《TAIPEI TIMES》 Pingtung cocoa beans win at UK chocolate awards

/ Staff writer, with CNA

Cocoa beans from Pingtung County received a number of accolades at the latest edition of the Golden Bean Awards, an annual event founded by the UK’s Academy of Chocolate to honor the best cocoa beans and chocolate products from around the world.

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Pingtung’s Fu Wan Chocolate won four silver and seven bronze awards in the “Tree to Bar — Plain （Dark）” category.

The category judges chocolate products made by companies involved in the full process of chocolate making — from cultivating trees and growing beans to processing beans into chocolate bars.

Pingtung’s Hey Fun Chocolate won three silver and four bronze awards in the same category, while Joy Cacao Coffee Plantation in Pingtung won one silver.

In the category of “Tree To Bar — Milk,” where milk is used in the making of chocolate products, Fu Wan Chocolate took home one silver award.

Fu Wan Chocolate was recognized with one gold, six silver and six bronze accolades in the “Tree To Bar — Seasoned” category, while Hey Fun Chocolate came away with one silver and two bronze awards in the same category.

The company used red oolong tea from Taiwan to season its gold-winning product.

Competing in the “Dark Bean To Bar — Seasoned” category, Taipei boutique chocolate workshop Cacai Cacao won a bronze award.

Not only did Taiwanese companies receive considerable attention at the awards, Taiwanese universities also performed relatively well.

Pingtung’s Meiho University and New Taipei City’s Jinwen University of Science and Technology secured one bronze award each in the “Dark Bean To Bar （Under 90%）” category.

Lin Wei-chun （林韋君）, a Taiwanese member of the jury, said that Taiwan’s chocolate products stood out at the awards.

The artistry and craft of Taiwanese entries this year made quite an impression on the jury and a number of chocolate industry experts, she added.

Lin said she was glad to see Taiwanese competitors use locally sourced specialties to their advantage, adopting the likes of dried longan and Taiwanese teas to elevate the presence and uniqueness of Taiwan’s cocoa beans.

Aside from Taiwanese red oolong tea, Taiwanese companies incorporated other local teas, as well as flowers, fruit and wild pepper, into their chocolate products.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES