Let's lead the way.

Hey everyone! Julia here for DNews. We're at Poco Dolce Confections in San Francisco.

To learn all about the science of chocolate!

I'm here with the founder of Poco Dolce Confections, Kathy Wiley.

So tell us a little bit about your background.

Why were you drawn to chocolate?

- We always love chocolate growing up, right? - Right.

It's actually a really fun business, because you get to play around with all the ingredients and creativity.

But really, there's a science behind it that you just... you can't deny and you have to follow.

Well, chocolate has certain percentage, what does that actually mean?

So, what that percentage is made up of... say, you know, obviously, you start with 100%.

Seventy percent is a mixture of cocoa liqueur and cocoa butter.

So anything that comes from a cacao, the remainder of that percentage, it can be flavorings, it can be dairy, it can be sugar.

So is that the darker the chocolate, the more health benefit you get?

Is that a good rule of thumb?

It's a basic rule of thumb, but it's not always true.

- Cause as you can see, that percentage could be a lot of cocoa butter. - Right.

But for the most part, yeah, you're gonna get... for a higher percentage, you're gonna usually get a richer flavor, and generally speaking, more flavanols.

How does the processing of chocolate change the flavor?

Very much in the same way would affect like, initially, a coffee bean.

You can ferment it differently.

You can over-roast a bean, or maybe you're gonna under-roast it, and even leave it a little bit raw.

Why do you think chocolate makes people feel good?

Well, I mean of course you have the nostalgia, cause... you're always a kid, and then, of course, there's always science behind it.

So in this particular case, there's seratonin, that your brain releases is that "feel good" brain chemical.

It just kind of raise your heart beat and gives you that giddy feeling.

So there're antioxidants, there're flavonols, there're polyphenols.

All of the anti-aging.

Good for your cardiovascular, anti-inflammatory.

It's kind of amazing all the things they do.

However, you should really just be enjoying it.

So how does chocolate make you feel?

Let us know in the comments below.

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