Taipei, Nov. 24 (CNA) Taiwanese chocolate brand Fuwan Chocolate has won five gold, 19 silver and four bronze medals at the International Chocolate Awards' (ICA) 2019 World Final event held Nov. 18 in Guatemala, according to the organizers.
A tea-flavored chocolate bar titled "Taiwan No. 1" that contains 62 percent cocoa grown in southern Taiwan's Pingtung County was the biggest winner in the annual competition, clinching three gold medals, according to the ICA announcement following the event.
Fuwan also won gold medals in two different categories for flavored dark chocolate bars, including the Taiwan Tie-Guan-Yin Tea Chocolate, containing 62 percent cocoa, and the Taiwan Magao or wild pepper chocolate, also containing 62 percent cocoa.
The Pingtung-based Fuwan Chocolate was founded by Warren Hsu, Taiwan's first certified chocolate taster, in 2015.
Another Taiwanese brand, Zeng Zhiyuan Chocolate, also from Pingtung, won two gold, six silver and a bronze medals with its dark chocolates. Overall, over a dozen Taiwanese chocolate brands won awards in the ceremony.
According to the ICA, winners of the 2019 world finalists were judged Oct. 7-12 in Florence, Italy before the list of winners was officially announced Nov. 18.
The ICA was founded in 2012 and is run by a group of independent international partners based in the United Kingdom, Italy and the United States, who have experience tasting and evaluating chocolate and running chocolate-related events, according to the ICA's website.
