Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser Unboxing & Review | Hot Chocolate and Lattes

[@sailingby]

I’ve had a velvetiser for more than a year now - hot chocolate or cocoa in the winter, and also use it for frothing milk for cafe lattes - I like that it’s easy to clean

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi Sailingby! A fellow-Velvetiserian, Happy Friday! We're looking forward to using it in winter and trying it with other products, such as the suggested Twirl bar. Hope you have a great weekend!

[@sailingby]

@@FinnLovesFood sounds good 😀 Have a lovely weekend too ☀️

[@karl-70]

Hi, glad you're enjoying your Velvetiser. A quick note on the temperature. You mentioned some people complaining it's not hot enough. I used to be involved in milk production and the temperature the Velvetiser heats the milk to is very important. Once milk gets over 70ºc the proteins denaturize and then the milk will not froth and the texture is altered. This is the secret to the velvetisers "magic" and why it's just a "nice temperature. So now you know 😉

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi Karl, Happy Friday! Thank you, we were curious about the temperature, appreciate the information :) Honestly, we thought the temperature was just fine. Do have a Velvetiser, if so did you have a preference on the type of drink?

[@karl-70]

@FinnLovesFood I do own one ( Christmas gift for the wife, so technically she owns it 😆) . I use it occasionally for a hotel chocolate - milk chocolate, hot chocolate or sometimes I make a latte in it as well.

[@adeleferguson663]

You two are too cute. TYSM for your review. I bought one of these units for a Christmas gift for my daughter this year as she’s a big fan of hot chocolate (as in sugar-laden Swiss Miss, yikes). I’ve watched a few videos and hope she likes it. I’m going to make homemade marshmallows to go along with this special treat. I did manage to buy the Black Forest gateau flavor as it was in stock.

[@FinnLovesFood]

We hope she likes it too! We got the Velvetiser advent calendar and it has Black Forest gateau. We're looking forward to trying it.

[@what_im_eatin_uk]

I got one of these 3 years ago love it. I crush up chocolate bars and melt them in. Twirl and Orange Twirl are my favorites.

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi What_im_eatin_uk! Oh nice, thank you for letting us know - we can find Twirl bars at our Cost Plus market, time to stock-up :D Happy Friday!

[@what_im_eatin_uk]

@@FinnLovesFood yes just make sure you crush them up good and put the milk in first they make a great drink

[@FinnLovesFood]

@@what_im_eatin_uk thanks!

[@phillambrose3496]

You can use your own Chocolate Bars, just grate them with a grater and put it in an airtight container. It's just like Washing Machine or Dishwasher Manufacturers saying that you can only use Tide or Finish Powders. Hotel Chocolat would say only to use their Chocolat.

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi Phil, Happy Friday! Thank you, we noted some reviewers trying grated chocolate bars and some looked as though it worked just fine while others (with nougat, other fillings). About manufacturer warranties, I don't doubt it - I'm sure you could use a number of similar powders just fine and at a lower price, more things to experiment with :)

[@phillambrose3496]

Hi, thanks for the message. No, just Ordinary bars of Chocolate, it's OK if they are flavoured but not Chocolate Bars with a Nougat Filling or Nuts.

[@FinnLovesFood]

@@phillambrose3496 in some of the videos we saw they used bars with more than just chocolate. That seemed a little iffy!

[@cmh8fl]

Great video, it's November, as I am just seeing your video. Perfect timing for hot chocolate! As for iced coffee, I use my Ninja Slushi 😊

[@FinnLovesFood]

Thank you. It's cold and rainy here tonight so we're looking forward to getting a lot of use out of the Velvetiser this season.

[@agranda6379]

Love my Velvetiser! Well, officially it was my daughter's Christmas gift about three years ago, but I've used it as much as she has! Have tried most flavours of chocolate, but am really partial to the 50% milk. Does that make me Vanilla?!😅. As a very irregular coffee drinker, I haven't tried the lattés. I may just have to try now you say they are really good. One tip I heard for those that don't feel their drink is hot enough....warm your mug first eg in hot water. Anyway, hope you're all having a great weekend. 😊

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi Agranda, Hope you're having a great weekend! We're enjoying it so far, can see why they're popular. If you do give the laytés a go, please let us know what you think, we suspect you'll enjoy them :) Oh thank you for the tip, good idea! :) Thank you again :)

[@halloweenville1]

This comes up on QVC UK at least a few times a year. I love watching Hotel Chocolate on QVC. But i'm not a fan of hot chocolate, so i feel a bit hard done by, because i would love a Velvetiser. Their Chocs can be expensive, but they are good.

