Hotel Chocolat TSV 17/10/20

[candycane]

I hate hot chocolate, far too sweet and after about 2 sips I leave it. My friend has all those melting marshmallows on top of hers

However, enjoy yours everyone.

CC

 

[Dream Girl]

Had 4 now, it is not doing my diet much good, very calorific.

PS I am not trying to lose weight, just keeping it constant, but it has started creeping up since I bought it

I’m starting to feel sick with this talk of chocolate drinking, think I‘ve got virtual chocolate overload

 

[boffy]

all my hot drink are no milk no sugar hot chocolate with milk and quality chocolate would kill me and don't get me started on my stomach..but I can eat hotel chocolate for the rest of eternity lol

 

[lynnonthelake]

I don’t like sugary drinks so I’m going to be buying the 85% or 100% chocolate.

 

[neelia]

Just for those commenting that they like theirs hotter. The tip they gave on one of the shows was just press the button again. I have done this and it doesn't seem to go for as long again but just gives a wee extra heat injection.

 

[merryone]

To be honest, if somebody bought it for me as a present, I'd probably be thrilled and would find a wee space in the cupboard to store it, but as this is extremely unlikely to happen, unless I drop huge hints. As much as I love the hot chocolate OH makes, I couldn't be bothered to try and make it myself, so have to wait until he's making some. Would be nice to just grab it from the cupboard and treat myself as an when I fancy. Like I said, it would have to be a present, as I just couldn't spend that sort of money in the name of hot chocolate!

 

[spartacus]

One week on from ordering and mine still hasn't been shipped☹

 

[stratobuddy]

Just for those commenting that they like theirs hotter. The tip they gave on one of the shows was just press the button again. I have done this and it doesn't seem to go for as long again but just gives a wee extra heat injection.

Same with mine, it switches off originally when the thermostat reaches the preset temperature, so when you switch it on again straight away, it only runs for a short time, as the thermostat switches it off again.

That is why you have to cool it down by filling it with cold water if you want to make 2 drinks in a row.

 

[Sazza]

One week on from ordering and mine still hasn't been shipped☹

That's the problem with direct despatch it is often 7-10 or even as much as 14 working days for delivery. That said items can turn up before despatch email appears or shows as shipped on your account.

 

[spartacus]

I

That's the problem with direct despatch it is often 7-10 or even as much as 14 working days for delivery. That said items can turn up before despatch email appears or shows as shipped on your account.

I've never ordered a direct despatch afore. I know they said allow 7-10 working days, but clearly lots of people have received theirs already. No money charged to my card yet, so nowhere near being shipped

 

[Dream Girl]

OH returned to work (order delivery address) 7 this morning after two days at home and apparently there’s a Q letter for me.

 

[spartacus]

Well that was unexpected - after posting earlier today, the Q letter and the Velvetiser arrived this afternoon, despite no shipping notification, account still says in process, and ive not yet been charged! Just tried the 50% milk chocolate one - very nice, not too sweet, and just the right temperature for immediate drinking (I don't like scalding hot drinks, for me that affects the flavour).

 

[Dream Girl]

Has everyone got theirs now?

 

[stratobuddy]

REPORT ON USING NON-HC CHOCOLATE

Just tried using some chocolate bars.

The "beater spring" looks very fragile, so whatever you use has to be very finely grated to avoid damage. Also, because it may have a higher melting point than HC choc, Youtube videos suggest heating the milk a bit first in the machine before sprinkling it in.

I first tried a 150g bar of Lidl chilli choc. I broke up the squares into smaller pieces, then put into my Kuhn-Rikon pull-chop to break it up finer.

This took ages, and really gave me muscle ache, and yet it still had lumps which were far too big for the Velvetiser, as well as some fine powder.

So I only used the powder parts and this worked OK, then I put the rest into my Bullet-type machine (Ninja auto-IQ) and this seemed OK, but it was less than 100g.

It tasted fine, although I haven't tried the HC chilli yet to compare.

Next I put 2x150g bars of Lidl sea salt choc into the Ninja, thinking I'd make a large batch at once.

This was a bit of a disaster. It ground it up OK, but then it jammed up around the blades, and "joined back together again" so it took ages to scrape it off the blades, and it was still lumpy as it had joined back together into soft lumps. Perhaps the machine had melted it a bit by friction.

So I put this into a container, then had to chop the lumps back into a powder. Then I made a drink with 35g, but this time the machine made a loud noise after 30 seconds. Couldn't see any reason tor it, and after removing and replacing the whizzer, it was OK.

The drink was fine, but I haven't yet tried the HC equivalent.

So It seems I will have to actually GRATE the chocolate manually, which I was trying to avoid as I dislike grating anything.

As I said, the "whizzer spring" does look very delicate, so I don't know how long it will last. You have to be very gentle cleaning it, and try to avoid touching it.

 

[spartacus]

Thanks for the report, it was your link to the you tube video that persuaded me to buy. If you have a food processor with a grating attachment, that might be worth a try.

 

[Dream Girl]

We have a pint of full fat milk in the fridge from last week’s shopping order another coming in tomorrows order plus a pack of Cadbury Flakes, just need a machine

 

[stratobuddy]

We have a pint of full fat milk in the fridge from last week’s shopping order another coming in tomorrows order plus a pack of Cadbury Flakes, just need a machine

I find all the richness comes from the choc. I started with semi-skimmed, then tried skimmed, and now have semi-skimmed diluted with 50% water, and can't taste any difference.

 

[stratobuddy]

Thanks for the report, it was your link to the you tube video that persuaded me to buy. If you have a food processor with a grating attachment, that might be worth a try.

It was various YouTube videos that persuaded me as well, as I had no intention of paying at least £1-20 a pop!

Next I will look at bulk buys of non-HC choc (but designed for it) on the web. If anyone finds anything before me, please post.

 

[lynnonthelake]

It was various YouTube videos that persuaded me as well, as I had no intention of paying at least £1-20 a pop!

Next I will look at bulk buys of non-HC choc (but designed for it) on the web. If anyone finds anything before me, please post.

you’ve had a very busy day, I’ve found Callebaut or Martin’s chocolate on Amazon but not sure if it works out cheaper, maybe you can do the maths.

 

[Dream Girl]

I find all the richness comes from the choc. I started with semi-skimmed, then tried skimmed, and now have semi-skimmed diluted with 50% water, and can't taste any difference.

Can’t say we can either