

Apparently the Dualit milk frothier is the same thing as the velvetiser (same manufacturer as well) but I can't say for sure if this is correct

Still stupidly expensive for what it is though, especially when this will do the same job for £24:

www.amazon.co.uk/Nobebird-Functionality-Automatic-Cappuccino-Chocolate/dp/B0836LWD54/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=milk+frother&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1604318083&sr=8-10

Anything that heats and stirs milk at the same time will work with grated chocolate, I've had samples of the velvetiser in store and it's honestly no different to any cheap frother out there.

Yes Adobe but people have different budgets and favours different aesthetics and brands

I have a sachet of the HC salted caramel to try and also some sachets of the Whittards salted caramel that they gave me when I last went in

I've got some of the Whittards Classic and that's quite nice

My favourite is the 70% but I do add a small amount of sugar. Sometimes a tiny drop of orange essence. I also top it with anchor extra thick squirty cream. So healthy.
The mint flavour is nice too.
The sachets are expensive though. Unfortunately we tend to use it every night and the powdered hot chocolates just don’t taste that great anymore 🙄. I’ve spent way too much on this indulgence. Kind of wish I’d never bought it now 😂.

Yes Adobe but people have different budgets and favours different aesthetics and brands

Precisely why I'm pointing out on this thread that the £24 one does exactly the same thing so that people on a budget don't feel they have to pay out £100 for the HC one because it looks a bit fancier on the worktop.

Don’t forget it makes amazing coffee too - just add a shot to frothed milk.
I also make caramel milk with caramel syrup - you get it in all the little cafes in Paris it’s amazing!

The salted caramel ones are the best!

I have two boxes of milky ones which I someone bought for me and not keen on them, but I prefer something sweeter.

Cadbury’s works well though 😄

I don't know about a velvetiser but I make hot chocolate in a pan on the stove with a cup of oat milk (it's creamier than dairy), two dessert spoons of raw cocoa powder, two squirts of agave syrup and half a teaspoon of vanilla essence. It's divine!

Oh, thanks for this thread. My teenage daughter loves hot chocolate and I was so tempted by the velvetiser for Christmas, but its just so expensive. Its still £100 for the velvetiser and a starter box of flavoured hot chocolate, with various discount codes.

Is the velvetiser just a milk frother then? Do you add the hot choc flakes/powder at the end or does it make the actual hot chocolate for you while frothing/velvetising? Apologies for the stupid question!

It makes the hot chocolate for you. So milk and choc goes in. It has a whisk which sits inside and you just turn it on, it whisks and heats it up.

I’ve got the Velvetiser and like the salted caramel and the maple pecan sachets. For normal hot chocolate though, I buy the kg tubs of Callebaut ground chocolate in dark and white. Delicious and much cheaper!

The sachets are expensive though. Unfortunately we tend to use it every night and the powdered hot chocolates just don’t taste that great anymore

I know, I think I'm the same but I don't drink tea or coffee so I tell myself it's worth it.

a cup of oat milk (it's creamier than dairy)

Haven't tried this

HC milky I'm not sure about this either. Surprisingly I prefer the Classic. I just tried the dark and it's a bit too dark for me but not unpleasant. My velvetiser came with a mixed box of ten so I'm trying them all. There's a white chocolate one which. Sounds a bit sickly!

Its still £100 for the velvetiser and a starter box of flavoured hot chocolate, with various discount codes.

It's not cheap. I got mine from QVC a couple of weeks ago for £85 with the two cups, then hot chocs and ten lattes and think that was good but it was a one day only deal. I don't regret it though. If you drink hot choc then I think it's worth it and it would be a great Christmas gift. Maybe Black Friday will have some good offers?

Don’t forget it makes amazing coffee too - just add a shot to frothed milk.

My velvetiser came with ten lattes sachets not I don't drink coffee and DH likes his black! What do you use the caramel milk for, for coffee?

@rockingaroundthemulberrybush

You add milk and chocolate flakes at the beginning and the HC-V does it all for you. Perfect temperature for children, adults may like to microwave it for 10 or 20 seconds.

