Happy Lemon

Happy Lemon
Shop in Newport Court, Chinatown, London
Restaurant information
Established2006 (2006)

Happy Lemon is a Taiwan-based global franchise that consists of bubble tea shops.

History

Happy Lemon originated in Taipei, Taiwan in 2006 by Albert Wu, the chairman of Yummy Town Holdings Corp, also known as the Yummy Town Group.

In 2013, the first location to open in the United States was located in New York. Approximately two years later in 2015, Happy Lemon opened their first location on the United States West Coast in Cupertino, California. In 2017 Happy Lemon opened a location in Vancouver, Canada. Their franchise appearance features three models: kiosk, take-out, and dine-in. In 2019 Happy Lemon teamed up with Alibaba-backed Koubei to employ a drink-making robot, capable of making roughly forty variations of the Happy Lemon menu, including drink type, flavor, ice, and sugar.

The menu for each location varies. However, Happy Lemon is known for offering a variety of iced or cold blended beverages, including classic brewed tea, classic milk tea, fruit smoothies, fruit tea, lemon slushies, squeezed lemon tea, and salted cheese beverages. The salted cheese option is a cream cheese foam that sits atop the selected drink of choice, then sprinkled with rock salt.

Drinks are customizable with options to control ice and sugar ratios, or drink additions like fruit chunks. Some additional drink flavors include grapefruit, mango, strawberry, lemon, and matcha. Slushy options include jasmine, mango, dragon fruit, and Yakult, each mixed with lemon and blended with ice. Toppings can also vary between boba, puff cream, red bean, grass jelly, taro balls, or passion fruit seeds.

As for food and snacks, Happy Lemon offers a waffle called the Bubble Waffle. This item can be ordered with or without boba inside the bubble pockets. Each Bubble Waffle batter can be in one of the following flavors: plain, matcha, chocolate, red bean, or Oreo. It can also be ordered with a variety of dipping sauces, including puff cream. Various locations can offer additional items on their menu like chicken burgers, an item sold in Manchester, United Kingdom.

Locations

Happy Lemon functions as a publicly owned franchise with locations in over twenty countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China, Dubai, and more. As of 2026, there are approximately 2,000 Happy Lemon locations globally, including approximately 100 in the United States.

Canada

In Canada, Happy Lemon has operated in Toronto and Vancouver.

Japan

In Japan, Happy Lemon has operated in Tokyo in two locations.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, Happy Lemon has operated in seven locations.

United States

In the United States, Happy Lemon has operated in the following cities:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Vaughn, Hank. "Happy Lemon Provides Happy Tea and Happier Waffles". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  2. 1 2 3 "Happy Lemon Turns Lemons Into Joyful Moments! - The Made in Taiwan Story Ep7". TaiwanPlus. 2025-01-20. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  3. ↑ Gourdeau, C. C. (2022-10-24). "12 Boba Tea Brands, Ranked". Tasting Table. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  4. ↑ "Taiwan Bubble Tea at the Louvre｜Industry｜2019-12-19｜CommonWealth Magazine". CommonWealth Magazine (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2025-07-09. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  5. 1 2 "Happy Lemon opening bubble tea shop on Robson Street | Food & Drink". Daily Hive. 2017-03-26. Archived from the original on 2021-06-13. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  6. ↑ Reporter, Staff (2019-03-22). "Happy Lemon teams up with Alibaba-backed Koubei to integrate drink-making robot | QSR Media Asia". qsrmedia.asia. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  7. ↑ Osorio, Nicolle (2022-06-21). "Taiwanese tea chain Happy Lemon opening its first Florida location in Orlando". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  8. ↑ Clarke, Liv (2026-02-10). "'I tried the viral Chinese burger and it was like a duck pancake on steroids'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  9. ↑ Wang, Clara (2024-02-15). "10 Chains That Serve the Best Bubble Tea". Eat This, Not That. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  10. ↑ "Bubble tea shops are taking over downtown Toronto. Here's what to order at each of them". Toronto Life. 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  11. ↑ "Taiwanese street food fair is a hit in Tokyo - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 2024-11-04. Archived from the original on 2025-04-30. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  12. ↑ "PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  13. ↑ Hobbs, Libby (2024-03-17). "Happy Lemon grand opening marks new bubble tea in Athens". The Red & Black. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  14. ↑ Chaudhury, Nadia (2021-01-26). "Cheese Tea-Slinging Chinese Boba Shop Happy Lemon Opens in Austin". Eater Austin. Archived from the original on 2024-02-24. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  15. 1 2 3 "Spreading the love of bubble tea, one drink at a time". Seattle Refined. 2022-12-22. Archived from the original on 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  16. ↑ "Happy Lemon arrives in Evanston". The Daily Northwestern. 2021-08-17. Archived from the original on 2023-12-09. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  17. ↑ Shey, Brittanie (2021-01-20). "Ridiculously Cute Chinese Boba Shop Happy Lemon Will Soon Arrive in Houston". Eater Houston. Archived from the original on 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  18. ↑ "Happy Lemon Opening in Fubonn". Montavilla News. 2024-02-17. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  19. ↑ Ding, Jaimie (2019-10-31). "Boba showdown: The official Sacramento boba tea power rankings". The Bee. Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  20. ↑ "BIZNOTE: Happy Lemon soft-opens on Alki". West Seattle Blog... Archived from the original on 2025-02-05. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  21. ↑ "Kitsap Sun Subscription Offers, Specials, and Discounts". subscribe.kitsapsun.com. Retrieved 2025-05-15.