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You can’t beat the comforting taste of hot chocolate during the colder months, and now the winter staple is even easier to make at home. While there is always the option of adding a few spoons of hot chocolate powder to it frothed milkThis can often be inferior to a cup of cocoa from a coffee shop. The good news is that there are now dedicated hot chocolate makers to help you create the barista-perfect drink in the comfort of your kitchen.
The most famous of these is Viral Hotel Chocolate VelvetizerWhich was launched in 2018 and quickly went viral. This summer it was updated to include a cold chocolate function. Velvetiser is the best-selling hot chocolate maker ever, but it’ll cost you £150. There are a few similar models on the market now, and one model in particular caught my attention: the Salter Chocolate Maker Electric Hot Chocolate Maker, which costs a fraction of the £35 price tag.
Both machines mix chocolate pieces with milk to make hot chocolate, while Salter’s device can also froth milk in varying consistencies, which you can add to your coffee. There’s a huge price difference of £115 between the two, so having tested countless kitchen appliances over the years, I was keen to see if the budget-friendly option was as effective as its premium counterparts. In the name of a good cup of cocoa, I got my hands on Hotel Chocolat’s Velvetizer and Salter’s Chocolatier Electric Hot Chocolate Maker to see if it’s worth spending more.
Read more: The best coffee machines for 2025, tried and tested for barista-quality cups
how i tested
I used both machines to make a cup of hot chocolate with milk chocolate flakes and dairy milk. Nowadays, you can find many exciting hot chocolate varieties, from orange chocolate to peppermint, but for this test I stuck to the classic flavor. I followed the instructions, assessing key factors including ease of use, taste, and ease of cleaning. These tools are often left on kitchen countertops, so I made notes on the appearance as well. You can read my full testing criteria at the end of the review.