Copycat Starbucks Medicine Ball (Honey Citrus Mint Tea)
Quick answer: Steep one Jade Citrus Mint bag and one Peach Tranquility bag together in equal parts hot water and warmed lemonade for 3–5 minutes, then stir in a teaspoon of honey. That’s the entire recipe — a grande (16 oz) uses ¾ cup water and ¾ cup lemonade. At Starbucks it runs roughly $3.95–$4.75 for a grande depending on location; at home, under $0.75.
The Medicine Ball is one of Starbucks’ few menu items that started as a customer invention. In 2016, people were ordering a combination of two Teavana teas, lemonade, and honey as a DIY cold remedy — baristas called it the “Medicine Ball” internally and wrote down the recipe to keep up with demand. Starbucks made it official in 2017 as “Honey Citrus Mint Tea.” The nickname never went away.
What You Actually Need
The recipe has four components, none of which requires a special technique:
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Jade Citrus Mint tea — Teavana’s green tea blend with spearmint, lemon verbena, and lemongrass. Starbucks uses their own Teavana bags in-store; you can’t buy these retail anymore. The best home substitute is Tazo Zen (green tea, spearmint, lemon verbena) — widely available at grocery stores.
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Peach Tranquility tea — A Teavana herbal blend of peach, pineapple, chamomile, lemon verbena, and rose hips. Caffeine-free. Best substitute: Bigelow Perfect Peach or Celestial Seasonings Peach Blossom. In a pinch, any peach-flavored herbal tea works.
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Lemonade — Store-bought liquid lemonade, warmed. Not lemon juice, not lemon slices dissolved in water — Starbucks uses their own lemonade base (water, lemon juice, sugar, lemon oil). Simply Lemonade or Minute Maid works identically at home.
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Honey — One standard packet at Starbucks is about 6g of honey (~1 heaping teaspoon). Stir it in while the tea is hot so it dissolves completely.
Proportions by Size
Starbucks builds this drink as equal parts hot water and warmed lemonade, regardless of size:
| Size | Hot Water | Lemonade | Tea Bags | Honey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tall (12 oz) | ½ cup | ½ cup | 1 of each | 1 tsp |
| Grande (16 oz) | ¾ cup | ¾ cup | 1 of each | 1–2 tsp |
| Venti (20 oz) | 1 cup | 1 cup | 1 of each | 2 tsp |
One tea bag per variety regardless of size — the steeping time and liquid amount compensate for the larger volume.
Why the Lemonade, Not Just Hot Water?
The lemonade base is what makes this different from a regular honey mint tea. It adds a tart, citrus-forward brightness that cuts through the sweetness of the honey and rounds out the peach in the Tranquility tea. The acidity of the lemonade also balances the slightly floral, grassy notes in the green tea.
At Starbucks, the lemonade is heated separately and then combined with hot water in a specific ratio — the 50/50 split is precise enough that baristas are trained on it. At home, warming them together in a mug works the same way.
The Origin Story
Around 2016, customers started ordering a custom drink off-menu: two Teavana bags (Jade Citrus Mint and Peach Tranquility), steamed lemonade, honey, and hot water. Baristas wrote down the build to keep up with demand, and the drink picked up the nickname “Medicine Ball” because people ordered it as a soothing remedy when they had a cold or sore throat.
The drink spread on social media — much of the early buzz traces to a viral 2016 tweet — and customers across the country began asking for it by name. In 2017, Starbucks made it official, adding it to the menu as “Honey Citrus Mint Tea.” The nickname Medicine Ball stuck because it was more memorable than the official name, and baristas still recognize the drink by it today.
Customizations
Extra honey: The default is one honey packet. Two packets makes it noticeably sweeter and more soothing if your throat is genuinely sore.
Peppermint syrup (1 pump): Adds a cooling, menthol-like note that enhances the “cold remedy” feel. Request it at Starbucks for the most common upgrade.
More lemon: Add a lemon wedge to the mug and squeeze it in — the extra acidity sharpens the flavor.
Iced version: Cool the tea after steeping, pour over ice, and top with cold lemonade. Not the traditional version, but refreshing in summer.
Vanilla syrup (1 pump): A subtler customization that adds sweetness without more honey and softens the mint.
More Starbucks Drinks to Make at Home
- Copycat Starbucks Chai Latte — another tea-based drink with a warming spice profile; naturally pairs with a Medicine Ball for a caffeine-free hot drink set.
- Copycat Starbucks Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso — for when you want the Starbucks experience with caffeine.
- Copycat Starbucks Pink Drink — the other viral “secret menu became real menu” item; this one’s iced and acai-based.
