Nespresso’s pod coffee advent calendar has made a return for 2025, with a shiny new design and limited edition festive flavours waiting behind the doors.
I’ve got my hands on the Nespresso offering for this year to check out how it compares to the other coffee advent calendars I’ve tried. Here’s what I thought of this year’s Vertuo design.
Nespresso
Vertuo and Original Advent Calendars
For machines that need Original pods, you’ll want the Original calendar, or you can altneratively pick up the Vertuo version for £43 via Nespresso.
The breakdown of the Vertuo calendar (which is the one I’ve tried out) is as follows: 17 standard coffee pods, 4 flavoured pods and 3 decaffeinated pods. With 25 doors to open in total and (spoiler alert) a Nespresso mug thrown in for good measure, there’s plenty to unwrap here.
Within that selection, you’ll find a limited-edition black coffee and two new flavoured coffees as well as the porcelain mug designed by Kenyan artist Thandiwe Muriu.
(Image credit: Future)
After trying the calendar out for myself and trialling a few of the doors, I found this calendar to be high quality in the materials, with a Festive Double Espresso waiting for me behind one of the doors. The other festive flavours include Sweet Almond & Hibiscus and Cinnamon & Candied Tamarind.
For those with a Nespresso machine, this dedicated pod calendar would make a great gift. But there are plenty of other hot drink advent calendars on the market alongside this one if your gift recipient is more into speciality coffee, alternative drinks or one of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines. Here are the ones I’ve tried alongside this one.
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Pact Coffee
Ground Advent Calendar
For the coffee aficionado in your life, this calendar features 25 different coffees from around the world, each handpicked and with tasting notes on their flavours. I loved the gilded packaging and presentation of the coffees when I tried this one.
Bird & Blend
Matcha Advent Calendar
This delicately packaged advent calendar is the perfect gift for the matcha lover in your life, with naturally flavoured pots of ceremonial grade matcha available for all 24 days with 48 cups worth overall. The design of this calendar is super sweet!
Volcano Works
12 Days of Flavour
For each of the 12 days with this calendar you receive 50 grams of beans, enough for two or more cups in a day, with the coffee coming from Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia and beyond.
If you’re a coffee lover, one of these advent calendars is the perfect way to get into the festive spirit without accumulating clutter that you’ll need to get rid of in January. Now all I need to do is wait for the 1st of December to come around…
The best Ninja air fryers have won over shoppers up and down the country with their show-stopping cooking performances but now the brand is leaning into making these appliances collectibles too. Here are the shiny new shades.
Ninja
Crispi in Cherry Crush
Did somebody order a bright pink Ninja air fryer?
Ninja
Crispi in Ginger Snap
You can immortalise the butter yellow trend in your home with Ginger Snap.
Ninja
Crispi in Frosted Lilac
Skip winter colours altogether with this spring themed purple version.
I’ve been using my own Ninja Crispi at home for almost a year now and as per my five star Ninja Crispi air fryer review, I love how convenient it is to stash away in a cupboard and for storing leftovers. My Crispi is in Stone, which is one of the standard first-released colours and matches the rest of my kitchen appliances so well.
But if you have a brighter colour scheme in your kitchen or if you want to use your air fryer to add a pop of pastel to your worktops, then this Crispi collection might appeal.
(Image credit: Ninja)
Due to the very unique design of the Crispi, which consists of an air fryer lid and glass containers to hold your food, the addition of colour wouldn’t be as overbearing as with a full-sized appliance. So if you are thinking of experimenting with the bright pink or yellow on offer here, you could always find a cupboard to hide the lid away in when its not in use.
(Image credit: Ninja)
Along with the recent release of Ninja’s very popular stone air fryer, it looks like there’s no end to the number of new colours you’ll be able to buy from the brand. And with Black Friday on the horizon, there’s bound to be more treats in store from this very trend-led retailer.
I can’t wait to see which colour they take on next!
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My kitchen is missing something: a set of scales both functional and pretty enough to earn a space on my worktop full-time. That’s why Salter’s new retro-look mechanical scales, both the more affordable £19.99 Timeless version via Amazon and the £27.99 version are high on my current kitchen wish list.
Both available in a number of pastel colours, its the green and pink shades that really catch my eye with these scales. As well as being design-forward, it’s fair to say that Salter (who have been manufacturing scales since founder Richard Salter began the business in the late 1760s as well as other kitchen appliances including the best air fryers) definitely has the history needed to produce these kitchen essentials. Here’s how these new vintage inspired scales shape up.
Greens are still so on trend for 2025 and this scale would be a lovely way to add a pop of this colour to your kitchen worktop.
