A Nice Cuppa

Spring has arrived! Spring Glorious Spring! There are so many occasions of divinity in life which may require a petite celebration. A milestone achieved is perfectly distinguished when enrobed in chocolate varnish. A secret admirer gives you chocolate to speak words only cocoa can articulate. On Valentines, chocolate is hallmarked by red foiled moulin rouge. But, what about Spring?

Sarah Vaughn and all of nature sings! She paints the earth with her epic palette of pastels of fluttering pinks, lemony daffodils, baby blue Robin eggs and cottony cumulus skies. The rebirth arrives, after the snowy blankets covering the sleeping earth secede. March madness ensues like a wanton stand-up comedian who drank oodles of absinthe spiked Wu Yi tea. The earth is waking up and planning just how to make us laugh with little pranks on April 1st! Spring arrived a bit early it seems? We can all get a little decadent with the great torch singers of spring. Vivaldi’s delicate peppered notes, melodies mirror flower buds blossoming, rabbits perking their ears up. Multi colored eggs hatch and the glorious pantheon of spring begins. I will admit, Spring is my favorite time of the year. Sipping sweet camellia enlivening tea leaves is pure pleasure in Spring!

Nature doles out the chocolate cigars at the birth of every petal, leaf, flush, bumble bee and red-winged bird. An array of intoxicating violet lavender scents and magnolia sweet bucolic laughter intertwine at mother nature’s bounty. The earth shakes and shimmies like a great gum ball machine and everybody is in the win win plethora of her fragrant graces. If ever there were a symphony of cocoa beans, Pierre Marcolini would be the maestro of such a sonata it could make your heart weep with bittersweet addiction. He is the undisputed King of all chocolatiers. If Chocolate is love then why do they say men are from mars and woman are from Venus? I beg to differ when it comes to Pierre Marcolini. Welcome to a journey of pure indulgence, tea love letters of cocoa.

Marcolini has chocolate boutiques in Brussels, Tokyo, Nagoya, London and New York. He is Belgian by Nationality and Italian by origin. He manufactures his own grand cru chocolates. Here is a quote from his biographer: “Pure Origin Products, Pierre Marcolini is uncompromising when it comes to choosing the raw materials for his products. Every year, this tireless chocolate ‘gringo’ travels the world (Latin America, Mexico, Madagascar, Trinity Island, etc.) in search of cocoa beans, the fruit that he uses as his logo.”

Good news is Pierre Marcolini utilizes java and tea in his chocolates which promise to bring you a grand tribute to spring in a cocoa enrobed ganache of tea. You can also sip some of his somewhat Marriage Freres style tea blends. Marcolini liberates cocoa and stands transform even the most devout cocoa or tea purist. His range includes botanical fragrant essences, noble spice and fruits of rhubarb, mango, lemon and other flavors so many will never have dreamed to elix: thyme with bergamot orange, citron Ceylon tea with notes of lime leaves and lemon infused into bittersweet chocolate ganache. The resulting flavor is a delicate with a shockingly smooth finish. Try the Violette dark chocolate sprinkled with dried sugar encrusted violet petals. A third of their chocolates are these unique infused ganaches.

His tea blends are stylish blends include classic Pussimbing Darjeeling, harvested from biodynamic gardens. The leaves of this tea are tended by cycles of the moon which increase the fluidity during their harvest moments, ensuring a perfectly dreamy Darjeeling. In my next life, I pray to the cocoa heavens to live in the Marcolini Willy Wonka Tonka bean Land! The’ Des Moines- or Oriental- melange is what I am going to call his Iron Tea chef cup! Des Moines- is of delicate white Jasmine blossoms, Madagascar vanille with a dappling of pepper. Oriental- Passion fruits, rose blossoms, jasmine with bright spring yellow sunflowers. Those days on a mini diet were made for a spot of tea!

Visit this extraordinary gallery of sumptuous sweets online, or N.Y.C.- The chocolate covered Big Apple,Manhattan. Tiffany style store with delicate cases where he is known for his 44 ganache assortment of edible jewels which are works of art.