The happiness that a beautiful piece of chocolate can bring on Valentine’s Day is a cherished moment.

Along with that joy, now experts have found that there are health benefits that come with a nibble of dark chocolate.

"They are looking at its antioxidant effects," said Maureen Stoy, a registered and licensed dietician and certified diabetes educator at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. "It seems to increase the antioxidant activity, so all of that helps with the immune system and cholesterol, especially the LDL cholesterol."

Dark chocolate contains cocoa phenols, according to WebMD.com, which is a compound that can lower high blood pressure.

Dahlonega resident and chocolatier Paul Hoffman said he hopes to satisfy both the craving for chocolate and the need for antioxidants.

Hoffman retired to Dahlonega three years ago after selling his business, Hoffman’s Chocolates, which over the years became an icon in South Florida. He started the business in Lake Worth, Fla., in 1975 but sold it eight years ago.

"It was time to do some of the things that I wanted to do," Hoffman said. "So, I decided the mountains were where I wanted to be. I wanted to get away from the heat and the hurricanes."

The small chocolate shop that Hoffman owned morphed into a huge retail business over the years, with ultimately seven retail shops in South Florida.

"We were doing two and a half million dollars a year in chocolate, and I don’t ever want to do that again," he said. "I am looking for a storefront on the (Dahlonega) square.

"I’m a showman; people love to watch chocolate — it’s like Willy Wonka world."

Hoffman, 67, now sells his chocolate truffles under the name Paul Thomas Chocolates in a small space at the Buisson Arts Center’s Artist’s Palate Cafe in Dahlonega as well as at Naturally Georgia. He said he hadn’t planned on making chocolates again after his retirement.

"I’m going to blame it on my wife (Lori)," he said. "She belongs to the Dahlonega Women’s Club and ... she said, ‘Paul, the women want you to come and talk about chocolate.’ So, if you talk about chocolate and you are going to a women’s club, you better bring some chocolate."

That visit ignited his love for chocolate making once again.

"It’s really wonderful when people start to understand the complexity and what it takes to go into it."

Hoffman uses ingredients from all over the country and world for his delicacies.

"Almonds from California, peanuts from Georgia, pecans from Georgia, cashews from India," he said. "We use three blends (of cocoa beans) that come from three continents. In South America it’s Brazil, Africa it’s the Ivory Coast and the island of Trinidad."

Hoffman specializes in two truffles: the French and Swiss truffle.

"The French truffle is milk chocolate on the outside with a semisweet couverture (the center) and a Swiss truffle is pretty much just the opposite, it’s a dark (outside) and dark (center)," he said. "Then I do a delicious Royal Raspberry, I make a Bavarian Cream which is a nice minty white chocolate center which is a little different, I use Folgers coffee for a nice coffee truffle which is a little bit different and then hazelnut."

Hoffman also has created a pepper and spice-flavored truffle.

"It’s a dark chocolate center and dark chocolate on the outside," he said. "And when you bite into it you don’t get any spicy or texture of spices but as you eat it (you feel it on) the back part of your tongue on the sides ... you’ll get a light, mild, spicy feel on your tongue.

"It’s based on a chile oil; it’s really quite unique and has been requested by some of the wineries."

But Hoffman keeps in mind when making his chocolates of the health benefits of dark chocolate.

"All of the truffles do have a dark chocolate center rather than a milk chocolate center," he said. "It’s better for a couple of reasons ... the antioxidants that the dark chocolate have often are overtaken by the milk solids that you get when you make milk chocolate. The dark chocolate does have a lot more antioxidants in it and it is healthier for you from the standpoint that you don’t get as much milk solids."

But Hoffman reminded chocolate lovers that "some dark chocolates do have milk solids in it."

Milk chocolate and milk solids contain extra fat and calories, Stoy said.

"Milk chocolates are going to have extra fat and calories that are not necessarily bad in small portions but it will increase your calories," Stoy said. "It’s in the same ball park (as red wine); the red wine is used as an antioxidant and they say one glass of that a day helps the good cholesterol ... but too much of it is too many calories."

Stoy suggested that 30 calories a day of dark chocolate was associated to lowering blood pressure without weight gain or adverse effects.

Which is just enough to make your valentine happy, Hoffman said.

"One of the things about chocolates is when you walk out of the shop, you are smiling," Hoffman said.