The first Bubble tea house in NYC. There is a bubble tea house in almost every neighborhood in NYC! But St. Alp's Tea house was the first bubble tea house in NYC!
The first location opened in 1994 in Chinatown on the corner of Mott Street and Bayard Street.
My hubby and I used to always hang out at the one in the EV near NYU.
The food is always good and inexpensive!
It's strange after starting with St. Alps tea house and having bubble tea every where else, I can say that St. Alps tea is very strong compared to the others!
This is from nerd York city.com-"'Saint's Alps Teahouse opened in 1995 and was the originator of bubble tea in New York City. While bubble tea's now come into the relative mainstream, Saint Alp's contends much of what's presently available is cheap, shoddy, and generally crap. (And, according to a German report, could contain carcinogens that shouldn't be in food at all.) Saint Alp's Teahouse, meanwhile, strives to make every glass of bubble tea it serves as good as its first."

There are just two Saint’s Alp locations in the states – Chicago and New York. St Alps had a tea house open in Brooklyn for a while but it closed in 2012 it did not work out!

The other 38 stores are sprinkled throughout Hong Kong and Macao.
IMO it may not be the best tasting tea but it is the original and has the most authentic quality ingredients of any Bubble tea in the US!.

Yummy boba drinks. This is one of my favorite places to get boba and any other Taiwanese style drink. It's a laid-back, yet trendy place to go after a night in the city or before. I'd recommend the regular bubble milk tea or green tea matcha aulait. If you're looking for a place to snack too, they have good appetizers - terriyaki chicken, bowls, jasmine tea jelly, and many other authentic Taiwanese foods.