Back to Basics CM300BR Cocoa-Latte Hot-Drink Maker

I made the tactical error, a few months back, of taking my kids shopping with me for my new coffee maker. I should have known better, because the inevitable question got raised: Why does Mommy get a special machine for her drinks? We wish we could have hot chocolate in the mornings, and we don’t have a special machine… As it turns out, though, I’m glad for that “tactical error,” because the kids’ question led to the discovery of the Back to Basics CM300BR Cocoa-Latte Hot-Drink Maker, which I probably would have marched right past on my coffee-maker mission.

I ended up purchasing this machine instead of the standard coffee maker I’d set out to find, and all of us are delighted with it.

Back to Basics CM300BR Cocoa-Latte Hot-Drink Maker product features:

quick creation of cafe-style hot beverages

32-ounce liquid reservoir with locking lid and measurement markings

Nonstick heating surface

Automated mixing paddle

Easy-to-use dispensing valve

Automatic shut-off of heating element prevents over-heating

Two-piece construction for easy cleanup

Mixing paddle and 35 recipes included

I’ve always enjoyed mocha when I buy a coffee drink at a café, and even when I make regular coffee I load it up with enough creamer and sugar and flavorings that it might as well be heated-up coffee ice cream. So the prospect of mocha in the morning rather than a standard cup of coffee was actually quite appealing. Add the fact that the Back to Basics CM300BR Cocoa-Latte Hot-Drink Maker does double duty, whipping up frothy hot chocolate for the kids, and I think we’ve hit the jackpot with this discovery.

I appreciate the intelligence of the designers of the Back to Basics CM300BR Cocoa-Latte Hot-Drink Maker, who clearly constructed this with the potential hazards of “kid-use” in mind. The liquid tank has a lock-down lid to prevent spills, and the dispensing valve is easy to use (without drips or spills) even for small hands. Thanks to the recipes that came with the machine, we’ve tried not only lattes, mochas, and hot cocoa, but also hot cider and some other exploratory drinks(including for myself some of the “grownup drinks” like mulled wine). We all have our favorites, and we haven’t yet tried a hot drink we haven’t enjoyed.

The Back to Basics CM300BR Cocoa-Latte Hot-Drink Maker unit itself looks a little like a blender, and its stainless steel and durable plastic show every sign of holding up to a long life of use. I’m also grateful for the easy clean-up! It’s so easy, in fact, that I can delegate clean-up to the kids. The tank easily removes from the base, and the tank itself, the mixing paddle inside, and the lock-down lid can be taken apart with just a couple tugs to go into the dishwasher.

The whipping up of our hot drinks is easy as well. I haven’t yet let the kids use it unassisted, but it’s simple enough that they could. We pour in the milk, measure in the cocoa, lock down the lid, and turn it on. Ta-da! That’s it. The Back to Basics CM300BR Cocoa-Latte Hot-Drink Maker does the rest for us–heating and mixing ingredients and whipping up a froth—so we just come back to hold our cups under the dispenser and enjoy!

Of course, the down-side of this machine may be how spoiled we all are now that we’ve been using it. I packed some powdered cocoa-mix on a camping trip when we’d been making cocoa for a while with the Back to Basics CM300BR Cocoa-Latte Hot-Drink Maker, and the kids turned their noses up at it. Now that they’ve experienced really good cocoa—hot and frothy straight from the dispenser—they don’t want anything to do with my silly powdered chocolate mix. Evidently I’ve created “cocoa snobs”—but I don’t have much room to talk, because I’m hooked on my frothy lattes!