We got one last year and my teen DC love it, so much that this year I bought another one recently as a family present for a family of 4. Got it on QVC when it was on offer, it came with 2 HC mugs, 10 mixed hot chocolate sachets and 10 coffee/latte sachets. I think it was £86 at the time plus postage. It seems to be a Today's Special Value item on QVC once every year, might be available again as a One Time Only or similar offer on the run up to Christmas. You can also read reviews online
www.qvcuk.com/hotel-chocolat/home-&-kitchen/_/N-1z13xd2Zlfnu/c.html?qq=mh&redirectTerm=hotel+chocolat+velvetiser&currentPage=1&sort=Price+-+High+to+Low#plModule

Your local hot chocolate shop may have chocolate to suit, ours does anyway, and my DC and their cousins also love to use Clipper hot chocolate.

Yup, the HC-V is expensive - but it looks like a classy piece of kitchen equipment and it comes in a range of colours to suit most tastes.

We've got one and I love it, I know we could have got something cheaper to do the same, we did consider it, but sometimes it's nice to just splash out and be extravagant, it looks beautiful (we've got the copper one) and does a great job.

We mainly use Green and Blacks, but for a bit of luxury I sometimes buy Soanes Dark from Waitrose (the milk one is far too sweet for me). It's beans so rather than risk damaging the whisk I heat the milk, add the beans, wait a couple of minutes for them to melt and re-whisk for 30s or so.

I got one for the family this year instead of Easter eggs and we love it. I mix and match milk according to what I fancy. We usually have semi skimmed milk, but sometimes I fancy using Oatly Barista which is lovely and creamy - but then I've found it's better if you use the 70% from HC. I bought myself the white chocolate sachets as a treat this weekend - delicious so discipline is going to have to be instilled.

I have a strongly held belief that my Velvetiser will vanish in a puff of smoke on the day DS goes to university, magically rematerialising in his uni room....

Has anyone tried the new latte sachets? They now do a chocolate especially designed for using with plant based milks too.

I have one but it just doesn't get the milk hot enough for me and I resent having to then microwave my drink after use to get it to my ideal nuclear temperature!

@rockingaroundthemulberrybush

Oh, thanks for this thread. My teenage daughter loves hot chocolate and I was so tempted by the velvetiser for Christmas, but its just so expensive. Its still £100 for the velvetiser and a starter box of flavoured hot chocolate, with various discount codes.

Is the velvetiser just a milk frother then? Do you add the hot choc flakes/powder at the end or does it make the actual hot chocolate for you while frothing/velvetising? Apologies for the stupid question!

The one I linked above is exactly the same, has a whisk in the bottom. The Aldi one mentioned is even cheaper if you can find it and does the same again.

Just put in 220ml of milk and the chocolate and leave it to it for a minute or so. Temperature is warm, but not hot, the same as the velvetiser so for adults you need to microwave it for ten seconds no matter which machine you use I find.

Unsure whether the velvetiser does it but the one I have makes milkshakes by adding syrup or powder on cold mode and froths milk for coffee on the hot mode.

The Chocolate Society has a hot chocolate shaker for £25 or so that emulsified the chocolate with the milk in just a few seconds of shaking (apparently!). I'm tempted by that as a cheaper option.

I don't mind the temperature. I sometimes put boiling water in the cup first and that makes it a bit warmer but I find the temperature okay surprisingly!

You can make cold chocolate and some cocktails also ganache. If you watch the video and someone shows you the different things you can do so that is quite helpful if you're on the fence.

I agree it's nice to have a bit of luxury. I got the copper one.

I've had the lattes but don't like coffee so wouldn't give a good review! They will be good for guests though! I will happily post you one to try if you want to PM me mimble

If you mean the nutmilk one I imagine that will be good as I've tried the nutmilk chocolate batons from HC and they are delicious. I'm not dairy free and I still buy them so they are probably worth trying.

I froth milk in mine and add it to a short, strong black coffee to make a latte, no sachets.

You can get the tubs of HC flakes on amazon - if you use the subscribe and save service you can get up to 15% off, and the tub is cardboard so fully recyclable. You do have to weigh out the chocolate but once you've done it a couple of times you get to know what the right amount looks like.