Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
The appeal of chocolate gifts, as Forrest Gump once reasoned, is clear-cut: From the what's-inside-the-box factor to the anticipation of surprise flavor profiles, you never know what you're going to get. And with recreational or medical cannabis now legal–or, at least, in the process of becoming so–in 28 states and the District of Columbia, that truism has never felt truer. For pot chocolate is not only tasty, but also perhaps the most mysterious and rewarding of experiential holiday presents: an hours-long pleasure trip for body and mind.
Yet while some enthusiasts view the experience as a form of vice, for many others, it's purely virtuous. While large-scale, long-term scientific studies are lacking due to marijuana's federal status as a Schedule I substance, its effectiveness as a pain reliever in particular shows clinical promise, and edibles specifically–due to their body-focused effects–can be used to alleviate insomnia, anxiety, and pain caused by everything from injuries to chronic conditions such as endometriosis and Crohn's disease. (They've even been touted as a nonaddictive alternative to benzodiazepines and opioids.)
"Sure, some people just want to get high, but a lot of people really need cannabis as a medicine," says Vanessa Lavorato, the Los Angeles—based confiseuse behind Marigold Sweets and the resident culinary expert on Viceland's new cannabis cooking show Bong Appetit. "Chocolates are another vehicle to help them get their medicine–a spoonful of sugar." Yet many of the trustworthy candies on the market–that is, those marked with dosage guidelines and divided into portions unlikely to necessitate hospitalization–convey about as much charm as a Snickers.
"It's like the difference between Steve Madden and Chanel," says Lavorato, who, with her heart-shaped face and Linda Evangelista haircut, embodies something of the elegance of the latter–as do her organic, fair-trade, handmade, lovely-as-flowers bonbons, spiked with richly aromatic, solvent-free plant extracts sourced from a consortium of permaculture farmers in Humboldt County. Vegan dark chocolate cardamom-coconut caramels sprinkled with matcha salt and maple-sweetened toffee bars nestled in keepsake tins, to name two flavors, look every bit as pleasant as they taste–and make the recipient (Lavorato likes to use the word "patient") feel.
An aspiring chef since her toddler years, Lavorato discovered both the slow-food movement and marijuana at UC Berkeley. She began concocting artisanal cannabis chocolates, "because I wanted to help people," in 2010–but it wasn't until a few years later, after she moved to L.A. and traveled abroad to intern at Alice Waters's Rome Sustainable Food Project, that she decided to make a career of it. The name came to her at a New Year's Eve party at Chez Panisse, where the rooms were strewn with marigolds–like cannabis, she explains, "an edible flower with a lot of spiritual significance."
That descriptor might apply to the experience of consuming the extra-strength varieties of her four flavors (the others: fleur de sel—garnished dark chocolate caramels and peanut crème—filled braided buttons, like high-end Reese's Peanut Butter Cups), which are lab-tested to pack a maximum of 25 milligrams of THC–the psychoactive compound in the cannabis plant–per candy. Lavorato emphasizes the importance of starting slowly, suggesting her 10-milligram formulations for novices, and noting that she herself cuts that in half when she has to "go through my day-to-day functioning": "You can always eat more, but you can't eat less."
For now, it seems, her problem is that people want more. Owing to the legal landscape and skepticism among what's colloquially known as the "stoner bro" establishment, not only are Marigold chocolates only available in California, but they're only available in a single establishment,Cornerstone Collective, in Los Angeles. Despite their appeal, the price ($36 per box) remains a sticking point for many dispensary owners. "Trying to convince them to accept this new way of thinking about edibles has proven difficult," she says. "When you have a Cheeba Chew that's two dollars, how do you convince them that this beautiful box of organic fair-trade chocolate, made in America by hand, has more value?"
