Before you bite the ear off that milk chocolate bunny, remember the moment you discovered there was more to wine than Tassies, more to coffee than Ricoffy, more to dining out than Wimpy. There's chocolate and then there's chocolate — and the good stuff is good in so many ways. Death by chocolate? Not if we're talking chocolate in its purest form — as close to the bean as possible, with a greater percentage of cocoa meaning less space for cocoa butter, sugar, soy lecithin, vanilla, milk and all the other things that make it more of a sweet than a vegetable…

Nevermind the feel-good factor (partly thanks to the presence of a compound called phenylethylamine, which raises serotonin levels in the brain to create a sense of euphoria), chocolate has amazing health benefits.

Chocolate is good for you

Most notably, it puts red wine, green tea and even blueberries in the shade when it comes to antioxidants (shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, high blood pressure, strokes, cholesterol problems, arthritis, asthma, Alzheimer's… ).

Apparently there are 13 120 Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity Units in 100g of dark chocolate compared to just 2400 in 100g of blueberries.

Sure, cocoa butter is composed of both saturated and unsaturated fats, but about 75 percent of these are in the form of oleic and stearic acids, which have been shown to lower cholesterol levels.

And, yes, of course sugar is bad for you — but the 10 to 15g in a strong dark chocolate bar is less than the 22g in a 'healthy' glass of orange juice! So hold the guilt: the key is to be discriminating; to eat only the best chocolate you can afford…

Go with top quality

The top-quality stuff can be an acquired taste, though. "South Africans haven't grow up with pure flavours," notes chocolatier Richard von Geusau, a former accountant now living a chocoholic's dream in the fairytale Overberg village of Greyton.

"Everything is made sweeter here — our cheeses, our coffees and especially our chocolates."

Our tastebuds have been conditioned to crave high levels of sugar, and that's nothing compared to our conditioning as children when chocolate was given on special occasions or as a reward. Those early 'feel-good' associations last a lifetime; hopefully they also get more sophisticated…

Bar menu

Plain chocolate is also known as bittersweet, semi-sweet or dark chocolate. It contains little sugar and has a high cocoa liquor (minimum 49 percent) and cocoa butter content. It can be kept for up to a year in cool, dark, dry conditions (18–20ºC).

Milk chocolate (less than 49 percent cocoa) contains the same ingredients plus milk solids (these make it sensitive to heat and unsuitable for cooking). It can be kept for six months.

White chocolate is a mixture of sugar, full-cream milk and cocoa butter (not cocoa solids). If made from vegetable oil or fat instead of cocoa butter, it is not chocolate. It can be kept for six months.

Single Bean Chocolate is made from a single type of bean that's grown in a specific region or plantation. The terms Origin Chocolate, Single Origin Chocolate or Estate Chocolate can refer to different types of beans grown in a specific region or on the same plantation.

Tasting chocolate

Chef Alfred Henry, who runs chocolate workshops at the Lindt Chocolate Studio in Cape Town, says true chocolate appreciation brings all five senses to bear: "Even sound, with a good crack when you break off a piece showing that it has been evenly tempered."

As with wine tasting, you should start with the lightest, end with the darkest, and cleanse your palate in between with a few sips of water.

Sight: How does it look? Glossy and new? Or is there a greyish 'bloom' on the surface? (Storing chocolate in overly humid conditions, or moving it from a cool to warm environment, can cause the sugar to dissolve and later crystallise on the surface. This may merely be a cosmetic problem, but it can result in a grainy texture and horrible flavour.) The colour of chocolate can range from reddish to coppery to dark brown.

Smell: Is there an attractive aroma? Is it fruity, floral or earthy? Or is it plastic-y, rubbery, smoky or sickly sweet (which suggest improper drying or fermentation of the beans)?

Sound: When you break off a piece, does it have a nice snap?

Touch: When you bite into it, how's the texture? How quickly does it go from an almost-brittle solid to a thick, smooth, mouthcoating liquid? And, once melted, is it smooth, or does it feel waxy or grainy? (A fatty residue indicates the addition of vegetable fats.)

