Bubble tea was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s , with most accounts pointing to around 1986–1987 as the key years.

Where and when it started

  • Bubble tea (also called boba or pearl milk tea) emerged from Taiwanese tea‑culture experiments with iced, milk‑based tea and chewy toppings.
  • Two rival tea shops are most often credited:
    • Chun Shui Tang in Taichung claims to have created the first bubble tea in 1987 , by adding tapioca pearls to iced tea.
* **Hanlin Tea Room** in Tainan says it invented a similar drink in **1986** , also by mixing tapioca balls into tea.

Why the dates are fuzzy

  • There is no single official “invention date” because both shops have plausible origin stories and have even fought over the title in court‑style disputes.
  • What is clear is that by the late 1980s bubble tea was already a hit in Taiwan and soon spread across Asia and, later, the rest of the world.

Quick‑reference timeline

Year| Event
---|---
1980s (early)| Taiwanese tea shops begin experimenting with iced, shaken tea and tapioca snacks , laying the groundwork for bubble tea. 37
1986| Hanlin Tea Room in Tainan claims to add tapioca pearls to tea, creating an early version of bubble tea. 15
1987| Chun Shui Tang in Taichung claims to invent bubble tea by combining iced milk tea with tapioca pearls. 135
Late 1980s–1990s| Bubble tea spreads across Asia and then to overseas Asian communities , especially in North America. 4710

In short: bubble tea was invented in Taiwan in the mid‑1980s , with 1986–1987 as the commonly cited window, even if the exact “first cup” remains debated.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.