MARIEBELLE MarieBelle 484 Broome St. (betw. W. Broadway & Wooster ...

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.