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Not just for hot chocolate
My sister has a habit of buying me kitchen gadgets as gifts that when I first open them I’m skeptical, but after using it for a while I’m a fan. It was that way with the “Back to Basics CM300BR Cocoa-Latte Hot Drink Maker.” When I saw it I said to myself, “How often am I going to make hot chocolate that I needed a dedicated device?” After all, you put milk in a saucepan, add some ingredients, heat it up and you’re done. Oh, but I didn’t realize what lay in store for me.

First, as a hot chocolate maker, it’s a real joy. Add the milk and the ingredients–either a mix or whatever recipe you like–and turn it on. Now walk away. That’s it. For the next few minutes, the machine will get to work mixing the ingredients thoroughly and bringing it up to the perfect temperature–not too hot, but tepid. In this case it’s about 180 degrees. When it hits that mark, the machine stops automatically.

That’s key because when you make hot chocolate on the stovetop, you have to keep an eagle-eye on the milk. If you turn your back for a moment, you have the dreaded boil over and a big mess to clean up. But with the Cocoa Maker–to steal an informercial slogan–you just set it and forget it. When it’s done heating the cocoa, you place your mug under the spigot, press the dispense button and let it fill your mug. The button spins the mixer blade but leaves the heating element off and froths up the cocoa for you.

Of course, it doesn’t just make cocoa. Now, I’m not sure about the latte bit–I think I’d still prefer a cappuccino machine for that–but it makes great hot spiced cider, mulled wine, or other hot drinks. You can also heat up chicken or beef broth. When you’re making risotto you need to keep a pot of hot stock nearby to incorporate into the rice. Keep the cocoa maker full of broth and keep turning it on every few minutes and you can dispense hot broth right into your saute pan or a ladle.

The mixing vessel detaches from the base for clean up, just remember to close the spigot before you start pouring in ingredients the next time you use it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ended up with puddles of milk coming out the front of the machine.

[...]especially if you’re not hot cocoa fans like us, but if you are or if you can imagine using it for other uses as well, I recommend it.