National Bubble Tea Day is a holiday that’s celebrated annually on April 30th and has been celebrated since 2018. What is bubble tea? Bubble tea is a beverage that was created during the 1980s in Taiwan and is known by a variety of other names such as boba milk tea or pearl milk tea. This tea is made using either oolong, green, or sometimes black tea and can have a variety of other ingredients added to it including sugar, ice, various fruit flavorings, fruit jelly, agar, aloe vera, and/or tapioca balls.

The History Of National Bubble Tea Day

A discussion of the history of this holiday wouldn’t be complete without a discussion of the history of bubble tea. Although this tea was invented around 1986, it still has two competing origin stories. Since we’re unsure which story is the actual origin story for bubble tea, we’ll just include both of them and allow our readers to decide for themselves.

The first claim is that the owner of the Hanlin Tea Room in Tainan, Taiwan, Tu Tsong-he, was inspired by white tapioca balls he saw at the Ya Mu Liao Market and decided to make a tea using them—a tea he would call Pearl Tea.

The second claim is that Liu Han-Chieh began serving his customers at the Chun Shui Tang tea room in Taiwan cold tea. He did this after he learned that the Japanese would often serve coffee cold. This story continues to state that his creation was so popular that it became the franchise’s top-selling beverage.

Regardless of who invented this drink, one thing is for certain, and that’s the fact that its popularity spread through East and Southeast Asia during the 1990s. The popularity of this drink would even reach the U.S., and on April 30, 2010, the company Kung Fu Tea was founded. They would become the United States’ largest bubble tea brand with over 250+ locations across America.

In 2018, National Bubble Tea Day was established by the company in honor of their 8th birthday. Since then, it’s a holiday that’s been celebrated all over the world—much to the delight of bubble tea fans. Now everyone can enjoy this beverage on its own special day.

Observing National Bubble Tea Day

Observing this holiday is quite easy. All a person has to do is enjoy this beverage. They can visit a Kung Fu Tea location and have some, or they can try their hand at making their own bubble tea. Anyone celebrating this holiday might also want to post the hashtag #NationalBubbleTeaDay on social media to encourage all of their friends and family to participate with them.