Starbucks Medicine Ball (Honey Citrus Mint Tea): What's in It & How to Order

What is the Starbucks Medicine Ball?

The Starbucks Medicine Ball is a hot tea and lemonade drink that started as a fan nickname and then made it onto the official menu. Starbucks calls it Honey Citrus Mint Tea. You can still ask for a "Medicine Ball," but some baristas may not know the nickname, so the official name is the safer bet.

It is a good example of how the Starbucks secret menu works: customers combine regular ingredients, the combination gets popular, and occasionally the chain adopts it. Our Starbucks secret menu page covers other custom orders built from real ingredients.

The drink is bright, a little tart from the lemonade, minty from the green tea and rounded out by honey. It suits people who want something warm that is not coffee.

What is in a Starbucks Medicine Ball?

A Starbucks Medicine Ball has five parts: two tea bags, steamed lemonade, hot water and honey. The table shows what each one does.

Both teas go in as whole bags, so the drink keeps steeping as you sip and gets stronger over time. If you prefer a milder cup, pull the bags out after a few minutes.

How do you order a Medicine Ball at Starbucks?

Order a Honey Citrus Mint Tea in the size you want. It is a hot drink, so it comes in Short (8 oz), Tall (12 oz), Grande (16 oz) or Venti (20 oz). In the Starbucks app, search for Honey Citrus Mint Tea and adjust it there.

Common changes people make:

• Add peppermint. One pump of peppermint syrup adds a stronger mint note. Syrup add-ons typically cost about $0.80.
• Less honey. Ask for less honey if you find it too sweet; the lemonade already adds sugar.
• More or less lemonade. Asking for more hot water and less lemonade makes it less sweet and less tart.

If you are a Starbucks Rewards member at any level, Free Mod Mondays give you one free drink modification on one Monday a month, which covers a peppermint pump. See our Starbucks birthday reward page for the other Rewards perks.

How much is a Starbucks Medicine Ball?

We could not confirm a current typical price for the Starbucks Medicine Ball, and it is not in our standard price list. Prices also vary by city, size and store, with licensed cafés in airports and grocery stores setting their own.

For context, the hot drinks in our list run from about $3.25 for a Pike Place Roast to about $6.45 for a White Chocolate Mocha, and a peppermint pump adds about $0.80. The Starbucks app shows the exact Honey Citrus Mint Tea price for your store and size before you pay. The full price list is on our Starbucks menu page.

Does the Starbucks Medicine Ball have caffeine?

Yes, the Medicine Ball has some caffeine, because Jade Citrus Mint is a green tea. Green tea generally carries less caffeine than brewed coffee, so it is a gentler pick later in the day. The exact caffeine for each size is listed on the drink's page in the Starbucks app.

The nickname is just a nickname. It is a warm, honey-sweetened tea, not a treatment for anything. If you are sick, follow your doctor's advice. Because it contains lemonade and honey, it is also sweeter than a plain tea, and the app lists its sugar.

How to make a Starbucks-style Medicine Ball at home

You can make a close version at home with any mint green tea and any peach-flavored tea. This is our home method, not Starbucks' official recipe:

1. Heat 8 oz of lemonade until steaming but not boiling.
2. Pour it into a large mug with 8 oz of hot water.
3. Add one mint green tea bag and one peach tea bag.
4. Steep for 3 to 5 minutes, then stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey.
5. Add a drop of peppermint extract if you want the peppermint version.

That makes about 16 oz, the size of a Grande. Remove the bags when it tastes right, so the green tea does not turn bitter.