A brief history of drinking chocolate

  • Line drawing of Mayans making hot chocolate in a clay vessel | Velvetiser by Hotel Chocolat

    1500 BC

    The Mayan people's reverence for Cacao verged on the religious. They used large spouted vessels craft spiced drinking chocolate, made with cornmeal and chilli pepper.

  • Traditional wooden hot chocolat whisks | Velvetiser by Hotel Chocolat

    1400s

    The molinillo is used by Aztecs (and still by some today) to whip up a frothy cup of the good stuff. Lots of cups in fact, Emperor Montezuma is said to have enjoyed 50 per day!

  • 1700s

    Drinking chocolate swept through Europe, where chilli was eschewed for sugar. London, England had over 700 thriving drinking chocolate houses patronized by nobles and aristocrats.

  • Closeup shot of a vintage chocolate vessel that inspired Velvetiser hot chocolate maker

    1800s

    Beautiful "chocolatières" emerged to enhance the drinking chocolate spectacle. Striking yes, but best for those with a lot of time on their hands.

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2018

Hotel Chocolat draw on this deep heritage and the Velvetiser is born. Its cast reflects the stunning Chocolatières of the 1800s, and the whisk does the work of the Molinillo - but with none of the blisters.

He who drinks a cup of this liquid, no matter how far he walks, can go a whole day without eating anything else.”

Anonymous Spanish Conqueror, connected to Hernando Cortes

Design drawings of the Velvetiser with it's power base.

It took a lot of work to make it look this easy

The perfect temperature to melt the chocolate but not scorch the milk, the perfect whisk for a velvet smooth texture not airy foam. There's a lot that goes into velvetising. It took over a year to engineer it all together in the Velvetiser.

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