Taste: Now chew it and move it around your mouth. How is the flavour? Is there any unpleasant bitterness? How long does the flavour linger in your mouth? The longer the better…

Chocolate and wine

"Matching wine with chocolate is a no-no for the purists," acknowledges Kevin Arnold, winemaker at Stellenbosch winery Waterford, "but in Europe you often end a meal with an amazing glass of red wine, then move on to Port and cigars and a small piece of dark chocolate — and, wow, what a complete experience!"

Soon after reading a Wine Spectator article about the similarities between the cocoa bean and red wine berry, Arnold happened to meet chocolatier Richard von Geusau and the result is The Waterford Wine & Chocolate Experience.

"We took a lot of flak for it at first — I often joked that our wine wasn't so bad that we had to use chocolate to sell it! But for those who find wine a bit scary, this experience breaks down all barriers."

It helped Waterford win the prize for best cellar-door experience internationally in the 2006 Great Wine Capitals of the World Competition.

"I speak under correction, but I believe we are still the only winery in the world aligned with a specific chocolate maker and offering chocolates that have been custom-made to complement our wines."

These include the Von Geusau Masala Chai Dark Chocolate (all warm fireside spices like cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves and ginger) with the Kevin Arnold Shiraz 2006; the unexpectedly delectable Rock Salt Dark Chocolate with the 'savoury' Waterford Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ("an idea sparked by having worked in Bordeaux where they put a bit of salt in the barrels to break down the tannins," reveals Arnold); and Rose Geranium Milk Chocolate with the Heatherleigh Natural Sweet NV ("I can't honestly recommend this match from a health point of view," he laughs).

For more information, see www.waterfordestate.co.za (Tel +27 21 880 0496) or www.vgchocolate.co.za (Tel +27 28 254 9100). Other wine producers offering chocolate pairings include: Bilton Wines (Tel +27 21 881 3714, www.biltonwines.com), Lourensford (Tel +27 21 847 2300, www.lourensford.com) and Stellekaya Winery (Tel +27 21 883 3873, www.stellekaya.com).

Taste test

Generally speaking, the stronger the chocolate, the more full-bodied the wine should be; the sweeter the chocolate, the sweeter the wine should be. Cape Town-based novelty chocolate manufacturer Chocolate Time (www.chocolatetime.co.za, Tel +27 21 21 706 7941) offers these tips:

Dark chocolate — flavours range from nutty, spicy, floral and/or earthy with hints of fruit and caramel, to bitter, roasted, earthy or woody notes. Try fruity Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Port.

Milk chocolate — a lower cocoa content means fewer flavours: brown sugar, cream, vanilla, honey and malt. Try white wines with some residual sugar, dessert wines — and Cabernet Franc can be surprisingly good with creamy milk chocolate.

White chocolate — having no cocoa solids at all, only cocoa butter, makes it rich, creamy and buttery with fruit tones. Try Sherry or Muscadel.

From bean to bar

Cacao is native to Central and South America but is now grown commercially throughout the tropics, with over 70 percent coming from West Africa. The cocoa tree is called Theobroma cacao ('food of the gods' in Greek) and there are three types.

Criollo (meaning 'of the new world') is the original cacao consumed by the Maya and Aztecs. It is prized as by far the best-tasting variety but is difficult to cultivate.

Forastero (meaning 'foreign') grows wild in the Amazon jungle. Its taste is inferior but it now accounts for over 90 percent of the cacao grown worldwide due to its resistance to disease.

Trinitario (meaning 'from Trinidad') is a cross of the two, combining some of criollo's superior taste with forestero's hardiness.

A cacao tree produces up to 2000 pods per year, each encasing about 30 or 40 seeds or beans. These are usually harvested twice a year, allowed to ferment over a few days, then dried in the sun before being shipped to chocolate factories. Here they are weighed and sorted by type, and are usually roasted to bring out the flavour and aroma (much like coffee beans).

Their outer shells are then cracked and blown away, leaving crushed pieces of cacao beans called 'nibs'.These are ground into a thick paste called chocolate liquor, of which about half is put in a hydraulic press to make cocoa powder (for baking) by removing the cocoa butter.

The remaining chocolate liquor is mixed with sugar, vanilla and milk, run through rollers to refine the texture, then 'conched' in machines which mix and aerate it, usually with cocoa butter and soy lecithin added for a silky-smooth texture. Finally the chocolate is tempered and slowly heated back up again, then poured into moulds.