When is National Bubble Tea Day? Bubble tea is a treat that certainly deserves its own holiday, so mark your calendar for April 30th as a day to celebrate!
I am only kind of exaggerating when I say that I am obsessed with bubble tea.
My local boba shop features an incredibly craveable pina colada smoothie with passionfruit and strawberry syrup drizzle that I always order with extra crystal boba. When I order one, it is always the highlight of my day.
With endless varieties of bubbles and flavors served in charming little sealed cups, it comes as no surprise to boba fans that the sweet drink has its own holiday.
April 30th is National Bubble Tea Day, and it’s the perfect opportunity to indulge in your favorite milk tea topped off with a hearty scoop of pearls.
Let’s break down the history of National Bubble Tea Day and a few suggestions for celebrating it in style.
The Beginnings Of Bubble Tea
The dawn of bubble tea began in Taiwan in the 1980s when an unnamed culinary genius combined three popular snacks into one mouthwatering treat.
By mixing milk tea, shaved ice, and tapioca pearls, bubble tea was born.
Creative Taiwanese boba vendors began adding other toppings, including sweet syrups, fresh fruit, powdered flavoring, and different kinds of bubbles.
Today, this refreshing drink comes in a mind-boggling number of flavors, with some of the most popular choices including classic black tea, earthy matcha, and creamy Thai tea.
Learn more about where bubble tea comes from.
When Is National Bubble Tea Day?
Those who have never indulged in a long, delicious sip of bubble tea may be wondering how Taiwanese street food somehow became popular enough for the United States to declare April 30th National Bubble Tea Day.
Those of us who consider ourselves aficionados don’t have time to wonder because we’re too busy trying to choose which drink to stick our hilariously large straw into next.
Whichever side of the fence you fall on, we all owe a round of applause to an East Coast bubble tea shop that made it all happen.
The Origin Story
On April 30th, 2010, a Queens, NY shop called Kung Fu Tea opened its doors on April 30th.
The founders, who recently returned from a trip to Taiwan, were disappointed by the lackluster options available in their neighborhood. The group decided to take this grave disservice to boba into their own hands.
Since then, it’s grown into a franchise with more than 350 stores spread coast to coast across fifteen states and five countries.
Their meteoric rise and cult-following led to the Washington Post bestowing upon them the honorable title of “the Starbucks of bubble tea.”
Bubble Tea Day
Kung Fu Tea sponsored the first-ever National Bubble Tea Day on April 30th, 2018, to celebrate their eighth anniversary of catapulting this deliciously fun drink onto mainstream menus.
If you love bubble tea, you might enjoy our crystal boba iced coffee recipe.
Ways To Celebrate
With National Bubble Tea Day 2022 on the horizon, many enthusiasts are eager to commemorate the momentous occasion. If you rank yourself among them, here are just a few ways you can celebrate:
- Organize a meetup of other fans at your local boba shop.
- Use social media to promote your favorite spot to get bubble tea.
- Share Insta-worthy pics of your drinks with the hashtag #NationalBubbleTeaDay.
- Treat a friend who’s never had milk tea before to a boba date.
- Try to mix up your own creations at home with new recipes.
- Snag a brand new bubble teacup from Amazon and start a new tradition of decorating it with a new waterproof vinyl sticker each time you use it. Then, for the National Bubble Tea Day 2023, do it all over again!
Like this? Learn why Bubble tea is popular.
