PSA: You can make iced mochas with your Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser
At this point in life we'd consider ourselves hot chocolate connoisseurs (is that a real job? We'll take it if so). It was the first hot beverage we tried and it's been a lifelong love affair ever since. From getting cosy on the sofa with a movie marathon and a hot chocolate topped with whipped cream in hand, to warming up on a family camping trip with a watery powdered hot chocolate, to trying out the latest London hot chocolate café, it's safe to say we know a good hot chocolate when we taste one.
Which is why we were so intrigued to try out Hotel Chocolat's Velvetiser. All chocolate fiends will know it was helmed as a game changer when it launched five years ago, promising the best velvety hot chocolate you could ever dream of.
But does it actually live up to the hype? And what is it like making an iced beverage with the Velvetiser? We gave it a go to find out.
What is the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser?
First launched in 2018, the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser is a machine that uses Dualit engineering to manufacture the perfect cup of hot chocolate. It does so by whisking chocolate shards and milk together between 68 to 70 degrees, which is the optimum temperature for melting cacao butter and ensuring that velvety smooth creamy flavour.
It's currently available for £110 and comes with two white ceramic pod cups, perfect for drinking your hot chocolate from.
The hot chocolate sachets or drinking chocolate pouches need to be purchased separately and range from £8.50 for a 250g pouch to £13.50 for a set of 10 sachets. It's not just your classic hot chocolate flavours on offer either, there's white chocolate, orange chocolate, peanut butter chocolate and more to try.
You can use any milk of your choosing in the machine and there is a vegan hot chocolate box available to purchase too.
How do you make a hot chocolate in the Velvetiser?
Before starting make sure you've added in the whisk to the Velvetiser first, we learnt this the hard way.
Pour 220ml milk of your choice into the Velvetiser or up to the 'max' line to save you from measuring it out.
Sprinkle in your chocolate contents from the sachet.
Add the lid.
Press the button and wait for chocolatey goodness.
The Velvetiser is finished when the light goes off on the button and you can pour into desired glass.
How do you make an iced mocha in the Velvetiser?
Yep, it's not just hot chocolates you can make with the Velvetiser. When it's far too hot outside to think about drinking a hot chocolate, you don't need to leave your Veltetiser in the cupboard.
Instead you can use it to make the smoothest iced mocha you've had in your life, using the latte sachets. Here's how:
Pour 100ml of milk of your choosing into a large glass with 6 to 8 ice cubes.
Ensure whisk is in Velvetiser.
Pour another 120ml of milk of your choosing into the Velvetiser.
Sprinkle in the contents of one of the latte sachets or hot chocolate sachets.
Press the button and wait for light to go off to know the Velvetiser has finished.
Slowly pour in the velvetised drink into the glass with milk and ice, giving it a good stir.
What did we think of the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser?
After literal years of hearing my friends rave about it and watching hundreds of TikToks of strangers making the most delicious looking hot chocolates, I decided to try it out for ourselves, and I was not disappointed.
It truly does make some of the best hot chocolate I've had in a long time, it's rich, creamy and velvety, without powdery clumps, grainy texture or a weak chocolate flavour you can get in a normal homemade hot chocolate. And when using the Hotel Chocolat chocolate sachets, the flavour is not overly sweet or sickly.
The instructions are super easy to follow and it takes exactly two and a half minutes from start to finish to make a hot chocolate, which is faster and way less faff than making it with a kettle or on the hob.
The Velvetiser brings the hot chocolate up to a warm drinking temperature, but the outside of the machine stays cool, so there's no risk of accidentally burning yourself whilst rushing for your hot chocolate. However, the outside of the pod cups can get a little hot to touch so be careful when transferring it from the kitchen to your cosy couch set-up.
It's not dishwasher proof and you can't submerge it underwater, but it is easy to clean with cold water and washing up liquid. It can only make one drink at a time so if you're planning to make hot chocolates for a group, it's quite a time consuming process, particularly if you're giving it a wash in between each go.
Once I'd tried the hot chocolate, I also had a go at creating the iced mocha style drinks. I was a little skeptical at first as you make the iced mocha by adding ice and milk to a glass, and then pouring on the hot mocha mixture, rather than the Velvetiser itself making the drink cold.
But despite my initial reservations the iced mocha worked really well. The Velvetiser gives the drink a classic velvety foam you don't usually get with an iced coffee and the flavours, particularly the caramel and chocolate latte sachets, were unreal. All I would say is make sure you have a lot of ice (I went with seven cubes) to ensure your drink is hot weather proof.
So, would we recommend the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser?
Honestly, yes. Come 3pm most days I'm now craving an iced mocha or a hot chocolate, and when winter rolls around I know it will become my most used appliance.
However, it's definitely not the cheapest of appliances and right now the Velvetiser only works with Hotel Chocolat's own chocolate sachets. You've probably seen people on TikTok try it out with larger pieces of chocolate, which Hotel Chocolat does not recommend doing as it can break the motor. So you then need to consider the cost of also buying the chocolate, which currently costs £13.50 for 10 sachets or £8.50 for bag of drinking chocolate.
That being said, it is the best hot chocolate I've had in a long time and there is a lot to be said for having a machine you can rely on to give you a delicious afternoon pick me up or comforting evening drink. I've honestly been surprised at how much I've used it, with my coffee machine firmly relegated to the corner.
If you're a real chocolate obsessive (guilty!) then it is definitely worth every penny.
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