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi Halloweenville! You mentioned not being a fan of hot chocolate, how about coffee drinks? There was a suggestion on trying a grated Twirl bar, that may be a lesser expensive chocolate option, curious to try it :) Happy Friday!

[@halloweenville1]

@@FinnLovesFood I don't know, any warm chocolate doesn't do it for me. My Chocolate usually comes out of the fridge or freezer, I don't mind a mocha though, because as you say it has the coffee element. It doesn't have that powdery flavour that tastes artificial. A chocolate bar melter machine, i mean it does sound intriguing..

[@michaelriordan8265]

I seem to remember that my mum used cocoa powder to make hot chocolate, mixing the powder with sugar and a little milk before pouring hot milk on it, your electric plugs seem very small unlike ours, I don't know what your voltage is but we have 220/40 volts and our plugs have a lot of safety features, very interesting video, see you for the live show on Sunday

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi Michael. We have 110-120 volts here and we've heard that's why our electric kettles are slower to heat up. We've seen videos from the UK showing how there aren't any electric plugs in the bathrooms. Not the case here! Newer homes have GFCI outlets that can quickly shut off the power - you usually have them in kitchens and bathrooms and other wet areas. See you Sunday!

[@spookygeek9459]

I was going to sell mine, but my friend said don’t you be sorry and she was right. I love in now 🍫🍫🍫

[@FinnLovesFood]

Glad you're enjoying it! Do you have any favorite flavors?

[@spookygeek9459]

@@FinnLovesFood my favourite is gonna be the mint orange 👍

[@what_im_eatin_uk]

Also there was a popular series on here called Inside Hotel Chocolat. One of the episodes followed their US expansion and showed stores opening in New York and Chicago. In January this year they were bought by Mars for £534 million

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi there! Thank you for the information, we'll look for that series, sounds interesting! So far we haven't seen the Hotel Chocolat drinking chocolate/mixes in our usual stores but we're hopeful. Happy Friday!

[@what_im_eatin_uk]

@@FinnLovesFood if you have a VPN it's available on my5 here in the UK. Very interesting series. Showed you product development, how chocolates are made, followed new store openings in the UK, US and there was an episode about their success in Japan

[@Kraken54321]

Nice. I love my Velvetiser. ☕

[@FinnLovesFood]

Do you have a favorite flavor of hot chocolate for the Velvetiser?

[@Kraken54321]

@@FinnLovesFood I like the chilli, ginger and mint. 😋

[@FinnLovesFood]

@@Kraken54321 thanks!

[@AS-wi6hr]

Wonderful review. Thank you. By the way, you forgot to tell us about the time it took to prepare a cup. I've also heard some water kettles take longer to boil the water in US.

[@FinnLovesFood]

Thanks! That's right, it was about two and a half minutes - the same as the ones from the UK. I believe it does take longer for electric kettles to boil here. It's not much faster than boiling water on the stove. That may be why electric kettles aren't very popular here!

[@kudapooda9993]

May be the limit Addison flavers are for halow ween and Christmastime. Take care and all the best. 😊😊👍👍👍🐶

[@FinnLovesFood]

We've been watching the site and they seem to rotate in limited edition flavors every few months. I just hope some flavors come back again! Right now they have a pineapple hot chocolate which isn't as tempting to me.

[@dawnsheard4786]

I get Mixed box of flavours gives you a chance to try before you buy a whole box …

[@FinnLovesFood]

HI Dawn, I don't think we had an option for a mixed box, but I do like the idea of being able to try a variety of flavors. Fortunately we've been happy with all the flavors we chose.

[@borbetomagus]

Thanks for your video. I just wonder how the results would compare to an Italian Cioccolata Calda, Parisian Chocolat Chaud, Spanish Chocolate Caliente (or similar) recipes. Examples from SAID dal 1923, Angelina Paris, Chocolatería San Ginés, Chin Chin Labs (and others) look pretty tasty. Maybe one day I'll try something similar with Callebaut 811.

[@FinnLovesFood]

Not sure. We did see other KZbinrs grating chocolate from other companies to use in the Velvetiser.

[@johnhankinson1929]

it seems a bit of a task to me when you can just buy sachets and add hot water , i like to keep things nice and simple 😎😎

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi John! We love products that lean towards simplicity, if we could live off anything where we 'just add water', we would :D It does take more time, but we can see a difference in some of the instant drinks available to us. Hope you're having a great weekend!

