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.
The History of Taiwan’s Sugar Industry: From Sugarcane and Cane Sugar to Brown Sugar — Taiwan’s First Modern Sugar Mill in 1901, Taisugar, and When Sugar Was 80% of Exports
Key answer
The history of Taiwan’s sugar industry begins in the cane fields: in 1901 the Qiaozaitou Sugar Factory in Kaohsiung opened as Taiwan’s first sugar mill with mechanized equipment; after the war, Taiwan Sugar Corporation (Taisugar) was founded in 1946, and in 1950 sugar exports made up about 80% of Taiwan’s total exports — its most important source of foreign exchange at the time. As the industry declined, only two mills, in Shanhua (Tainan) and Huwei (Yunlin), still grow cane and make sugar today, while Qiaozaitou became the Taiwan Sugar Museum in 2006. Tang Sugar — with “Sugar” right in its brand name — supplies fructose and cane sugar syrup and brown sugar syrup, carrying on Taiwan’s devotion to sweetness.
A Taiwan that grew out of the cane fields
As early as the Dutch and Qing eras, the plains of southern Taiwan were covered in sugarcane, crushed by ox-powered mills in traditional sugar workshops (tang-bu) and boiled into sugar for sale far and wide. In the Japanese era sugar became Taiwan’s most important industry, and modern mills, sugar railways (the “little trains”) and cane fields reshaped the landscape of southern Taiwan.
1901: the first modern sugar mill
In 1901 the Qiaozaitou Sugar Factory in Kaohsiung opened as Taiwan’s first sugar mill with mechanized equipment, run by the Taiwan Sugar Company of the Japanese era. Modern mills greatly increased capacity — Qiaozaitou’s first mill could crush about 660 tonnes of cane a day — driving expansion of cane fields and sugar railways (sources differ slightly on the years the factory opened and the company was founded).
Postwar Taisugar: when sugar was Taiwan’s top earner
1946: Taiwan Sugar Corporation is founded, taking over the Japanese-era sugar companies.
1950: academic research shows sugar exports made up 80% of Taiwan’s total exports, one of the most important sources of foreign exchange in the early postwar years.
“Sugar in the south, rice in the north”: in the 1950s sugar production was concentrated in the south, where the climate suits it better.
Today: mills have closed one after another, leaving only Shanhua (Tainan) and Huwei (Yunlin) still growing cane and making sugar; many old mills are now cultural parks, and Qiaozaitou became the Taiwan Sugar Museum in 2006.
White, light brown and brown sugar: Taiwan’s sweet memories
Type
Character
Common uses
White (granulated) sugar
Highly refined, clean sweetness
Baking, drinks, cooking
Light brown sugar (er-sha)
Keeps a hint of molasses aroma
Douhua syrup, old-fashioned sweet soups
Brown sugar (Taiwanese black sugar)
Boiled straight from cane juice, with toasty, mineral notes
Brown sugar pearls, brown sugar ginger tea, shaved ice syrup
Fructose (high-fructose syrup)
Liquid, dissolves easily, easy to measure
Sweetening hand-shaken drinks
Taiwan’s sugar heritage reaches all the way into hand-shaken drinks: brown sugar boba milk swept Asia around 2018, making brown sugar a new emblem of Taiwanese sweetness (further reading: how to make brown sugar boba milk, Tiger Sugar).
Tang Sugar: “Sugar” is right in our name
The brand name of Caitang International Co., Ltd. is Tang Sugar — “Sugar” is right there in the name. We’re proud of how particular Taiwanese people are about sweetness: hand-shaken drinks offer sweetness levels from full sugar down to light sugar, and every cup must be consistent. Tang Sugar supplies the sugars drink shops use most:
This article belongs to Stop 5, Fruit & Sugar, of the Taiwan Stories series. Series opener: Tang Sugar brand philosophy.
FAQ
What was Taiwan’s first modern sugar mill?
The Qiaozaitou Sugar Factory in Kaohsiung, opened in 1901, was Taiwan’s first sugar mill with mechanized equipment; today it is the Taiwan Sugar Museum.
How important was sugar to Taiwan at its peak?
Academic research shows sugar exports made up 80% of Taiwan’s total exports in 1950, one of the most important sources of foreign exchange in the early postwar years.
Does Taiwan still make sugar today?
Yes, but only two mills — Shanhua in Tainan and Huwei in Yunlin — still grow cane and make sugar; most others are now cultural or tourist parks.
What are 甘蔗 and 黑糖 in English?
甘蔗 is sugarcane, and 黑糖 is brown sugar or dark brown sugar; Taiwanese 黑糖 is sometimes written Taiwanese black sugar.
Should bubble tea use fructose or cane sugar syrup?
Fructose is liquid, easy to measure and low-cost; cane sugar syrup has a rounder flavor. Choose by drink flavor and cost, and use a dispenser for consistent sweetness.
