XOXO Tea is the first Vietnamese teahouse in Toronto to offer free refills and all-you-can-drink toppings in their largely sugar-free invigorating drinks.
Going to school in Saigon in the early 2000s, co-founder Harry Ho fondly remembers seeing his peers in snaking lineups at humble bubble tea carts run by chatty aunties and uncles, trying to order a cup filled to the brim with all possible toppings.
To him, this familiar sight is the perfect example of Vietnam’s thriving sidewalk culture that extends well beyond street foods — a core childhood memory he’d carry to Canada. In his years as a design student in Toronto, Ho was also working part-time at bubble tea shops alongside his partner Iris Tran.
So, when a business opportunity struck, the pair decided to continue committing to what they knew best — while also bringing a distinctive taste of home to Toronto. That’s how XOXO Tea officially came to be, opening its doors in March…
