From a single tea leaf, a cup of bubble tea and a bowl of douhua to the lights of the night market — sail six stops along Taiwan's coast to meet its flavors and people, and see how a Taiwanese food company carries them to the world.
Along Taiwan's coastline — setting off from the tea hills and finally sailing from the harbor to the world.
Brand Philosophy
Tang Sugar Brand Philosophy: Taiwanese Food and Taiwanese Service, Bringing the Flavors of Taiwan to the World
From the Formosa Oolong that sailed to New York in 1869 to bubble tea loved around the globe, Taiwan has long been sending great flavors to the world. Tang Sugar (Caitang International) is a Taiwanese company proud of the food Taiwanese people make and the service they provide. With consistent ingredient quality, clear partnership terms and verifiable supply capability, we…
It introduces Taiwan's tea, bubble tea, night-market food, fruit and sugar, everyday life and Made in Taiwan, and shows how Tang Sugar brings these flavors and Taiwanese service to partners around the world.
How is Taiwan Stories different from the blog?
Taiwan Stories covers culture, origins and Taiwan through foreign eyes; the blog covers drink recipes, ingredient dosage and sourcing. The two link to each other, so you can go from a story to a recipe.
Taiwan’s Festivals and Their Foods: New Year Rice Cakes, Lantern Festival Tangyuan, Qingming Spring Rolls, Dragon Boat Zongzi, and Mid-Autumn Barbecue, Mooncakes and Pomelos
Key answer
Taiwan’s festival foods are full of good-luck wordplay. At Lunar New Year people eat sweet rice cake (rising step by step), fa gao (prosperity) and radish cake (a good start). At the Lantern Festival, tangyuan symbolize togetherness. At Qingming, people eat spring rolls and caozai guo. At the Dragon Boat Festival, it’s zongzi — Taiwanese say “boiled in the south, steamed in the north.” At Mid-Autumn, it’s mooncakes, pomelos and a barbecue across Taiwan, said to trace back to the soy sauce ad slogan “One family barbecues, ten thousand families smell it.” Tang Sugar turns the sweet flavors of Taiwan’s festivals into ingredients such as fruit syrups, brown sugar syrup and taro balls, so shops overseas can offer limited-edition Taiwanese festival drinks.
Taiwanese people celebrate with food
In Taiwan, every holiday has a signature food, usually with a lucky pun or meaning. A folk saying goes: “Sweet rice cake for the New Year, fa gao for money, buns to wrap up gold, radish cake as a snack.” What you eat and how you eat it are wishes for the year ahead (further reading: a guide to Taiwanese food).
Taiwan’s festival foods at a glance
Festival
Date (lunar calendar)
Signature foods
Meaning
Lunar New Year
1st day of the 1st month
Sweet rice cake, fa gao, radish cake, New Year’s Eve dinner
Rising fortunes, wealth, a good start
Lantern Festival
15th day of the 1st month
Tangyuan, yuanxiao
Reunion, completeness
Qingming Festival
Early April (solar calendar)
Spring rolls, caozai guo, red turtle cakes
Honoring ancestors
Dragon Boat Festival
5th day of the 5th month
Zongzi
Remembering Qu Yuan, warding off evil
Mid-Autumn Festival
15th day of the 8th month
Mooncakes, pomelos, barbecue
Reunion, moon viewing
Winter Solstice
Late December (solar calendar)
Tangyuan
Growing a year older, reunion
Northern zongzi, southern zongzi and the Mid-Autumn barbecue
Zongzi, “boiled in the south, steamed in the north”: Northern zongzi use stir-fried sticky rice that is then steamed, for a drier, fragrant bite; southern zongzi wrap raw rice and boil it, for a softer, stickier texture. Common fillings include braised pork, salted egg yolk, shiitake mushrooms, chestnuts, peanuts and dried shrimp.
Mid-Autumn barbecue: Taiwan’s Mid-Autumn trio is mooncakes, pomelos and barbecue. The barbecue habit is said to trace back to a soy sauce maker’s TV ad whose slogan, “One family barbecues, ten thousand families smell it,” is still quoted today, though the exact year is hard to verify (further reading: Taiwan’s fruit season calendar).
Tangyuan: Eaten at both the Lantern Festival and the Winter Solstice; Taiwanese people also add taro balls and tangyuan to sweet soups (further reading: grass jelly and taro balls).
Tang Sugar: turning Taiwanese festivals into limited-edition drinks
Taiwan’s festival foods are a way of giving thanks to family and the land. Caitang International Co., Ltd. (brand name Tang Sugar) is proud of Taiwan’s festival culture and helps drink shops overseas turn festival themes into limited menus:
Lunar New Year: brown sugar syrup for brown sugar milk and brown sugar ginger tea.
This article belongs to Stop 4, People & Everyday Life, of the Taiwan Stories series. Series opener: Tang Sugar brand philosophy.
FAQ
What are Taiwan’s main festivals?
The main ones are Lunar New Year, the Lantern Festival, Qingming, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Winter Solstice, each with its own signature food.
How are northern and southern zongzi different?
Taiwanese say “boiled in the south, steamed in the north”: northern zongzi use stir-fried sticky rice that is steamed, for a drier, fragrant bite; southern zongzi wrap raw rice and boil it, for a softer, stickier texture.
Why do Taiwanese people barbecue at Mid-Autumn?
It’s said to trace back to a soy sauce maker’s TV ad, whose slogan “One family barbecues, ten thousand families smell it” spread the habit across Taiwan; the exact year is hard to verify.
What is 端午節 in English?
端午節 is the Dragon Boat Festival, and 粽子 are zongzi or rice dumplings.
Can drink shops make festival limited-edition drinks?
Yes — for example brown sugar drinks for Lunar New Year, pomelo green tea for Mid-Autumn and taro ball sweet-soup drinks for the Winter Solstice, all made with Taiwanese ingredients.
