Provisionary: MarieBelle Chocolate
New York Press At MarieBelle Fine treats and Chocolate, a
white cup and saucer holding a precious dose of the house drink is set
down in front of me. Although hot cocoa conjures innocence, there is
none in this devilish, coercive brew. First,
the color. When I lifted the deep brown skin that had settled on its
surface with my spoon, I gasped at the rust-tinted liquid, which looked
much like the color of red clay, a sacrificial blend of blood and
earth, or the Burnt Sienna crayon. "I wanted
more the taste of real chocolate, like when you eat a chocolate bar,
but drinking it," says the sorceress, Maribel Lieberman, who concocted
the mixture that has made her the queen of hot chocolate’s dark side. Lieberman’s
hot cocoa is a clean high. The effect takes hold shortly after drinking
a generous-sized portion: an unadulterated sustained energy, a
brightness that was an improvement on both coffee’s manic quality and
the fuzzy-headedness of a sugar buzz. According to an exhaustive essay
by Jeffrey Steingarten on the effects of chocolate, there isn’t enough
caffeine or other drugs that naturally occur in the
substance–phenylethylamine, an ecstasy-like compound, or anandamine,
whose effects resemble marijuana’s–to make a noticeable impact on the
user. Perhaps, then, it’s the other euphoric
elements of Lieberman’s cocoa that mimic such feelings. First, there is
nothing here but chocolate, cocoa butter and a minimal amount of sugar.
The chocolate is created in Venezuela from a cultivated variety of
local criollo, the original wild and finest cocoa bean,
according to Lieberman’s own recipe and specifications. Her original,
spicy (with chipotle and ancho chiles, nutmeg and cinnamon), and mocha
(with Colombian coffee) hot chocolates contain at least 63 percent
cocoa, and her dark contains a whopping 73 percent. This means that 73
percent of the chocolate’s total weight consists of cocoa solids, a
combination of cocoa and cocoa butter. In contrast, a milk chocolate
bar must contain at least 10 percent cocoa solids according to FDA
standards. This level of quality lends an
extraordinary taste. The hot chocolate is deep, bitter, and allows one
to appreciate the substance in what feels close to its elemental form.
By using equal parts water and cocoa (she will only add milk if you
order it "American" style), Lieberman dispels the myth that hot
chocolate needs dairy in order to be creamy. "I found that milk really softened the acidity of the flavor of the cocoa bean," she says, unapologetic about her perfectionism. The
texture is pure magic. Despite water’s supporting role, the drink has
shape. It is so creamy that it coats the spoon, and thickens as it
cools into a nearly pudding-like consistency. If you buy a canister of
her cocoa, you will find that the effect is duplicated at home with
excellent results. Last week, Lieberman unveiled MarieBelle’s newly expanded cacao
bar to accommodate the throngs who have joined her choco-cult. In
addition to the usual, she will offer tea service, espresso and a
selection of her pastries, including a French Mont Blanc–meringues with
chestnut cream–that she is currently perfecting. At the front of the
store, she peddles inventive, high-quality chocolates, also made from
her recipes. MarieBelle
October 21, 2003
484 Broome St. (betw. W. Broadway & Wooster St.)
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