Taiwan brand raises country’s profile as quality chocolate producer

2020/06/01

Homegrown chocolate brand Fu Wan is turning the heads of critics at international competitions and raising Taiwan’s profile as a producer of top-notch chocolate.
 
 At the 2019 International Chocolate Awards—the most prestigious contest for producers of dark, flavored, milk and white creations—11 Taiwan-based participants bagged at least one award. Fu Wan grabbed a whopping 28, a record for a native brand.
 
 Among Fu Wan’s gold-winning products were Taiwan No.1 Ping Tung Chocolate with 62 percent cacao, top in the plain/origin dark bar category, and Taiwan Tie-Guan-Yin Tea with 62 percent cacao, best dark chocolate bar with an infusion or flavoring.

Triumphing at ICA is no mean feat. Since its launch in 2012, the event has become the first and last word in chocolate excellence.
 
 Established in December 2014 by Warren Hsu in southern county of Pingtung, Fu Wan Chocolate debuted at the ICA final in 2016. The company went on to win honors at the competition for each of the next three consecutive years.
 
 Hsu ensures top quality by embracing a tree-to-bar approach that features a longer in-house processing period. Starting with the purchase of fresh cacao pods from nearby farmlands, from which beans are collected for fermentation, Hsu’s company roasts, winnows and grinds the beans rather than choosing mass-produced offerings.

“Fu Wan outshines many of its foreign competitors as the farm-to-factory distance is short,” said former Fu Wan chocolatier Jade Li. All of the cacao growers are located within 30 kilometers of the company, making it easy for Hsu to visit farmers to share ideas and cast a close eye over the crops.
 
 The use of locally grown cacao adds to Fu Wan’s prestige as it echoes the global trend for greener production processes. “It takes less than an hour to transport freshly picked pods to Fu Wan, whereas shipping raw materials from the farm to the factory elsewhere in the world could take hours and even longer,” Hsu said.
 
 Fu Wan is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the country’s confectionery par excellence. ICA Chairman Martin Christy summed it up best when presenting Hsu with the plain/origin dark bar chocolate award in 2019 at the finals: “Watch out. Taiwan chocolate is on a roll.”

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)