Bubble tea is booming in the Harrisburg area.
Shops offering the colorful drinks are popping up in shopping centers, standalone locations, and malls. Even Starbucks jumped on the trend this summer with a line of fruity bubble teas.
The drinks have exploded in popularity after quietly arriving in the U.S. a few years ago. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global bubble tea market is expected to grow from $2.63 billion in 2024 to $4.78 billion in 2032.
Invented in the 1980s, the Taiwanese drink consists of tea mixed with milk or sometimes fruit and garnished with tapioca pearls (or boba). Boba are chewy and often filled with fruit juice, causing them to burst when eaten.
What sets these drinks apart from others is that they are usually served in dome-shaped plastic cups with thick straws to accommodate the boba balls.
This popularity is due to Generation Z consumers who are social media savvy and tend toward adventurous tastes.
Where to drink bubble tea in the Harrisburg region? Here is a selection of places worth visiting:
Boba Sensei
At Boba Sensei, the motto is: “Drink Boba tea. Be kind. Be loyal.”
Friends Dave Mondeaux and Nychelle Hallock opened the outpost at 749 Middletown Road in Derry Township in the Stoverdale Commons in 2023.
The shop offers dozens of flavored fruit teas, slushies and milk teas, including the famous Tiger Stripes in taro, mango and black sugar flavors. There’s also a small menu of homemade ramen and rice poke bowls, dumplings and Vietnamese banh ruoc sandwiches.
The nicely decorated shop, with wood accents and a red leather sofa, has a counter for ordering and a few tables where guests can sketch on small notepads and pin drawings to a bulletin board.
Opening hours are Wednesday to Monday: 12:00–20:00. Closed on Tuesdays.
Bamboo Pho & Tea Restaurant
Bamboo was one of the first shops in Cumberland County to sell bubble tea when it opened in 2018.
Sisters Teri and Jenny Trinh prepare tasty bowls of traditional Vietnamese pho, along with a selection of bubble tea and flavored milk tea in flavors like red rose, honeydew melon and mango.
The menu is simple and not as overwhelming as some Asian restaurants. For example, there are three starters: spring rolls, egg rolls and chicken skewers. Pho dishes include beef, steak, beef meatballs, chicken noodles, shrimp noodles, vegetable noodles and seafood noodles.
Bamboo also sells vermicelli, rice, lo mein and chicken specialties such as honey sesame and regular honey.
It is open Monday to Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Thursday to Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Boba Cha sells a variety of bubble teas and drinks at Capital City Mall in Lower Allen Township.Sue Glider
Boba Cha Bubble Tea
Boba Cha is a quick stop for bubble tea at Capital City Mall in Lower Allen Township.
Opened in 2022, the kiosk offers dozens of cool flavors of brown sugar boba, milk and fruit teas, and smoothies. You’ll find it in the main shopping center (not the food court), conveniently near Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.
When school is out, especially on weekends, manager Samantha Ordonez said, teenagers line up with their orders
“We have the original brown sugar. That’s our trademark and then we have the refreshing fruit teas like Mango Passion and Blue Hawaiian,” she said.
It is open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 8pm and Sundays from 11am to 6pm.
BonBon Specialty Coffee Cream Cheese from BonBon Tea Shop, 3110 Parkview Lane in Swatara Township.
BonBon Tea
Dung Tu brought the authentic taste of Vietnam to BonBon Tea, a small, primarily takeout shop at 3110 Parkview Lane in Swatara Township.
Bon Bon combines food like fried rice and beef pho dishes with an extensive drink menu that includes bubble teas, smoothies, and coffee. Reviews are solid, with regulars praising BonBon for its friendly service and creative drinks.
Flavors range from jasmine honey milk tea to chocolate milk tea, tropical healthy fruit tea, Japanese matcha, and lemon tea with boba. New beverages include taro ugly cream cheese, strawberry mango milk tea, avocado milk tea, and mocha caramel cream cheese.
In addition, the store has an outdoor terrace where you can dine even in warm weather.
It is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Closed on Mondays.
THE Bubble Tea
DEN Bubble Tea operates two locations in the Harrisburg area and serves authentic Vietnamese food and specialty mixed drinks.
The menu includes pho, spring rolls and banh mi, while the drinks list includes tea and fruit bubble tea, from jasmine and Thai to watermelon and mango. The honeydew is highly rated.
Service can be spotty, according to some reviewers, but diners praise the brown sugar boba, cozy ambience, and pho.
You can find it at 304 S. Progress Ave. in Susquehanna Township and at 4610 Carlisle Pike in Hampden Township.
It is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Kung Fu Tea
The fastest-growing bubble tea chain in the country opened in Cumberland County this summer. Kung Fu Tea is located at 3401 Hartzdale Drive in Lower Allen Township.
Kung Fu Tea, dubbed “the Starbucks of bubble tea” by the Washington Post, specializes in custom-made-to-order bubble tea drinks, also known as boba milk tea, pearl milk tea, or boba.
Kung Fu’s menu includes classic teas, milk teas, fruit teas and slushies with toppings like bubbles, milk cap, beans and jelly. The tea is brewed every three hours from premium tea leaves and the drinks are served in oversized cups with thick straws.
The most popular drinks include Kung Fu Milk Tea, Taro Slush, Honey Oolong Tea, Strawberry Milk and Cocoa Cream Wow Milk Cap.
It is open Sunday to Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Friday to Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Mitho Bubble Tea and Cafe is located at 3858 Union Deposit Road in Susquehanna Township.Sue Glider
Mitho Bubble Tea and Cafe
Mitho is an insider tip and is located at 3858 Union Deposit Road in the Dauphin Plaza Shopping Center in Susquehanna Township. A sign outside the store reads: “All you need is bubble milk tea.”
Inside, the cafe offers tables, counter ordering, a selfie wall, games and daily affirmations.
The menu includes bubble fruit teas made from black or green tea in passion fruit, mango, peach and lychee flavours. There are also bubble milkshakes, bubble milk teas and bubble snow.
A small Nepalese starter menu includes Alu-Nimki, Pani-Puri and Momo.
It is open Monday and Wednesday to Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Closed on Tuesdays.
P30 Bubble Tea and Asian Cuisine
Appreciated for its friendly service and charming atmosphere with pink-painted walls, P30 is more than just a bubble tea and sandwich shop.
A Yelp reviewer called it a “Piece of Vietnam right here in the city.” The Vietnamese menu includes pho soups, chicken fried rice and Vietnamese fried pancakes.
The drinks menu includes teas with brown sugar, milk and fruit teas as well as fruit lemonades in the flavors of watermelon, dragon fruit, raspberry and kiwi.
You can find it at 5214 Simpson Ferry Road in the Windsor Park Shopping Center in Lower Allen Township.
It is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Closed on Sundays.
Phamtastic Boba & Food opened on July 5 at 5401 Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton Township.Sue Glider
Phamtastic Boba & Food
Phamtastic opened this summer at 5401 Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton Township with an extensive and colorful drink menu.
The restaurant offers dozens of fruit teas, slushies, smoothies and milk teas, as well as a small menu of Vietnamese-style chicken wings, fried rice and sandwiches.
Owners Thi and Vickie Pham and their three children, ages 8 to 17, decided to open the restaurant after purchasing the building over a year ago.
Specialty drinks include purple taro milk teas, pineapple mango smoothies, and dragon fruit teas. Phamtastic also offers an ordering counter, a selfie station, and indoor and outdoor seating.
It is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 7pm and Saturday from 11am to 6pm. Closed on Sundays.
