National Boba Day 2026

About National Boba Day

National Boba Day raises a straw every year on April 30 to honor bubble tea, the Taiwanese drink that conquered the world one chewy tapioca pearl at a time. Known as boba, bubble tea, or pearl milk tea, the drink pairs brewed tea with milk, sugar, ice, and those delightfully springy pearls that ride a wide straw.

Born in Taiwanese tea shops in the 1980s, bubble tea spread through Asian communities and then went global, spawning shops in virtually every city and an ever-expanding menu of flavors, from classic black milk tea to taro, matcha, and brown sugar swirls. The word boba originally referred to the large tapioca pearls, borrowed from playful slang, and the name stuck.

Shops across the United States celebrate with discounts, limited flavors, and buy-one-get-one deals, while fans post their orders online. Whether you like extra pearls, less sugar, or oat milk, April 30 belongs to boba.

When is National Boba Day?

History of National Boba Day

Bubble tea traces back to Taiwanese tea shops in the 1980s, where several vendors claim the invention, most famously the Chun Shui Tang tea house in Taichung, which says it added tapioca pearls to iced milk tea in 1988. The playful drink, called zhenzhu naicha or pearl milk tea, spread across East and Southeast Asia in the 1990s and reached American shores through Los Angeles and New York's Chinatowns. By the 2010s, chains and independent shops had made boba a mainstream favorite, and the wide straw became an icon. National Boba Day emerged in the United States to toast this worldwide love, anchoring the celebration on April 30.

How to Celebrate National Boba Day

• ✦ Order your favorite bubble tea, or try a flavor you have never tasted before.
• ✦ Make boba at home by cooking tapioca pearls and shaking them into chilled milk tea.
• ✦ Claim discounts and buy-one-get-one deals from local bubble tea shops on April 30.
• ✦ Post your order with friends and rank the best pearl texture in town.