Customer Reviews

Back to Basics CL400BR Cocoa Grande 60-Ounce Hot-Cocoa Maker

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I have had a Cocoa Latte (the smaller model) for about 5 years now. We love it!! I stumbled upon this larger model and HAD TO HAVE IT!! We have a big family and the smaller one only does 4 cups. Even when we just had a few friends over, the Cocoa Latte was too small. This will heat, froth, and easily dispense your hot cocoas or steamed milks, and then keep them hot all day if you want. Ours has a permanent place on our counter. You can even do tomato soup in it. My only caution would be when doing spiced cider. The cider taste wouldn't come out of the pitcher, so now I just heat the water and mix the powder packet in the cup with the hot water. I have seen other hot cocoa machines on the market, but none comes close to this one. The dispensing is perfect, I don't want my little ones pouring hot drinks from a pitcher!!

This is the third purchase I've made on Amazon.com for a Back to Basics hot cocoa maker. I've purchased two of the smaller size models in both plastic and stainless steel. They enable me to heat and serve hot milk lattes, hot cocoa and even chai. All of these B2B products share one basic and fundamental design flaw--they do not have a non-stick surface and are impossible to keep clean after the milk burns and scalds onto the bottom metallic heating plate. Other than that they are quite perfect in a variety of ways:

1. quickly and thoroughly mixes your ingredients (if you are making hot cocoa or anything else you'd like to have hot and well mixed)
2. creates a nice rich frothy foam on top of the milk in the container that you can then spoon onto drinks and top off your beverages (lattes, hot cocoa, machiattos, etc.).
3. maintains a constant hot temperature of your beverage over time that is safe enough (~140 degrees) for extended holding periods when you choose to both mix and hold your hot cocoa, milk or other mixture in the pitcher itself and leave it sitting atop the heating motor...

However, you pay a steep price every time you use one of these to it's full potential--scraping burnt milk off the bottom of the container that has built up on and adhered onto the metal heating plate.

I've contemplated some ideas to get around this scalded milk issue: I called Focus Electrics Group LLC and talked to them about the problem, asking that they develop up a non-stick product line (they said they'd discuss it at their next design meeting) but they offered no solutions and asked me to tell them if I found one! The possible home fixes I've thought of but not yet tried so far are:

a. spray the heating plate with PAM or another odorless, tasteless non-stick application each time
b. immediately empty the container when the mixture is done and do not use it to dispense or hold any milk products (i.e. mixing only)
c. try to season the heating element with a non-stick coating, like a cast iron skillet (doubtful because you have to heat the element hotter than it currently goes when making hot chocolate and the plastic container it is set in would melt).

The simple facts are that using these B2B products requires quite a bit of ongoing cleaning effort for a very good result. It leaves you enjoying the fruits of your labor but then wishing for much better at cleanup.

I'm frustrated enough to write a review because I believe such a good product could be a great product. However, apparently the company doesn't care as much as I do, or maybe they've found it's just too expensive to put a non-stick coating onto their products (and of course fix the other durability issues cited by other reviewers). Unfortunately, I'm currently returning my 60 ounce unit to Amazon because it stopped heating milk... yes, the paddle still spins, but no hot anything anymore.

So this product gets three stars in a cursed / blessed existence--I still want the muddled value from it because I can't find anything else out there to do the job it can do and that I want done. I wish this company or a competitor would figure this out because I'd gladly pay double for a better unit that actually worked like a charm and lived up to the potential of what this product can do in fits and starts...

Seemed to work great... Once.
Mixed and heated chocolate one time, then stopped a few seconds into the first re-heat. Unit would mix only, but do nothing in either heat setting.
Manufacturer wanted me to pay shipping back to them on an instant failure so they could examine it.
I suppose they will get it back, but not on my nickel. Amazon sent a call tag and I asked for a refund.

Back to Basics Cocoa Grande - Excited to use on a cold, wet morning. Put water in it, added the cocoa, plugged it in, pressed the start button,and it started to work - BUT THEN...it just stopped. The smell of burning wire was strong. Couldn't even get one use out of it! It just broke without us being able to get one cup of hot cocoa!

What a disappointment! This product is very noisy when in operation. It has leaked twice when left plugged in on reheat mode!!! Argh! Do not buy this product!

I purchases this hot drink maker for my wife. She's become addicted to McDonald's latte's and was playing with the idea of making them at home. We're not coffee connoisseurs by any means, so we weren't looking for a coffee maker per se. Just something that would make frothy hot drinks. So far, so good. We bought some General Foods International Coffees (instant), mixed it with some soy milk, turn the machine on, and voila. Great, frothy soy lattes. Perfect temperature (I've read people complain about the temp in other reviews, but we've had no such issues). We've now expanded to make vanilla chai lattes (with recipe provided by the included recipe book). Again, if you're a coffee nut and are looking for the perfect coffee drink, this may not be for you. But if you want a fast and easy latte using instant mix, a hot cocoa, or something similar, this machine works great. It's also lightweight (made of plastic), easy to take apart. Only negative is that gunk accumulates on the bottom of the jar when you use it, and it is difficult to clean off. But it's a minor inconvenience.

I purchased the Cocoa Grande about 9 months ago and it worked great for 8 months (other than the milk scalding to the heat plate each time I used it... see other reviews) then the seal failed while I was using it and milk started pouring through the bottom and all into the base of the unit. I got a replacement and it worked twice before it quit heating. It would froth but not heat. I called Back to Basics and they sent me a replacement that lasted about 5 mintues before it did the exact same thing. They sent me another replacement and it worked twice then failed. I tossed the entire unit in the trash.

These things are cheap made in CHINA crap. It's just too bad there isn't something else on the market to compete with them.

The hot chocolate maker is great when it works. I ran into the same issues reported time and time again.

1. Pain to clean even after leaving soapy water in it overnight. Expect to need to take a scrubber to it.
2. Don't push buttons too hard or they pop inside the housing completely.
3. Heating went out on the third time it was used. The replacement unit that was sent had the heating go out in the middle of the first use so the hot chocolate was barely warm. Second try it didn't work at all.

Summary, don't waste your money. Besides, it is cheaper at the local Walmart or Sam's Club. I found it there for only $30 where Amazon had it for close to $40 when I bought it.

I was so depressed over my first one breaking when it fell out of the cabinet that it actually ruined my day, it was a gift from someone important to me and for it to break really made me feel horrible. I found it for an excellent price here on amazon, and can't wait for it to get here!!!!!

Our family loves winter activities- and having a hot mug of hot cocoa ready when we come in is wonderful. I get the hot cocoa going before we head outside, and the Cocoa Grande keeps it mixed and warm until we come in. And I love how it froths- I make my husband and I cappuccino with it and it works awesome. I have no complaints! I had an older, smaller one years ago that eventually cracked- but this one seems much sturdier.