To get the most out of a square of premium chocolate, approach it as you would a fine wine, advises Gunars Valkirs, CEO of Maui’s Ku‘ia Estate Chocolate, which is growing cacao and opened a $10 million factory in Lahaina.

Valkirs offered a tasting of his premium chocolate earlier this month at Chef Mavro in Honolulu. He suggests taking a small bite and letting it soften against the roof of your mouth. As with wine, impressions will form in stages:

>> READ MORE: Lahaina gets a new $10M chocolate factory and cacao farm, with all the profits going to charity

>> Attack: The first impression of upfront flavors. The Ku‘ia dark, for example, might at first bring to mind roasted hazelnuts and a mix of sweet and sour.

>> Mid-palate: Full flavors emerge. With the dark chocolate these could include a hint of balsamic vinegar and fruitiness.

>> Finish: A good chocolate leaves its “ghost” behind even after you swallow. With the dark chocolate, a rich cocoa flavor; with the dark milk, a bit of caramelization.

The particles that make up a premium chocolate will stay with you, Valkirs said. “They just latch onto your flavor receptors and they don’t want to give up.”

Don’t drink cold liquids with chocolate, he advises. Room-temperature water is best. Chocolate melts perfectly at body temperature and cooling down your mouth will prevent full flavors from developing.