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.
Shaved Ice and Mango Ice: The Story of Taiwan’s Ice Desserts, from Japanese-Era Ice Making, Ice Pops and Sugar Mill Popsicles to Snow Ice
Key answer
Taiwanese people have eaten shaved ice for about a hundred years. Ice-making technology arrived in the Japanese era, making ice production reliable and hygienic, and ice pops and shaved ice spread with it. Sugar mills made popsicles from their own sugar and originally sold them only to employees; Taiwan Sugar Corporation registered the business in 1992 and brought them to the public market. Taiwan’s ice shops later created mango ice piled with fresh mango and silky snow ice, and the mango snow ice of Taipei’s Yongkang Street helped the street make Time Out’s list of the world’s coolest streets in 2022. Tang Sugar supplies snow ice powder, smoothie powder and mango ingredients.
A Taiwanese summer starts with a bowl of ice
Taiwan’s summers are hot and long, and a bowl of shaved ice is the most direct way to cool down: finely shaved ice drizzled with brown sugar syrup and topped with red beans, mung beans, tapioca pearls, taro balls — or a heap of mango. Ice shops are part of every Taiwanese childhood and a must-visit for foreign travelers (further reading: Taiwanese mangoes).
A history of Taiwan’s ice desserts
Period
What happened
Early days
Vendors carted big blocks of ice and chipped them by hand, serving them with preserved fruit
Japanese era
Ice-making technology arrived and ice production became reliable and hygienic; modern ice plants opened in Taipei’s Dadaocheng
1920s
Ice pops took off — in Qishan, Kaohsiung, for example, ice was made from water boiled with sugar mill sugar
After the war
Shaved ice and fruit-and-ice parlors spread across Taiwan; sugar mill popsicles were sold to employees
1992
Taiwan Sugar’s ice products were formally registered as a business and entered the public market
Recent years
Mango ice and snow ice became tourist favorites
Shaved ice, snow ice and mango ice: what’s the difference?
Shaved ice: Plain ice blocks are shaved, then topped with syrup and toppings for a light, refreshing bite (further reading: snow ice vs. shaved ice).
Snow ice: Ice blocks made with milk or flavoring are shaved into thin ribbons that are silky and melt in the mouth.
Mango ice: A summer special — shaved ice or snow ice covered with fresh diced mango, mango sauce and condensed milk.
Brown sugar shaved ice: Drizzled with slow-cooked brown sugar syrup, an old-fashioned Taiwanese favorite (further reading: the history of Taiwan’s sugar industry).
Tang Sugar: a Taiwanese ice shop for stores overseas
A bowl of Taiwanese ice brings together Taiwanese fruit, Taiwanese sugar and Taiwan’s attention to texture. Caitang International Co., Ltd. (brand name Tang Sugar) is proud of Taiwan’s ice dessert culture and supplies ice shops and drink shops overseas with:
This article belongs to Stop 3, Night Markets & Street Food, of the Taiwan Stories series. Series opener: Tang Sugar brand philosophy.
FAQ
What is 剉冰 in English?
剉冰 is shaved ice in English. Taiwanese shaved ice is often written as Taiwanese shaved ice, and 芒果冰 as mango shaved ice.
What’s the difference between snow ice and shaved ice?
Shaved ice is plain ice shaved and topped with syrup; snow ice is made from ice blocks with milk or flavoring, shaved into thin ribbons with a silkier texture.
When did Taiwanese people start eating shaved ice?
Taiwanese people have eaten shaved ice for about a century; ice desserts spread widely after ice-making technology arrived in the Japanese era.
When is the best time to eat mango ice?
Fresh mango ice is best in summer, as Irwin mangoes are mainly in season from about May to July; outside the season, shops mostly use frozen mango or mango sauce.
How can shops overseas make Taiwanese snow ice?
Mix snow ice powder with water or milk to make ice blocks, shave them into thin ribbons with a snow ice machine, and serve with canned mango or fruit jam.
