Taiwanese introduces Lithuanian chocolates made from family recipes over 100 years old

Taiwanese introduces Lithuanian chocolates made from family recipes over 100 years old

2023-06-04

And now for all of you out there with a sweet tooth. Today we take you to a specialty chocolate store that sells Lithuanian chocolates. Many chocolate makers from this Baltic state use traditional techniques and recipes passed down through generations. This ensures each treat is crafted with care and precision. Six years ago, Ivan Huang tried Lithuanian chocolate and loved it so much that he decided to open his own store in Taipei. He’s selling a Lithuanian chocolate brand with a 110-year-old history. Our reporter Stephany Yang shows us why these chocolates are so tasty.

This is one of their best-sellers, Inca berries and blueberries coated with white chocolate. It’s crunchy, sweet, and sour at the same time.

Stephany Yang
FTV reporter
There are three layers. The outer layer is blueberry. The middle layer is white chocolate. And lastly, Inca berry.

Ivan Huang
Founder
This one has been super, super popular. Customers who come into our store like this because they mention that the smell is so unique. That makes them want to taste more. This one is using berries from Lithuania and also is coated with quality white chocolate, and they also add blueberries to cover the white chocolate. So it is so unique and special.

Besides Inca berries and blueberries coated with white chocolate, there are also freeze-dried strawberries, and freeze-dried blueberries coated with white chocolate and dark chocolate. There’s also Lithuanian chocolate with cherries, and more. Patrons can choose and customize their chocolate flavors according to their preferences.

Member of the public
My child likes it. He likes colorful chocolates so I searched online. The reviews are great, so I came here to check it out. I have never been to Lithuania.

Ivan Huang
Founder
Because Lithuania is the land of berries. So you can find many different berries in our dark chocolate, white chocolate, and also milk chocolate. Because customers in Taiwan like strawberries. So, our number one is strawberry, followed by cherries and dark chocolate, and also cranberry dark chocolate.

Huang is the founder of this Lithuanian chocolate store in Taipei. Prior to operating this store, Huang worked in the finance industry as a project manager. Six years ago, he decided to start his own business. He started off with a business where he imported British tea to Taiwan. When he was in the process of searching for a dessert to go with the tea, he tried a strawberry dark chocolate from a Lithuanian chocolate family business over a century old. He loved it so much that he decided to open a branch selling this old Lithuanian chocolate brand in Taipei.

Ivan Huang
Founder
We thought it was necessary to find finger food to go well with tea. Six years ago, TAITRA they organized a meeting with suppliers from Europe. In that meeting, we met Rolandas. He brought this to me. I tried the strawberry dark chocolate. It was so tasty. At that moment, we decided to work with them. We started to do business with them six years ago.

Huang says opening up a Lithuanian chocolate store in Taiwan was not an easy feat. Due to the fact that many Taiwanese weren’t that familiar with Lithuania, business was slow in the first few years. It was not until 2021 when the Lithuanian government donated vaccines to Taiwan, that business started booming.

Ivan Huang
Founder
It was about two years ago. Lithuanian government donated vaccines to Taiwan. It gave us a chance to properly introduce this brand and also this quality chocolate to the market. We recieved alot of orders from customers and also each order brings a warm message like "Thank you Lithuania. "

To celebrate the deepening relations between Taiwan and Lithuania, the company even created a limited edition dark chocolate exclusively for patrons in Taiwan.

Ivan Huang
Founder
To celebrate the two nations has been super close. The connection and relations between these two nations is warming up so that is why we decided to do something different.

Huang says his goal this year is to bring in more chocolate gift boxes from Lithuania. He hopes that everyone can get a taste of Lithuania in Taiwan and learn more about its culture.

愛上立陶宛巧克力黃棏躍引進開店

2023-06-04

今天帶大家造訪一間立陶宛巧克力專賣店。許多立陶宛的巧克力製造商都依循代代相傳的傳統技術和配方，確保每一個品項的品質。六年前，黃棏躍吃了立陶宛巧克力後深深著迷，於是決定在台北開設分店，販售擁有110年歷史的立陶宛巧克力品牌。一起來看看。

“燈籠果藍莓白巧克力”是這間巧克力店的熱銷商品之一，吃起來酸酸甜甜，口感酥脆。

[[民視英語新聞記者楊怡安]]
"這個巧克力有三層，一層白巧克力包裹著燈籠果，外層再包覆上藍莓。

[[創辦人黃棏躍]]
"這個產品非常非常受到歡迎，很多客人喜歡它獨特的味道，讓他們想要一吃再吃。我們用優質的白巧克力包裹來自立陶宛的燈籠果，最後覆蓋上藍莓，所以它是如此獨特和特別"

