I have been very lucky this year to receive the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser for Christmas (after finding a good deal during Black Friday) and I am not even exaggerating when I say that it has changed my life in the 3 days I have had it. I absolutely love it. As someone who loves hot chocolate and spends money regularly buying hot chocolates on the go, is the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser worth the price?

What is the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser?

The velvetiser is a stunning hot chocolate machine created by Hotel Chocolat to help you to make barista-grade hot chocolate easily. You add real grated chocolate flakes into your milk (including plant based milk like oat milk), turn on the velvetiser and in 2 and a half minutes you have a luxurious hot chocolate ready to drink.

The velvetiser comes with two ceramic Podcups (worth £20).

It is available in 3 colours:

• Copper/rose gold
• White
• Charcoal

There is also a limited edition version – Stellar White.

How much is the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser?

The Hotel Chocolat velvetiser is £99.95 direct from Hotel Chocolat.

You might also find it on Amazon and eBay.

How much is the hot chocolate?

The velvetiser was created to use real chocolate to make your luxurious hot chocolate, which means that the hot chocolate directly from Hotel Chocolat can get expensive.

You can expect to pay £8-£13 to restock your hot chocolate for the velvetiser if you are using the chocolate directly from Hotel Chocolat. 

Thankfully there are a few ways to save money whilst still enjoying your beautiful hot chocolate.

How to save money on the velvetiser hot chocolate

The first thing to talk about is the serving size.

The instructions will suggest you use a full sachet or 6 teaspoons of chocolate for your hot chocolates. You only add 225ml of milk, which means that I, and many others I have spoken to, find the hot chocolate way too rich and strong.

I find that two teaspoons, or a third of a sachet, works really well for me.

If this is the only change you make you will still be able to spread your hot chocolates out and get 3 times as many for the price.

Keep an eye out on Amazon for any Subscribe and Save bonuses. There will often be a percentage saving to be made when you create a subscription (which you can cancel straight away).

Another alternative is to use a different brand of hot chocolate flakes. For example, this one is just £6.95 at the time of writing instead of Hotel Chocolat’s equivalent for £9. Those savings soon add up.

You can also grate up your own chocolate to use in the velvetiser. This is one of the most cost effective ways to make your own hot chocolate – you can buy supermarket own chocolate bars starting at 30p for 100g. That means you can make 250g for less than £1.

You can also use normal hot chocolate powder in your velvetiser.

Can you use powder hot chocolate in the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser?

Yes!

Whilst some of the magic of the velvetiser comes from melting chocolate into milk, frothing the milk also accounts for a lot of the delicious taste.

You can use hot chocolate powder in your velvetiser, however I would recommend manually mixing it in with a spoon first, or running the velvetiser a couple of times to dissolve the powder.

How to clean the velvetiser

The velvetiser is so easy to clean – there is a non-stick coating on the inside so all you need to do is give it a rinse out after use, or run the velvetiser with water and a drop of washing up liquid.

The whisk is dishwasher safe, as well as the cups that come with the velvetiser, making it easy to clean.

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Is the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser worth the price?

If you are a fan of rich and luxurious hot chocolates then the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser is definitely for you!

I love mine – so much so that I build an entire hot chocolate station for it.

For me, the velvetiser has been worth the price. Whilst I still get hot chocolates from Starbucks and Costa, I love making one at home to enjoy.

I love customising my hot chocolates with flavoured hot chocolates, syrups (I love pumpkin spice) as well as adding marshmallows and sprinkles of course!

Hotel Chocolate Velvetiser Alternatives

If your budget doesn’t stretch to the Velvetiser then there are some amazing alternatives out there that are a fraction of the cost.

Electric hand whisk

A much cheaper alternative for less than a tenner, this electric hand whisk is battery powered and a firm favourite of Amazon customers. 

Here’s what one of the reviews states:

I wanted a small, portable milk frother/whisk for blending bulletproof coffee.
This is ideal as it takes 2 batteries and is light weight, fits into my lunch box if I’m taking it to work and is easily cleaned.
Stutters if the butter is cold, but assuming I’m using hot coffee straight out the pot, the butter melts fairly quickly anyway.
It’s not mega powerful, but given that I’m blending coffee in a mug I don’t want it going everywhere, which it did the first time I used it as I filled the mug to the top before realising that left no room for the liquid to rise when using the blender. Now I put enough in the bottom of the mug, blend the butter and then top it up once it’s all blended and frothy.
The material on the handle shows up the slightest greasy mark so even having warm hands can make it look unclean but when rinsing the whisk under the tap I wipe the handle over as well and then either stand it upright to air dry or use the tea towel (depending where I am).
This little whisk does the job and is ideal for the price. Happy with it.

George Home Black Milk Frother – £25

It is easy to see why the Asda milk frother is a great dupe for the Hotel Chocolate Velvetiser.

Here are the details:

Want to create a fancy coffee for family and friends? Us too. It’s now easier than ever with this black milk frother from George Home. Designed with easy to use two-button controls, it automatically switches off after frothing or heating milk and is suitable for plant-based milk. Enjoy feeling like a barista!

