Starbucks Medicine Ball, aka Honey Citrus Mint Tea, is a delicious hot drink to enjoy during flu season or on a cold day when you want to warm up. This homemade Starbucks medicine ball has honey, citrus, peach, and mint flavors. It’s also known as a cold buster, perfect for a sore throat, and you can make this with ingredients you will find at your local grocery store.
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The origin of the Starbucks Medicine Ball
The Starbucks Medicine Ball Tea originated as a secret menu item that became so popular that it was added to the official menu as Honey Citrus Mint Tea. It is a soothing and comforting drink made with Jade Citrus Mint Green Tea and Peach Tranquility Herbal Tea, sweetened with honey and mixed with hot lemonade.
What Makes the Starbucks Medicine Ball One of the Most Comforting Hot Teas for When You Are Sick
Being sick is no fun. When you’re ill enough, you’ll try anything to feel better, whatever the taste. Well, the next time you feel under the weather, try this Starbucks Medicine Ball recipe; you won’t need to sacrifice flavor for relief.
So, what is a medicine ball from Starbucks? Think of it as honey citrus mint tea taken to the next level. The ingredients in a Medicine Ball include two of the most popular Teavana teas, natural honey, and hot lemonade.
Medicine Ball is one of Starbucks’ secret menu items. It isn’t part of their regular menu, at least not named this way. This secret menu item has an official name. It is called Honey Citrus Mint Tea.
The drink’s vitamin C, mint, and chamomile help relieve even the scratchiest throat or the most stubborn cough.
Why these ingredients aid in cold and flu symptoms
Tea and Lemons contain many antioxidants that help soothe even the worst colds. Lemons deliver a blast of vitamin C to boost the immune system. Mint acts as an expectorant and decongestant, which is great for congestion. Honey has been used since ancient times to soothe sore throats and coughing.
What Makes This a Great Recipe for You To Use
Although Medicine Ball is not on every Starbucks menu, you can make it at home with just a few simple ingredients. If you can brew tea, you can whip up this drink in under five minutes and for a fraction of the price you would pay in the cafe.
You don’t need to wait until you feel sick to make this delicious drink. Starbucks Medicine Ball tea is a perfect alternative to coffee for an afternoon pick-me-up. This comforting drink can help boost your immune system and is the ideal drink to enjoy in the comfort of your own home. So if you need a cold buster tea, look no further, grab your favorite mug, and watch that runny nose and cold symptoms get some relief.
What’s in a Starbucks Medicine Ball?
To recreate the Medicine Ball Starbucks serves, you’ll need:
- Water
- Jade Citrus Mint Green Tea
- Peach Tranquility Tea
- Honey
- Lemonade
Ingredient Notes
Starbucks uses Tevana teas. You will need Jade Citrus Mint Tea and Peach Tranquility Tea.
Jade Citrus Mint Tea from Teavana is a green tea with lemon verbena, lemongrass, and spearmint. This unique blend is sometimes tricky to find, but you can use another brand of green tea with lemongrass and lemon verbena, Check out the section below for a decent substitute.
Peach Tranquility Tea is also from Teavana. It is an herbal tea made from peach, apple, tropical pineapple, chamomile flowers, chamomile pollen, rose hips, and herbs with distinctive citrus notes from lemon verbena. Peach Tranquility Tea is different from other peach teas, so it is best to use the real deal, but if you can’t find it, check below for a suitable replacement.
Amazon sells this tea in a handy two-pack.
Honey has antimicrobial properties and has been used in traditional medicine for ages.
How To Make a Medicine Ball Tea From Starbucks
To prepare this copycat Starbucks medicine ball recipe:
- Boil the water in a medium sauce over high heat.
- Turn off the heat and add the Jade Citrus Mint tea bag and Peach Tranquility Herbal tea bag to the hot water.
- Brew the teas for a minute and a half, then discard the bags.
- Stir the honey into the tea.
- Add the lemonade to the saucepan, and heat over a medium-low burner until hot.
- If desired, pour the Medicine Ball into two large mugs and garnish with lemon wheels and fresh mint.
- Go to the recipe card to find the exact portions and the full recipe.
What Can Use if You Can’t Find Teavana Tea – Try These Substitutions
Teavana isn’t available everywhere, and even when you can find it, some stores are out of the flavors you want. If your local stores are out of Jade Citrus Mint Tea or Peach Tranquility Tea, you will usually have better luck online.
However, if you need an alternative to the Jade Citrus Mint Tea, try Wissotzky Tea, or Celestial Seasonings Magic Mint Tea and add a few fresh mint leaves or drops of spearmint extract.
Finding a substitute to match the complex flavors in Peach Tranquility Tea is a little tricker. Although it is not a perfect match, you can try Celestial Seasoning’s Country Peach Passion or Bigelow Peach Tea as a substitute.
What Goes With a Starbucks Medicine Ball?
It is best to sip a Medicine Ball without any side dish. However, if you need a nibble, something plain with a hint of sweetness is preferable. Perhaps try pairing the beverage with a digestive or shortbread cookie.
Favorite Starbucks Hot Drinks
- Apple Crisp Macchiato
- Cafe Mocha
- Caramel Latte
- Cinnamon Dolce Latte
- Flat White Coffee
- London Fog Tea Latte
- Vanilla Latte
- White Mocha
Popular Starbucks Food Recipes
Check out more of my easy drink recipes and the best copycat Starbucks recipes on CopyKat!
Starbucks Medicine Ball
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 sachet Teavana Jade Citrus Mint tea
- 1 sachet Teavana Peach Tranquility tea
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 cups lemonade
- 1 sprig fresh mint to garnish (optional)
- 1 slice lemon to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Turn off the heat, place both tea sachets into the saucepan, and steep for 90 seconds. Remove the tea sachets.
- Add the honey to the brewed tea and stir until it dissolves. Add the lemonade and warm the mixture over low heat for about 1 minute.
- Garnish with fresh mint and a lemon slice if desired.
Can I use Country Time Lemonade or do I have to make the lemonade from scratch?
I think you could do either.
The best when you have a cold, or just on a cold snowy day.
I tried this with the Celestial seasonings tea, and it as pretty close.
This is perfect for a sore throat.
I love this Starbucks Medicine Ball recipe! It’s so easy and fun to do.
11/2 cup lemonade? Or lemon juice?
Use lemonade please, otherwise it will be very sour.
Works great for colds and sinuses