除了”燈籠果藍莓白巧克力”，還有”草莓巧克力”、”草莓藍莓白巧克力”、”櫻桃巧克力”等，顧客也可以根據自己的喜好，訂製專屬自己的巧克力口味。

[[民眾]]
"小朋友他喜歡，他想要各種顏色，比較繽紛的，所以我就上網找了，看了評價很棒所以來看看，沒有去過立陶宛"

[[創辦人黃棏躍]]
"立陶宛出產相當多種類的莓果，所以你可以在我們的黑巧克力、白巧克力和牛奶巧克力中找到許多不同種類的的莓果。顧客來到這裡，可以挑選他們喜歡的巧克力。台灣的顧客特別喜歡草莓，所以，我們銷量的第一名是”草莓巧克力”，其次是”櫻桃黑巧克力”，還有”蔓越莓黑巧克力”"

創立這間立陶宛巧克力店之前，黃棏躍曾在金融業擔任PM。六年前，他決定自己創業，進口英國茶葉，為了尋找適合搭配的甜點，意外發現了立陶宛一家擁有百年歷史的巧克力家族企業，黃棏躍愛上了他們的”草莓黑巧克力”，所以決定在台北開設分店。

[[創辦人黃棏躍]]
"我們想要找到能與茶完美搭配的食物，六年前，外貿協會舉辦了一個會議，找來歐洲的供應商。在那次會議上，我們遇到了Rolandas，他給了我”草莓黑巧克力”，太好吃了，當下我們就決定要與他們合作，一起開拓台灣市場"

黃棏躍表示，因為大多數的台灣人對立陶宛印象不深，要讓立陶宛巧克力在台灣打響名號並不容易，一開始生意其實不太好。直到2021年立陶宛政府捐贈台灣疫苗，生意才漸漸好起來。

[[創辦人黃棏躍]]
“那是大約兩年前的事了，立陶宛政府捐贈台灣疫苗，這個契機讓我們有機會推廣我們的商品，我們收到了很多訂單，而且每個訂單都傳遞了溫暖的信息，比如”謝謝立陶宛” “

業者還特別製作限量版黑巧克力，慶祝台灣跟立陶宛的友誼升溫。

[[創辦人黃棏躍]]
"兩國關係非常密切，而且持續升溫，所以我們決定做些不一樣的事情"

黃棏躍計畫從立陶宛進口更多的巧克力禮盒，讓更多台灣人感受到立陶宛風情，也了解立陶宛文化。

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Lai Ching-te
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You gave Tsai Pei-hui a chance, and being in Nantou as the chair of the DPP, I am filled with gratitude. I hereby bow my head to thank you again.

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China suppressed the student movement and refused to accept the demands of the students. The current situation has become worse than in the past. But Taiwan’s current achievements in democracy are among the top ten in the world and in the first place in Asia.

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Lai Ching-te
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This video was created by Sharelly Emanuelson. The video showcases St. Maarten after a severe hurricane. You can hear voices, wind, and animals. This work explores the concept of coexistence and delves into the subject of national unity.

Sasha Dees
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Sasha Dees
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The first connection of course is that the Netherlands was a colonial power. We colonized countries both in the Far West and Far East. The Netherlands was also the first to colonize Taiwan. That is a literal connection. Although, Taiwan it was only 40 years. The Caribbean has been a much longer time. That made me spark my interest to see what other connections are there. There are other issues like sovereignty of course. Can you be your own country in this time and age? What are the problems you walk into? Translational labor.

The works explore global issues including cross-regional labor, climate change, protests, identity, the immigrant experience, and sustainable development. The exhibit features six pieces of artwork from seven Caribbean artists, including two from Taiwan’s diplomatic allies from Haiti and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

This work is by Nadia Huggins. “Circa No Future” documents the story of boys from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines swimming in the sea.

Sasha Dees
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This work shows a very poetic way the sea and how local people really engage with the sea and how young boys become adults. How we all know that feeling of jumping into the sea and you feel very free and your worries disappear. You can actually really become your true self. I thought that was also a nice link to Taiwan, who is currently so much trying to develop this identity to really stand out as its own country.

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