– 150ml capacity for frothing
– 300ml capacity for drinks
– Non-stick coating
– 2-year guarantee

Here are some of the fantastic reviews on the Asda website:

Bought this after my other expensive one died. Such a good price also love the metal instead of plastic jug. Easy to keep clean. Looks neat and tidy in the kitchen. Great for making lattes, hot chocolate or cold strawberry milk. Also great for quickly warming milk for my daughters bottle, of course I let it cool before she has it.

After reading the reviews I was slightly put off but thought for the money I would give it a go … it did not disappoint amazing for both hot and cold milk .. makes perfect foam for coffee and milky hot chocolate’s ..also kids love it for the thick chocolate milk would definitely recommend .. 🙂

I bought this when I recently swapped from green tea to matcha and wanted something to take the effort out. This is perfect!! The frother setting is the best, so so foamy like in a coffee shop, and even just the mixer setting still makes it creamy just with less froth. Always the perfect temperature as well! And such a bargain price wise compared to most.

 

Dualit milk frother – £48.99

This is the company who make the Velvetiser, so you know it is going to be good!

At half the price without the Hotel Chocolat name attached to it, you can easily see why many people are choosing the alternative.

Here are some of the amazing reviews on Amazon:

I bought this because Dualit also make Hotel Chocolat’s Velvetiser. I had hoped this would word similarly, and it absolutely does. The main differences are 1. Price 2. Functions 3. Whisk size.
1. The Dualit milk frother is ~£50. The Velvetiser is ~£100.
2. The Dualit milk frother has a warm froth, warm and cool froth setting. The Velvetiser has only the latter two settings.
3. The Dualit milk frother has a finer whisk. The Velvetiser has a more coarse whisk.
The finer whisk means it creates hot, frothy, velvety milk easily. My concern was that it would struggle with hot chocolate flakes, but it operates just as well as the Velvetiser does.
I’ve used this with hot chocolate powder, hot chocolate flakes (not the Hotel Chocolat ones though) and iced coffee powder. It worked excellently with all three, though I would recommend (in line with Dualit) you don’t use it with hot chocolate powder just because this is laden with sugar, and can cause burning. Chocolate flakes are the way to go! I would recommend the warm milk setting for hot chocolate.
I’ve also used to froth plant milks as well as cows milks, and it froths them all well for use in coffee (I used the barista versions of oat, rice and coconut milk, I used ordinary soy milk).
It heats the milk to the perfect temperature, and holds enough frothy milk for two coffees. It is very very quiet – far more so than I was expecting; it’s far far quieter than the coffee machine or kettle. It’s also very easy to clean. I put in cold water after I’ve used it to the max line with a drop of washing up liquid, and set it to go on the warm setting; it effectively cleans itself.
Overall I would recommend, and I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase again.

 

This is truely wonderful ! I was really hesitant about purchasing this mainly due to the price, -almost £50 fro just a milk frother ,
However as soon as I used it I realised it certainly is worth it ! Previously I had an Aldi milk frother about £17 that I thought worked well and I made some nice quick hot cholocates. However after a whole it broke . I started to look around for a new either hot cholcocate maker or milk frother. After reading lots of reviews this came up top, but I was very sceptical.
The jug is smaller than I thought, justa bit bigger than a travel kettle but heavier. The part you put the milk in is very small and o started to think o had made a mistake! Inside it’s made of a non slip metallic coating and outside is a nice stylish black enamel ( that is easy clean ) . It has a clear lid- again the whole presentation is stylish . It’s cordless, the cable is not too long and it has one simple button at the front.
There is a small frothing mechanism that you put inside if you want your milk frothed , as it’s my own reason for purchase this is the only way I have used it. The instructions are a bit vague but you have three levels to fill the milk to . At first I used the first level . You just simply press the button once and s smooth humming sound starts and it starts to heat up and froth the milk. It feels like awhile but probably about two mins. When I opened the top it looked almost like a creamy mouse ! The milk was so frothy and creamy ! I have never seen milk so light and fluffy ! I have found it best to use it and level two or three for a cup for myself. It would take a while if you were making a few cups .
I just poured the milky mouse into a cup with hot choclate stirred and I had the most lightest , frothy hot chocolatier I have ever had the pleasure of tasting ! It was just a nice temperature – drinkable but can go cold quickly . The frother gets quite warm and has a safety feature so you can’t heat it up straight away again , you have to wait a few minutes .
Overall I’m really delighted and wish I had bought it sooner – I have found it works with all kinds of milk, soya , coconut or normal very well . I highily recommend this if your looking for a milk frother , I have made a latter using it and it was great too. Please note you cannot add coffe or hot chocalte into the machine and you must clean it well after each use .

 

Aldi – £19.99

Aldi have the Ambiano Milk Heater & Frother available for just £19.99 – a massive saving, and you can order it online.

 

Here are the details:

• 360° Cordless jug
• Non-stick coating for easy cleaning
• Anti-leakage system
• Heats milk up to 60-70°C (approx.)
• Maximum level marking
• Can be used to froth cold milk
• STRIX 360° base
• 3 Functions
• Automatic switch off

And it comes with a massive 3 year warranty.

A review on the website states:

It makes perfect foam for coffee and hot chocolate. It’s just the right drinking temperature for a cappuccino. I use barista style oat ‘milk’ and skimmed or semi-skimmed dairy. All work very well. I expect that soy milk would be good too.

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