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, Kingdom of Fruit: Seasonal Taiwanese Fruit, Aiyu and Winter Melon Tea, Turned into Bubble Tea with Fructose and Fruit Syrups
Key answer
Taiwan is known as a kingdom of fruit, with seasonal Taiwanese fruit all year round. According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Taiwan exported about 21,000 tonnes of pineapple in 2024, around 90% of it to Japan; aiyu is a plant found only in Taiwan; and winter melon tea is a nostalgic flavor Taiwanese people grow up with. Taiwanese drink shops shake these fruity flavors into cups, creating classics such as fruit tea, winter melon lemonade and passion fruit green tea. Tang Sugar shares these flavors with the world, supplying fructose and cane sugar syrup and more than 20 fruit syrups and jams so drink shops everywhere can serve a taste of Taiwan.
An island with fruit in every season
Walk into a traditional market in Taiwan and the fruit stalls are busy all year: mango, lychee and watermelon in summer, wendan pomelo for the Mid-Autumn Festival, citrus and strawberries in winter, and pineapple, bananas and guava almost all year. Lying between the tropics and subtropics, and with generations of farming know-how, Taiwan has truly earned the name “kingdom of fruit”.
Taiwanese fruit is valued internationally too. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Taiwan exported about 21,000 tonnes of pineapple in 2024, worth about NT$870 million, with around 90% going to Japan.
Flavors found only in Taiwan
Aiyu is a plant found only in Taiwan; rubbing its seeds in water makes a clear jelly that, with a squeeze of lemon, is Taiwan’s classic summer cooler. Winter melon tea is simmered from winter melon and sugar — no tea leaves, no caffeine — and is a childhood taste for many Taiwanese; add lemon and you get the drink-shop favorite winter melon lemonade. Then there is grass jelly, served hot in winter and as grass jelly milk tea in summer.
Taiwanese people shake fruit into their drinks
Taiwanese drink shops combine fruit and tea into many classics: lemon green tea, passion fruit green tea and the “passion fruit double”, mango pomelo sago, and all kinds of fruit teas. To keep every cup equally sweet and tart, Taiwanese shops write syrup dosages into tables, with fixed grams for 500 ml and 700 ml cups from full sugar to light sugar (further reading: how sugar and ice levels work).
Tang Sugar: bringing Taiwan’s sweet-and-tart flavors to shops worldwide
Fresh fruit is seasonal, prices fluctuate, and overseas shops can’t always buy Taiwanese fruit. Caitang International Co., Ltd. (brand name Tang Sugar) supplies consistent, easy-to-measure sugar and fruit ingredients so drink shops around the world can make Taiwanese-style fruit teas:
Item
Use
Further reading
Fructose, cane sugar syrup, brown sugar syrup
The basic sweetness of bubble tea, measured with a fructose dispenser
Lying between the tropics and subtropics, Taiwan has seasonal fruit all year round; in 2024 it exported about 21,000 tonnes of pineapple, around 90% to Japan.
Is aiyu found only in Taiwan?
Yes. Aiyu is a plant endemic to Taiwan; its seeds, rubbed in water, form a clear jelly often served with lemon as a summer cooler.
Should fruit tea use fruit syrup or fresh fruit?
Syrups are consistent, easy to measure and available all year; fresh fruit smells great but depends on season and price. Many shops use syrup as the base and add fresh slices or jam.
Which fruit syrup flavors does Tang Sugar offer?
More than 20, including lemon, orange, passion fruit, mango, peach, lychee, grape, strawberry, red grapefruit, pineapple and guava. Contact us for the full list.
When is Taiwanese fruit in season?
There is always something in season: pineapple from spring to early summer; Irwin mango, lychee and watermelon in summer; pomelo, wendan and passion fruit in autumn; and oranges, ponkan and strawberries in winter. Guava and bananas are available almost all year.