Salter has two different retro-style collections on offer when it comes to their mechanical scales. While the more affordable Timeless collection features scales that are slimmer and lighter (at just 0.8kg), the rounded Retro version is more scaled back and simple.
Both feature easy to read displays, with maximum readings of five kilograms and share one huge plus – you’ll never have to change their batteries thanks to their mechanical designs.
(Image credit: Salter)
If you are willing to spend more on the Retro style version, you’ll enjoy a larger capacity bowl to weigh your baking ingredients, as well as the chance to snap the scales up in pink.
(Image credit: Salter)
As I said, I’ve had a reliable set of scales on my kitchen wish list for a long time, and while Smeg’s gorgeous 50’s style version is the ultimate dream, the price tag of £169 via Amazon feels a lot to part with. I think I’ll be adding this Salter version to my basket come this Black Friday in November, in the hopes there’ll be even more off the price tag.
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Ninja‘s stone air fryer is finally back and available to buy after the popularity of this air fryer skyrocketed earlier in October. Currently in stock on Amazon for £228.99, I’d recommend checking out on this one in double quick time if you’ve had it on your wish list.
Released as part of Ninja’s array of new air fryer colours earlier in the year, this stone shade proved by far to be the most popular, especially with Ideal Home readers. The best Ninja air fryers are renowned for their excellent quality, but these limited-edition colour runs are really adding to the design appeal of these appliances too.
This particular version is an Amazon exclusive, but Ninja also has its own limited edition colours available right now, including the navy cyber space (£229.99 at Ninja). For the neutral lovers, here’s a closer look at the particular stone shade.
Stone Gold has proved a very popular version of this Ninja. It features gilded accents on the handles and interface.
If you have a neutral kitchen colour scheme, appliances that match your design vision is essential. That’s why this stone Ninja air fryer has proved so popular, ranking as Amazon’s bestselling air fryer this month.
Specs-wise, this is the standard Ninja Foodi Dual Zone air fryer that caused so many sellouts way back in 2022 and which we’ve reviewed to great acclaim, but repackaged in colours far more suiting to most kitchens than black.
(Image credit: Ninja)
With two drawers that you can control separately to different temperatures and times, this Ninja is seen by many as an ultimate kitchen upgrade – though it’s not quite as versatile as our favourite air fryer ever, the Ninja FlexDrawer, which impressed our reviewer and has the edge on space and design.
Seeing as this stone gold version is an Amazon exclusive, it’ll be especially enticing to Prime members, as you could have this air fryer in your kitchen as soon as tomorrow.
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We’re certainly hoping that this stone gold Ninja air fryer can stay in stock long enough to feature in Amazon’s upcoming Black Friday sale. After all, there’s nothing better than scoring a bargain on something you’ve had your eye on for a while!
We’re well and truly into autumn now, which means embracing all things cosy to get us through the longer evenings. And if you’ve got a sweet tooth, one of those essentials for a snug night in will be hot chocolate.
I’ve previously tried Salter’s first hot chocolate maker, the original Chocolatier and found it to be great value for its price. The only real kicker with it was that the capacity wasn’t great compared to leading rival hot chocolate makers, which is the one big change with this new ‘to Share’ version. Here’s a first look at this decadent new product.
With half the capacity (240ml), the cheaper original Chocolatier is still a great buy for those on a budget.
Both of these hot chocolate makers have 4 different settings to make use of: hot froth with added foam (for cappuccinos, for example), hot froth with less foam (for lattes), hot chocolate mode and cold froth mode (for iced coffes, say).
When I tried out the original Chocolatier I found that it did a great job at whisking and heating up hot chocs, even when using vegan hot chocolate as opposed to milk.
Testing the original Chocolatier hot chocolate maker.
(Image credit: Future/Molly Cleary)
The big USP of both of the Chocolatiers by Salter is the considerably lower price tags compared to competitors, like the recently released all-new Velvetiser from Hotel Chocolat (£149.95) which we recently tried out.
(Image credit: Salter)
For under £40, the LED screen on the new Chocolatier to Share is a big draw, as well as the sleeker new look. As well as fulfilling all your hot chocolate needs, this product has appeal if you’re simply looking for a standalone milk frother with a jug design, especially with the hot and cold settings on offer. It’s the perfect companion to the one of the best coffee machines without a built in milk frother.
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So if you’re looking for a hot chocolate maker for hosting season or if you’re already on the hunt for Christmas gifts, the Chocolatier to Share certainly looks like it’ll be a crowd pleaser, especially for its price tag.
