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Here's why you don't need to spend £150 on a hot chocolate maker

Hotel Chocolat have released a new Velvetiser just in time for Christmas – but it comes with an eye-watering price tag
Lars StannardConsumer writer

Lars is a bloodhound when it comes to sniffing out bargains, including on major sales events such as Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. He is also handy at unravelling tech jargon and anything related to gaming.

someone holding a mug of hot chocolate

The Velvetiser is one of the most popular hot chocolate machines on the market, and Hotel Chocolat have just released a new version – the 'ALL-NEW'.

But do you really need to spend £150 to make good hot chocolate? Our expert analysis says otherwise. We haven't put the ALL-NEW Velvetiser through our rigorous testing yet, but we've tested a model that has all the bells and whistles of the ALL-NEW Velvetiser – that also beat the original one.

Read on to see which hot chocolate maker earned our coveted Best Buy award while costing a fraction of the stylish Velvetisers.

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The new vs 'old' Velvetiser

ALL-NEW Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser
Hotel Chocolat ALL-NEW VelvetiserHotel Chocolat Velvetiser
Hot and cold drinks + milk frothingHot drinks + milk frothing only
Capacity: 220mlCapacity: 220ml
Weight: 2.86kgWeight: 1.15kg
Temperature settings: 1 hot and 1 coldTemperature settings: 1 hot
Price: Hotel Chocolat (£149.95)Price: SQUIRREL_TEXT_50022655

Perhaps the biggest difference with the Velvetiser redesign is that the ALL-NEW model has a chocolate milk feature and can froth cold milk. This means it can make drinks or froth milk without the heating element being turned on – it won't cool down warm milk. 

While we have yet to put the ALL-NEW Velvetiser through our testing, we don't think the added bells and whistles are worth paying an extra £50 for. While change isn't always bad, this machine has yet to prove itself.

For now, find out which of the best hot chocolate makers beat the original Velvetiser. 

Compare prices on the original Velvetiser below:

Looking to snag a bargain? Keep up with our best Black Friday deals, plus buying advice on what to expect from the sales.

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