Like most people, I enjoy a hot chocolate.
Do I love hot choccys enough to buy Hotel Chocolat’s velvetiser for £100? Absolutely not, but I can’t say I haven’t been tempted.
If your social feeds are anything like mine, you’d have seen adverts and posts from tonnes of people unwrapping one for Christmas and boy, did it look fancy.
If you haven’t heard of it, the idea is that the machine makes the perfect hot chocolate at the touch of the button: melting grated chocolate into milk and warming it all up to the perfect temperature to drink instantly – as if you were buying it at a café.
So, when I saw Aldi were selling a dupe for under half the price, I nearly spat my tea out with excitement.
The Aldi version comes in two colours – copper and silver. And it costs £40. It’s not spare cash but compared to the real deal it’s much, much cheaper.
So, I’m writing this to help you decide: is it actually worth the money?
Ordering
Ordering it was very much hassle-free, took me seconds to plonk it into the basket and checkout. Plus, there was free delivery which is a win considering it was the fastest option and arrived within days.
Unboxing
I’m no influencer but I can’t help myself taking a one-handed video unboxing something on the group chat to the girls. It’s the best bit. So here’s some snaps of that experience:
The machine is quite light, lighter than a kettle and quite small, small enough to put into the corner of the cupboard or have one the side next to the coffee machine not getting in the way – which is exactly what I’ll do!
It’s also not a loud rose gold pink copper but more subtle – it’s nice.
The machine is the only thing you get in the box, unlike the Hotel Chocolat which comes with one cup and 10 hot chocolate pouches in different flavours.
To be honest, I’ve got enough mugs already and I’m not sure I’d want to use all 10 flavours which include dark chocolate and ginger: yuck!
Using it
You start by pouring milk into the machine – I poured until about midway between the min and max lines (this was enough for a mug full).
Next you can add the real chocolate flakes (if you have some from Hotel Chocolat – bonus points!) or instant powder – I used the Galaxy one which was the only one in the cupboard.
Close the lid, press the buttons and now we wait.
It instantly creates a whirlpool and sounds unexpectedly quiet.
Watch it in action here:
I checked the instructions several times – wasn’t sure whether it would stop when it was done or if I had to time it. But within seconds, perhaps a minute, the blue light turned off and the red light flashed. Volia! The drink is ready.
Making it was pretty stress free and I didn’t even have time to scroll Instagram.
Pouring it into the cup and there’s one thing I notice: this is extremely frothy.
The taste
I am genuinely very surprised – it’s not watery, it’s not too milky, it’s not cold, it’s not even lukewarm. It’s ready to drink but my cup is hot to touch. I love it!
I don’t know what I expected, I did use an instant powder so maybe it’s that – but isn’t this usually so much more of a…faff?
When I’m done with the drink there’s so many extra bubbles and froth I have to get a spoon – I wish I’d put some marshmallows in this now!
My verdict
I called my friend to tell her about it and this is what I said: it is really great, if you want to treat yourself. But it is still £40.
It’s nice to have one on the side as a proper treat and it’s way less faff than warming up milk in the microwave or on the hob – with this you know you’ll get the perfect cup of hot choccy at a decent, drinkable, temperature.
Plus, the instruction book actually has about 10 recipes in it from iced coffees to hot chocolate infusions – there’s nothing wild but it did remind me that I could just use it to froth milk for fancy coffees.
Plus, if it breaks – given the price – there’s 3 years warranty which I also think is quite impressive.
You can buy Aldi's Ambiano dupe of the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser via the Aldi website.
Bon appétit!
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