Cover Story
CHOOSE QUALITY INGREDIENT
IS OUR BELIEF
Ying C. 陳穎 / Ying C. 一匙甜點舀巴黎
This April Fool's Day, Uni-President Pudding (a staple at Taiwan’s 7-ELEVEN) has made another bold move. Following the October 2025 limited release of the "Upside-Down Pudding"—where the caramel layer outweighed the custard (cheekily dubbed "Din-Pu" by netizens)—which sparked a massive buying frenzy, 7-ELEVEN launched a new limited-edition version on April 1: "Caramel-Free Boo-Pudding," an all-yellow pudding stripped of its caramel sauce. This series of campaigns has evolved from a 2024 April Fool's prank to an official launch in 2025, and now a further iteration this year, successfully going viral each time. Yet, amidst the rush to buy and the social media hype, few have stopped to ask: What exactly is that golden, bouncy pudding body made of?That Store-Bought Pudding You Fought For? It’s Been Egg-Free for Over a Century.
Ying C. 陳穎 / Ying C. 一匙甜點舀巴黎
過去幾年，抹茶席捲了西方飲食世界。根據國際飲食趨勢統計，光是在美國，過去25年間抹茶的銷售額就已超過100億美元。而過去數年中抹茶市場成長飛快，全球市場規模在2024年已近40億元，預計在2025年至2032年間將以8%的複合年成長率強勁增長，在2032年將可能達到超過70億美元。這股熱潮早已跨越了傳統茶道，深入法式甜點、精品咖啡與機能性食品領域。然而，抹茶的生產高度依賴特定地理環境與繁瑣工法，氣候變遷也深刻影響了茶葉產量，目前日本產能擴張速度遠追不上全球需求。在頂級抹茶價格連年翻倍、貨源稀缺的壓力下，歐美品牌與主廚開始尋找下一個具備「東方敘事」且風味鮮明的替代品。從抹茶熱潮到焙茶崛起：台灣茶的國際契機與產地保衛戰