What Is the Starbucks Medicine Ball?

The next time someone describes social media trends as fleeting, tell them about the Medicine Ball at  Starbucks — a sweet, citrusy drink that gets its flavor from two teas, steamed lemonade and honey. It began as an off-menu customer creation circa 2016, gaining momentum as fans shared photos of it on Instagram. When the manager of one Starbucks location realized that his baristas were making 20 or more Medicine Balls daily, he posted in the company’s internal messaging system to codify the recipe. In 2017, Starbucks put the drink on its official menu, albeit under a different name: Honey Citrus Mint Tea. It remains popular, and Instagram users continue to post homages nearly 10 years after the drink first amassed internet fame.

Starbucks Medicine Ball Ingredients

The popular beverage gets its flavor from the following ingredients:

• Jade Citrus Mint Tea
• Peach Tranquility Tea
• Steamed Lemonade
• Hot Water
• Honey

Jade Citrus Mint and Peach Tranquility tea bags are steeped in a mixture of half hot water and half steamed lemonade, then sweetened with honey. The two teas provide most of the drink’s flavor. Jade Citrus Mint contains green tea with lemon verbena, lemongrass and spearmint, plus approximately 20 mg of caffeine per 8 ounces. (For comparison, an 8-ounce cup of coffee has around 95 mg of caffeine.) Peach Tranquility is a caffeine-free herbal tea made with peach, candied pineapple, chamomile, lemon verbena and rose hips.

Like many Starbucks orders, Honey Citrus Mint Teas can be customized. Some people swap out one of the teas, request extra honey or add a pump of mint-infused simple syrup.

Starbucks Medicine Ball Caffeine, Sugar and Calories

According to Starbuck’s website and app, the Medicine Ball (now called the Honey Citrus Mint Tea) has 16-25 milligrams of caffeine, 30 grams of sugar and 130 calories when served hot in a Grande (16-ounce) cup. If you’re trying to limit the amount of sugar or calories in your drink, you can customize it to have less (or no) lemonade, customize it to have less honey or order it in a smaller size since the Tall (12-ounce) cup has 20 grams of sugar and 90 calories, instead.

How to Order a Starbucks Medicine Ball In-Store

You won’t see the words medicine ball on any Starbucks menu, so it’s best to order the drink is to use its official name: Honey Citrus Mint Tea. It’s possible your barista will recognize nicknames like Medicine Ball or Cold Buster, another way that Instagrammers referred to the drink in the late 2010s. But the official moniker is the most surefire way to get the exact combination of teas, lemonade and sweeteners that you expect.

If you're standing at a Starbucks counter and suddenly can’t remember the name Honey Citrus Mint Tea, however, don’t fret. "More people say Medicine Ball because that’s how it started," says Deshaun Green, the shift supervisor at a Starbucks location in Tuckahoe, New York. He finds that most Starbucks staffers will confidently make the drink regardless of which name customers call it.

How to Order a Medicine Ball on the Starbucks App

In the Starbucks app, simply search ‘Honey Citrus Mint Tea’ to order — searching ‘Medicine Ball’ or ‘Cold Buster’ won’t return any results. You can also use the Customize button in the app to modify the drink to your taste. For example, to make it less sweet you can request fewer pumps of honey blend syrup or you could request light lemonade (or no lemonade at all).

What Does a Medicine Ball Taste Like?

The Medicine Ball at Starbucks tastes very sweet, even without additional honey or flavored syrups. That's likely due to the lemonade: According to the company's website, 8 fluid ounces of Starbucks Lemonade (or half the liquid in grande-sized Medicine Ball) contains 13.5 grams of sugar. Whether you love that flavor profile or prefer a more-bitter brew is entirely up to you. If your tastes lean toward the latter, but you still want to try a Medicine Ball at Starbucks, ask your barista if they can make one without the honey or with less or no lemonade.

Does a Medicine Ball Actually Help a Cold?

A Starbuck’s Medicine Ball won’t cure a cold, but it’s served warm which can soothe a sore throat, ease congestion and provide comfort when you’re not feeling well. Plus, fluids are essential when it comes to helping your body get well again. If sugar is a concern for you as you’re recovering, consider ordering the Medicine Ball with less (or no) lemonade — or reducing the amount of honey in your drink.

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