[@Theresabrown1805]

I have a Hot Chocolate Vevetiser and it's well worth the money i really like mine and it makes a delicious hot chocolate i don't usually use their own products to make hot chocolate i have a tin of Costa Coffee hot chocolate and works well with hot chocolate maker. I bought the copper one which i love. I went into one of their shop did you know you can buy hot Chocolate liquuers.

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi Theresa, the copper one was our favorite too. Does the Costa Coffee hot chocolate consist of chocolate shavings like the Hotel Chocolat brand?

[@Theresabrown1805]

@@FinnLovesFood no, the costa coffee hot chocolate is cocao powder and works just fine in the vevetiser still makes delicious hot Chocolate.

[@FinnLovesFood]

@@Theresabrown1805 good to know. Thanks!

[@jeffmarriott]

looks a nice piece of kit, glad you gave it a thumbs up, certainly the choc/latte looked very nice. I am with Ross on a lot of kitchen equipment - very flimsy - we got a Magimix processor which though simple is built like a battleship. Great video again guys.

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi Jeff, it's definitely a fun indulgence. Looking forward to trying more flavors. It's nice to have a sturdy appliance that you know will last a long time.

[@Temeraire101]

Great to hear you got one.

[@FinnLovesFood]

Finally decided to go for it. Bonus that we got it on sale!

[@maxinemuhammad5979]

Love the vid I have one love it 😍😍😍❤️❤️❤️💯💯💯

[@FinnLovesFood]

Thanks Maxine. Do you have a favorite flavor?

[@AngelaVara-i4l]

Google knows what you talk about thats why ads come on your computer showing things you like.

[@FinnLovesFood]

They sure do. It's scary sometimes.

[@Zinglebarb]

of course they advise you to use their products hahaha

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi Zinglebarb! Our product and our product only! :)

[@Zinglebarb]

Did not mean you​@@FinnLovesFood

[@Zinglebarb]

@@FinnLovesFood You said Hotel Chocolat say using other chocolate products in their device may damage it. Course they do they want you to buy theirs

[@FinnLovesFood]

@@Zinglebarb ya, since the Velvetiser is a one and done, got to have something to keep you coming back. 🙂 Have to admit, some of the limited edition flavors sound interesting.

[@margaretnicol3423]

I've just started watching and I'm really hoping you'll say it was OK but not great. Warming the milk in a pan, putting in the chocolate and whisking as it melts is just as good, isn't it? Let's find out!

[@rthoc71]

Lot easier clean Margaret with Velvetiser quickness another bonus if u short of time, as Energy use this far less than gas or electric on your stove.

[@margaretnicol3423]

@@rthoc71 I've had a look now and it does look quite luxurious so it not a drink I'd make for a quick one. More for a snuggle down in a comfortable chair and enjoy. I have a wand for frothing milk for cappuccinos and the like so I'd just use that. If you use a bigger pot so you only have about an inch of milk in it it warms up fairly quickly as you don't want to boil the milk. I'd be more likely to consider one if it made two cups of chocolate at a time rather than the second person having to wait. Nevertheless, I'm sure it tastes fabulous.

[@johnleonard9090]

The velvetiser is made by dualit so the build quality is high 😊

[@FinnLovesFood]

The chocolate sachets even say you can make it in a pan too!

[@FinnLovesFood]

@@margaretnicol3423 two cups at once would be nice. Fortunately it is quick to make so we didn't have a problem with the first drink cooling off before the second one was done.

[@Andy_U]

Hiya. Hotel Chocolat did have 5 stores in America. Think they all closed in 2022. Then in November 2023 HC sold out to Mars. The whole kit and caboodle! So, enjoy it while you can because the original owners only have an input for 5 years before Mars can do what the hell they like with it. Stay safe. All the best to you.

[@FinnLovesFood]

Hi Andy, I wonder if they weren't in our area as we had never heard of Hotel Chocolat before our viewers had mentioned them. I hope Mars doesn't ruin it!

[@rthoc71]

Hot chocolate should not be made with boiling water think that's popular mistake, hence some Americans complaining not hot enough, unlike Starbucks it's nice have slightly less hot less chance burn your mouth. Often Starbucks I'd have squirted cream helps cool it. Sue my colleague at work brings her Velvetiser with her she knows I'm White chocolate fan, the hotel white choc mocha absolutely gorgeous Really glad u got one and hope you can some point get Hotel chocolates soon in US. Being part Mars confectionary might see them this year.

[@FinnLovesFood]

The reviews we saw were from Brits and some of them thought it wasn't hot enough! We found it to be plenty hot and not so hot that you burn your mouth. Granted it's not the cold time of year, but some people had suggested warming the cups first so it stays warmer.