Is the hottest way to make hot chocolate worth it?

Like most trendy things, I’m about two years late to the Velvetiser party, having maintained some semblance of self-control for the past couple of winters thinking a regular powdered hot chocolate would do the job. November 2022 is the month I caved, and now I worship at the Velvetiser altar… Oh yeah, what is it? 

The Velvetiser is an at-home, barista-grade hot-chocolate maker, creating a carbon copy of the hot choccy served in Hotel Chocolat cafés. It takes two and a half mins to ‘make’ and no skill at all. You literally plug the Velvetiser in, add the whisk (important step, always add the whisk first), pour in milk, then add the chocolate sprinkles and press the button. The chocolate is melted before being whisked and folded into the milk et voilà! Liquid gold.

Naturally, the best experience comes from using one of their single-serve hot chocolate pouches which come in loads of flavours ranging from classic, salted caramel, hazelnut (special shout out to this one), supermilk and blood orange, dark with chilli… the list goes on.

I thought the best way to answer this was to test it out on a mix of sceptics and self-professed hot-chocolate connoisseurs. I have left these people anonymous as it’s embarrassing that they doubted the Velvetiser in the first place, but suffice to say before trying this velvety elixir, one tester thought a cup of powdered chocolate mixed with kettle water would taste the same. Ha! 

‘That’s literally the best hot chocolate of my life.’
‘How is it so smooth?’
‘Mmm, so moreish.’
‘Is there alcohol in this?’ (No, but if you're reading this, Hotel Chocolat, that’s something to bear in mind for the future.)

The point, my friends, is to make winter slightly more bearable by creating a hot chocolate moment that makes you feel like you’re living the hygge dream – even if the reality is a hot water bottle and multiple draft excluders. It’s also more practical than you may think, as you can easily elevate your daily morning coffee by forgoing the chocolate and instead just using the machine to froth up milk for the ultimate latte.

Rejoice! Any type of milk works well in the Velvetiser – dairy or plant-based, the end result will still be gorgeous and velvety. And if you want a less rich experience, or perhaps you’re just not a big fan of milk, you can use 100% water or a 50/50 water/milk mixture as a base. 

Is it hard to clean? No. The jug is non-stick, so you simply remove the whisk when you’ve finished with it, rinse it under warm water and do the same with the jug, before wiping any excess away with some kitchen towel. 

The hot chocolate will be perfectly ready to drink as soon as it's out of the Velvetiser, coming in at 68-70C (apparently the optimum temperature for max flavour). You can hack your way to a hotter drinking experience by pre-filling your cup with boiling water to warm it up – just don’t forget to tip the water away before you pour in the chocolate.