Happy Lemon
| Happy Lemon | |
|---|---|
Shop in Newport Court, Chinatown, London | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 2006 |
Happy Lemon is a Taiwan-based[1] global franchise that consists of bubble tea shops.
History
Happy Lemon originated in Taipei, Taiwan in 2006 by Albert Wu[2], the chairman of Yummy Town Holdings Corp, also known as the Yummy Town Group.[3][4]
In 2013, the first location to open in the United States was located in New York.[2] Approximately two years later in 2015, Happy Lemon opened their first location on the United States West Coast in Cupertino, California.[2] In 2017 Happy Lemon opened a location in Vancouver, Canada.[5] 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.[6]
Menu
The menu for each location varies.[7] 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. [1] The salted cheese option is a cream cheese foam that sits atop the selected drink of choice, then sprinkled with rock salt.[1]
Drinks are customizable with options to control ice and sugar ratios, or drink additions like fruit chunks.[1] 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.[1] Toppings can also vary between boba, puff cream, red bean, grass jelly, taro balls, or passion fruit seeds.[1]
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. [1] Various locations can offer additional items on their menu like chicken burgers, an item sold in Manchester, United Kingdom.[8]
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.[1] As of 2026, there are approximately 2,000 Happy Lemon locations globally, including approximately 100 in the United States.[9]
Canada
In Canada, Happy Lemon has operated in Toronto and Vancouver.[10][5]
Japan
In Japan, Happy Lemon has operated in Tokyo in two locations.[11]
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, Happy Lemon has operated in seven locations[12]
United States
In the United States, Happy Lemon has operated in the following cities:
- Athens, Georgia[13]
- Austin, Texas[14]
- Edmonds, Washington[15]
- Evanston, Illinois[16]
- Houston, Texas[17]
- Kirkland, Washington[15]
- Portland, Oregon[18]
- Richardson, Texas[1]
- Sacramento, California[19]
- Seattle, Washington[20]
- Silverdale, Washington[21]
- Tukwila, Washington[15]
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Portland, Oregon
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Seattle
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Seattle, Washington
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Vaughn, Hank. "Happy Lemon Provides Happy Tea and Happier Waffles". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ a b c "Happy Lemon Turns Lemons Into Joyful Moments! - The Made in Taiwan Story Ep7". TaiwanPlus. 2025-01-20. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
- ^ Gourdeau, C. C. (2022-10-24). "12 Boba Tea Brands, Ranked". Tasting Table. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Osorio, Nicolle (2022-06-21). "Taiwanese tea chain Happy Lemon opening its first Florida location in Orlando". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
- ^ Hobbs, Libby (2024-03-17). "Happy Lemon grand opening marks new bubble tea in Athens". The Red & Black. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c "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.
- ^ "Happy Lemon arrives in Evanston". The Daily Northwestern. 2021-08-17. Archived from the original on 2023-12-09. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Happy Lemon Opening in Fubonn". Montavilla News. 2024-02-17. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "BIZNOTE: Happy Lemon soft-opens on Alki". West Seattle Blog... Archived from the original on 2025-02-05. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ "Kitsap Sun Subscription Offers, Specials, and Discounts". subscribe.kitsapsun.com. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
External links
- Official website (Yummy-Town Group)