Starbucks Medicine Ball Tea - Cheaper At Home - Good Cheap Eats

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Feeling under the weather? Brew a cup of this deliciously soothing Medicine Ball Tea Recipe. It’s cheaper than buying it at Starbucks and so much better for you.

Now that it’s time to Stock Up on Flu Season Pantry Staples, make sure you add the ingredients for this copycat Starbucks Medicine Ball to your list while you’re loading up on stuff to make Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe. It’s just the ticket for those puny-feeling days.

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Sore throat? Cough? Sniffles?

The cold and flu season can really wreak havoc on your body. And mess with your appetite. A cup of coffee no longer sounds or tastes as appealing as it does when you’re well, does it?

That’s when you need something hot, delicious, and soothing. Bone broth or chicken stock often fits the bill, but sometimes you want something a little sweet, not savory. That’s where the Starbucks Medicine Ball comes in.

Starbucks Medicine Ball? What’s that?

A few years ago when my husband was fighting off the grunge, he walked into the Starbucks at his work — yes, his work has its own Starbucks — and the manager asked if he’d like a “Medicine Ball”.

He enjoyed it so much, he did some research on what it included so that we could make our own Starbucks Medicine Ball at home.

No way we were spending four bucks a pop, people! The result has been a go-to tea recipe that serves us well whenever we’re feeling a little less than our best.

Why Make This

It tastes great! I’ll be honest, I didn’t see the big deal at first. People have added honey and lemon to their tea for eons! And our family in particular has made Hot Lemonade (lemon juice, honey, and hot water) for colds for 20+ years. However, I think the trick with Starbucks Medicine Ball is the combination of citrus, mint, and fruity flavors, something akin to my Lime-Mint Coolers (Non-Alcoholic Mojitos), which are super good in hot weather. This is the cold weather alternative.

It could promote faster healing. Green tea and honey both have anti-inflammatory properties, so there could be some reasoning in the restorative benefits of this type of drink besides just soothing your sore throat. Additionally, drinking a Starbucks Medicine Ball Tea can help hydrate you, and the lemon juice provides vitamin C which can also promote wellness.

It’s cheaper than at Starbucks! I recommend you make your own Medicine Ball Tea at home rather than buying it at the shop. It’s cheaper, easier, and contains less sugar; plus you can drink as much as you want.

Ingredients

A homemade Starbucks Medicine Ball comes down to these basic ingredients plus hot water:

2 Kinds of Tea – You’ll need mint green and a fruity herbal variety of tea. You can use three separate bags (peppermint, green, and fruit) or you can mix and match these however you like. If you’ve got a mint green tea that you like and a fruity herbal tea you like, you’re set. Experiment to see what you like best. Obviously, the fewer tea bags you can swing, the cheaper your cup will be.

For the record, Starbucks uses Teavana Jade Citrus Mint and Peach Tranquility teas.

Hot water – An electric water kettle is super handy for heating water quickly.

Honey – Get the brand that you like the best, but don’t omit it. The honey accents the peppermint and citrus flavors in a way that sugar or other sweeteners won’t.

Lemon juice – You can use freshly squeezed juice or bottled juice, whichever you like. We’ve used fresh Meyer lemons as well as organic bottled lemon juice and not noticed a big difference. If you use fresh lemons, remember that you can freeze lemon juice if you’ve got extra.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here’s how to make a Starbucks Medicine Ball yourself for less at home:

The process is super simple:

• Brew the teas in a big mug or travel cup, 3 to 5 minutes, according to taste.
• Add lemon juice and honey to taste.
• Stir well and enjoy!

FAQs

How to order a medicine ball tea at Starbucks?

This soothing beverage goes by a number of names: Starbucks medicine ball, sick tea, honey citrus mint tea, cold buster, etc. Thankfully, you don’t need to know any magic spells or name combinations. What was once a customer special order and then a secret menu item, is now a regular item on Starbucks official menu.

What is a Medicine Ball (or Honey Citrus Mint Tea) at Starbucks?

At Starbucks a Medicine Ball consists of: 1 Teavana Jade Citrus Mint green tea bag, 1 Teavana Peach Tranquility herbal tea bag, 2 honey packets, ½ hot water, ½ steamed unsweetened lemonade. There is debate among baristas if there are shots of peppermint syrup added, but this is the basic recipe.

Is Starbucks Medicine Ball Tea good for you?

The tea soothes sore throats and helps hydrate. Making it at home allows you to control the amount of sweetener included. Honey and green tea are both purported to be anti-inflammatories and lemon has vitamin C, so the tea may bring some health benefits as well.

Recipe Costs

Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.

• Teavana tea bags – $0.76
• honey – $0.22
• lemon – $0.15

While your prices may vary depending on where you shop and which teas you ultimately choose, you can expect to pay somewhere around $1.13 per homemade cup! So much cheaper than a store-made Starbucks Medicine Ball!

More Great “Feel Better” Recipes

• Grandma’s Chicken Noodle Soup from Scratch
• How to Make Homemade Popsicles
• Slow Cooker Applesauce (only 65 cents/cup!)
• Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (Make-Ahead & Freezer Friendly)

Tell us what you think!

We love to hear your experiences with Good Cheap Eats. Click the STARS on the recipe card or leave a STARRED comment to let us know what you think of the recipe.

Homemade Starbucks Medicine Ball Tea Recipe

Enjoy the delicious, soothing comfort of Starbucks Medicine Ball at home with this easy and affordable recipe. 4.95 from 18 votes Print Pin Rate Course: DrinksCuisine: AmericanDiet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian Prep Time: 5 minutes minutesCook Time: 1 minute minuteTotal Time: 6 minutes minutes Servings: 1 Calories: 131kcal Author: Jessica Fisher Cost: $1

Equipment

• hot water kettle
• mug
• citrus reamer

Ingredients

• 1 bag peppermint green tea such as Jade Citrus Mint
• 1 bag fruity herbal tea such as Peach Tranquility
• 14-16 oz hot water
• 2 tablespoon honey or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice or more to taste.

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Place the tea bags in a large mug or travel cup.
• Fill the mug with water and allow to steep 3 to 5 minutes.
• Remove the tea bags and add the honey and lemon juice. Stir well and adjust for taste.

Video

Notes

About the tea: Combination teas can be used such as green-mint or pomegranate-green tea as well as single flavor bags such as peppermint tea and green tea. Mix and match however you like, as long as the green tea, fruit, and peppermint flavors are represented. Starbucks uses specifically Peach Tranquility and Jade Citrus Mint blends from Teavana in their Medicine Ball Tea. About the lemon: Starbucks adds steamed lemonade to their tea mixture. Lemonade is really just water, lemon, and sweetener. We’ve simplified the process and the ingredients list by using these ingredients separately. If you have lemonade on hand, by all means, feel free to heat it and add to your tea if you like.

Nutrition

Calories: 131kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 22mg | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 12mg Tried this recipe?Tell us what you think! Your reviews help us develop better recipes and give newcomers the confidence to try your favorites. Scroll down to leave a starred comment.

This post was originally published on February 2, 2019. It has been updated for content and clarity.