Taiwan's premium chocolate makers earn global recognition but climate change threatens growth

“I used to be a head chef and I always tried to cook with local ingredients,” he added. 

“One day, a farmer brought me some fresh cacao pods and told me they had cacao fruit, but they didn’t know how to process it, how to turn it into chocolate or even who to sell it to.”

That encounter inspired Hsu to establish Fu Wan Chocolate in 2015, one of Taiwan’s best-known tree-to-bar chocolate brands. 

“Taiwan’s cacao beans don’t have a major advantage when it comes to flavour,” he said. 

“There are many established cacao-growing regions around the world, each with its own distinctive taste. That’s why we have to rely on the fermentation process to create unique flavours and bring out the characteristics of Taiwan’s terroir.”