Hmm chocolate! I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy this delicious treat. The finest chocolates are made from the seeds of the tropical cacao tree, but most of us don't care where it comes from or how it's made, because we just love it for its taste. So morish is chocolate that some even say it has addictive properties. Personally, I think people just use the 'addictive' argument to stuff their fat faces and excuse their ever expanding waistline.

We all love a bit of chocolate just as we enjoy a slice of our favorite cake, but surely it's gluttony that keeps these so called chocoholics chomping and not a genuine physical craving for more of the same? But some of the finest chocolates around are known to have some very useful medical properties according to scientists. The key ingredient, 'theobromine', is apparently a third more effective at stopping a persistent cough than drugs containing codeine and it won't make your drowsy either. Don't tell my wife that though as she's got enough excuses to stock up with her favorite sweets as it is! Apparently there is a cure for so called chocoholics.

DON'T BUY CHOCOLATE! But seriously though, whether it's a psychological condition or a real physical craving of the body, experts say that the best cure is aversion. What this does is force the addict to associate their beloved chocolate consumption with some kind of negative stimuli used to change behavior. This is probably best done through hypnotherapy but I'm no expert and I'm not addicted, it's just that my wife's friend is apparently having some success with this. But let me cast aside the problems with the finest chocolates and focus a little on the joys, the varieties, and all the wonderful tastes that are out there.

We're lucky in as much as we have a specialist chocolate store in our town and the selections here are absolutely unbelievable. The owner, a pleasant and plump lady called Narinda, has made it her personal mission to bring all the finest chocolates of the world into her little corner of town. It's not all is in fancy boxes either and there are a lot of options to try by the piece. In fact she sells a lot of her candy be weight, which is great as you can really pick and mix from lots of different varieties. Every Christmas we make our own chocolate gift baskets using Narinda's world chocolates and we know everyone loves to receive these as presents. The varieties in chocolate vary enormously from chocolate covered almonds (my personal favorites, assorted bars, dark and white mix, caramels, whirls, eggs, nuggets, creams, oh the list is endless as are the shapes, sizes, designs, and tastes.

I love Narinda's finest chocolates so much that I savor the taste as long as possible by freezing all but the soft centers. There's no greater way to reward your taste buds than sucking on cold chocolate. Hmm! What are you waiting for? There's bound to be a shop near you with oodles of chocolate treats just waiting to be tried.

Gary Tooth is a proficient writer for Look At Food dot com where he has articles on Living Longer and Healthier lives and Culinary Arts. He also has other 'Food' related pieces on the site.