How to Order a Medicine Ball Tea at Starbucks (If You’re Under the Weather)
Updated: Mar. 18, 2024
People swear by the Starbucks Medicine Ball as a cure-all. Here's how to order it in all its delicious glory.
Right now, one of the most popular custom drinks off the secret menu at Starbucks is the Medicine Ball. While the name may sound more like equipment at your local gym, this tea can supposedly ward off sniffles, sore throats and all the issues that plague us during cold and flu season.
With temperatures dropping, I decided to head to Starbucks and try the Medicine Ball myself.
What’s in a Starbucks Medicine Ball?
This drink is so popular that Starbucks baristas know it by name. It’s not hard to understand why, once you look at the list of ingredients:
- Steamed lemonade
- Hot water
- Jade Citrus Mint green tea
- Peach Tranquility tea
- Honey
Honestly, I’m not the biggest green tea fan because I don’t love the bitterness, but the other Medicine Ball ingredients were intriguing enough to convince me that it’s worth a shot.
From a health perspective, this combination makes perfect sense: lemon soothes your throat, while green tea is known to have a number of health benefits. Plus, any sort of hot drink is going to give you a boost when you’re feeling under the weather.
How to order a Medicine Ball tea
You can order the Starbucks Medicine Ball at the Starbucks drive-thru or in-store. If your barista doesn’t know what it is, you can list out the ingredients, or ask for a Honey Citrus Mint Tea like I did. (That’s right, the Medicine Ball has been added to the official Starbucks menu.)
You can also place an order for a Honey Citrus Mint Tea in the Starbucks app and swing by to pick it up! Make sure you know what size you want, of course.
Starbucks Medicine Ball review
The Medicine Ball tea is delicious. I love peach, and it’s definitely the dominant flavor, so for me it was an immediate hit. It also masks the bitterness of the green tea, turning it into an almost pleasant aftertaste. It was definitely a welcome respite from the weather outside, and every sip feels like a comforting hug. I’d probably try it again if I had a cold.
However, the peach really does overpower the other flavors, so if you’re not a peach fan, I wouldn’t recommend this. I couldn’t taste much lemonade, and there’s barely a hint of mint. Some people ask for a shot of peppermint syrup to counteract this, and as a fan of the fresh flavor, I’m going to try this addition next time. The sweetness also can be overwhelming—I had to space out my venti over half an hour to cope with all the sugar, even though I have a massive sweet tooth. That said, I’d still order it again—but probably with a healthy shot of mint for some balance!
Next, learn how to order at Starbucks like a regular.
Originally Published: March 18, 2024