For those who need no convincing but are unable to cross town (or the state), Lavorato is working on finding venues to host pop-ups in 2017. In the meantime, California residents with a medical license can register to join Marigold's collective to attend them. "Hopefully," she says, "my patients are willing to be patient. No pun intended."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Meet The Chic Cannabis Chocolatier Who Will Change The Way You Think About Edibles
Author: Eviana Hartman
Contact: contact@vogue.com
Photo Credit: Vanessa Lavorato
Website: Vogue
Yet while some enthusiasts view the experience as a form of vice, for many others, it's purely virtuous. While large-scale, long-term scientific studies are lacking due to marijuana's federal status as a Schedule I substance, its effectiveness as a pain reliever in particular shows clinical promise, and edibles specifically–due to their body-focused effects–can be used to alleviate insomnia, anxiety, and pain caused by everything from injuries to chronic conditions such as endometriosis and Crohn's disease. (They've even been touted as a nonaddictive alternative to benzodiazepines and opioids.)
"Sure, some people just want to get high, but a lot of people really need cannabis as a medicine," says Vanessa Lavorato, the Los Angeles—based confiseuse behind Marigold Sweets and the resident culinary expert on Viceland's new cannabis cooking show Bong Appetit. "Chocolates are another vehicle to help them get their medicine–a spoonful of sugar." Yet many of the trustworthy candies on the market–that is, those marked with dosage guidelines and divided into portions unlikely to necessitate hospitalization–convey about as much charm as a Snickers.
"It's like the difference between Steve Madden and Chanel," says Lavorato, who, with her heart-shaped face and Linda Evangelista haircut, embodies something of the elegance of the latter–as do her organic, fair-trade, handmade, lovely-as-flowers bonbons, spiked with richly aromatic, solvent-free plant extracts sourced from a consortium of permaculture farmers in Humboldt County. Vegan dark chocolate cardamom-coconut caramels sprinkled with matcha salt and maple-sweetened toffee bars nestled in keepsake tins, to name two flavors, look every bit as pleasant as they taste–and make the recipient (Lavorato likes to use the word "patient") feel.
An aspiring chef since her toddler years, Lavorato discovered both the slow-food movement and marijuana at UC Berkeley. She began concocting artisanal cannabis chocolates, "because I wanted to help people," in 2010–but it wasn't until a few years later, after she moved to L.A. and traveled abroad to intern at Alice Waters's Rome Sustainable Food Project, that she decided to make a career of it. The name came to her at a New Year's Eve party at Chez Panisse, where the rooms were strewn with marigolds–like cannabis, she explains, "an edible flower with a lot of spiritual significance."
That descriptor might apply to the experience of consuming the extra-strength varieties of her four flavors (the others: fleur de sel—garnished dark chocolate caramels and peanut crème—filled braided buttons, like high-end Reese's Peanut Butter Cups), which are lab-tested to pack a maximum of 25 milligrams of THC–the psychoactive compound in the cannabis plant–per candy. Lavorato emphasizes the importance of starting slowly, suggesting her 10-milligram formulations for novices, and noting that she herself cuts that in half when she has to "go through my day-to-day functioning": "You can always eat more, but you can't eat less."
For now, it seems, her problem is that people want more. Owing to the legal landscape and skepticism among what's colloquially known as the "stoner bro" establishment, not only are Marigold chocolates only available in California, but they're only available in a single establishment,Cornerstone Collective, in Los Angeles. Despite their appeal, the price ($36 per box) remains a sticking point for many dispensary owners. "Trying to convince them to accept this new way of thinking about edibles has proven difficult," she says. "When you have a Cheeba Chew that's two dollars, how do you convince them that this beautiful box of organic fair-trade chocolate, made in America by hand, has more value?"
For those who need no convincing but are unable to cross town (or the state), Lavorato is working on finding venues to host pop-ups in 2017. In the meantime, California residents with a medical license can register to join Marigold's collective to attend them. "Hopefully," she says, "my patients are willing to be patient. No pun intended."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Meet The Chic Cannabis Chocolatier Who Will Change The Way You Think About Edibles
Author: Eviana Hartman
Contact: contact@vogue.com
Photo Credit: Vanessa Lavorato
Website: Vogue