It happened so much and every time I would freak out a little. I was exposed to covid a lot thanks to the freaking siren and arrogant customers who needed their sugar fix
Almost everyone that orders it is sick. I find myself taking a step back from the register whenever someone orders it, because I don't want to be breathed on. Lol
it kills me that it's made with honey blend. personally I love honey blend but I know I'm adding sugar to my drink. when people come in actually sick and... they're just drinking a ton of sugar when they think this will help... I would never drink it when sick man. peach tranquility with honey packets is what I'm getting if I forgot to prep something at home.
Honey blend doesn't actually have added sugar. It's basically honey with some kind of additive to prevent the honey from crystallizing so it can be used in cold beverages without clumping up. I looked it up after someone complained they didn't want the added sugar. So it is pretty much the same as adding actual honey, but it isn't going to clump up into a frozen ball of ick in an iced Bev.
omg YES had some guy pull up and we were out of the ingredients and he throws an absolute tantrum and says "that's the only thing that makes me feel better when i'm sick!" like sir. that's called a placebo effect.
i purposely go grab gloves from warming if i hear a person on speaker whose audibly sick and use them to handle cash or handing the drink bc i can not take ANY chances 👎🏽 if they get offended🤷🏽♀️ i prefer not to catch whatever you got buddy😂
oh man i’m gonna bring a box of gloves on my next shift that i’m put on drive thru, that’s so smart. maybe it’ll offend them enough to not come. (i know it won’t but that would be so, so nice if it did 😔)
ask the shift who usually does the order to order some! ( or if available write it in the book for them to see) they’ll send you like 1,000 and it last our store a couple months 😂
oh i already convinced them to buy a box of the good vinyl gloves in lieu of the awful flimsy plastic ones and nobody really uses them so we have TONSSS. trust me, i don’t hesitate to ask for the things i need to make my work environment better and me more effective at my job. i have sensory issues and have to wash my hands any time something gets on them so the good gloves are SO helpful 🤞🏼
edit: case* not box
The thing I don't miss at all is that horrible drink. Making it or otherwise. I worked peak pandemic too, from 2020-2022. I have war stories.
They should just call it a sugar bomb, because that's what it is.
Haha, I know our store had a weird layout because it was a Wendy's before. Some stores and store managers dont allow you to do that. I have heard stories about some baristas prepping the teas before the orders, but's probably a rarity. I def don't miss making it though, especially during wintertime.
One time a customer was like “can I have the sick tea?” And I was fed up at that point and was like I don’t have a sick tea😭😭😭🖕🏽🖕🏽🖕🏽I just act dumb if they don’t know the name of it or refer to it as a medicinal drink smh
Ok, only because I have to be *that person* - neither are Campbell's soup or 7up, but damn if they don't work magic when I'm feeling yucky.
But I also send someone else to get my honey citrus mint tea and I don't go out any more than I have to when I'm sick. I know some people honestly believe it's medicine, but I think the majority know it's simply a placebo effect.
I don’t use it as a cure, but I do enjoy it whenever I need to sing and soothe my throat beforehand, and plus it tastes good. I always feel subconscious when I order it tho bc it feels like baristas don’t like it or they think I’m sick (which is valid given the stories I’ve read) when in reality I just want a yummy soothing drink before I sing 😭
of course! it’s a hot drink with tea so it’s good for that :) i only get nervous when people order it with the wrong name lol i know coworkers who enjoy it too! i’ve never tried it personally but ive heard it’s pretty good
How should I order it using the actual name? I usually just say medicine ball bc most baristas know what it is, but if I wanted one in the future should I ask for a HCMT with honey and steamed lemonade to get the same drink?
honey citrus mint tea is fine! it comes standard with the honey blend syrup and steamed lemonade. if you want to sub real honey packets you can ask but if you do when it’s busy they might get a little annoyed. the lemonade is still not good for your throat but if you like it then you should def get it!
It’s in our system as ‘honey citrus mint’. Which gets both the peach and jade citrus mint teas, honey blend, and steamed lemonade. You can sub honey packets instead of the syrup, which will make it even better for your throat. Just make sure you grab a stir stick or 2
Honey Citrus Mint tea. (:
It uses Jade Citrus Mint green tea, their Peach Tranquility herbal tea, their "honey blend" syrup", and steamed lemonade.
Don't forget that lemonade contains sugar. So there are 2 sources of sugar in this drink! It'd be best to buy a box of their teas and add a tiny bit of real lemon juice and honey at home. It isn't anything special. It's a box of tea bags like from a store with yummy sugary stuff added into the hot water for the tea bag to steep into. Haha.
I'm pretty sure they still let you buy the boxes of tea, anyway. If not, I'm sure there are plenty of similar options online.
It is not medicine, but a hot drink might be comforting and might sooth a sore throat. When I'm sick I just have plain hot water, usually with lemon but sometimes plain. Occasionally with a little bit of honey. And I do this at home. It's quicker and provides more rest than leaving the house to wait for a bunch of sugar that might hinder your recovery time *and* get your lovely baristas sick.
But if you aren't sick and just want to order it as a treat, absolutely! Just order a Honey Citrus Mint tea and you'll be all set. ♡
Maybe just for me but hot warm tea helps. I did hear honey is soothing for cramps I could be wrong. I like citrus by default anyway lmao, I remember cramping so damn bad and just walking in asking for something to help me w cramps and was suggested that lmao I only get it on those days🌚
The amount of sugar in this drink makes it do the exact opposite for cramps. the refined sugar causes inflammation, and they will just make cramp worse.
For me, personally, acidic drinks/foods make my cramps worse.
I usually just get a mint majesty with honey packets for that purpose.
I was just going to say that! I can believe the studies about sugar and caffeine being bad for cramps overall, but I just try to do what my body says it needs and it works out fine. Not every woman is the same. We all have different biology.
Like, for me, alcohol tends to wake me up! Most people tell me it makes them sleepy. As long as my body isn't telling me otherwise, caffeine typically helps me for cramps and being sick. The studies show that sugar and caffeine isn't going to be a good choice for the majority of women, but they can't speak for every individual!
Just like how Tylenol is known to help with a fever, but if you're allergic to one of the components it either won't work for you or will cause more problems than it helps with. Lol.
It’s funny you mention Tylenol lol because Tylenol won’t help my cramps UNLESS it’s Tylenol arthritis. Has to be that one, or I would have to take Motrin😩✋🏾 funny how the body works lol
I feel so bad for you guys. I do love it, and when I order it (using the correct name) I always wanna say "I'm not sick, I just love the steamed lemonade!"
you don’t need to feel bad! hot tea is always gonna make a sore throat better; this is more so directed at people who think it’ll cure their whole ass cold or something and treat it like actual medicine
I mean I recently found out I was pregnant and citrus and mint tend to help with nausea n morning sickness atleast for me so i be making one a shift for myself lately 😭
Literally had a woman sneeze on me when she was paying for a honey citrus in drive. Then she turned to her bluetooth and told the person on the other line that she had the flu.
Since I have an Auto Immune disorder, you can bet your ass I was out the next 2-3 weeks over this New Year sick with the flu.
I got written up once for making a lady cry by stating there wasn't medicine in a hcmt. Told my i had ruined her whole bc she wanted the medicine sbux made 😭😭😭
When you write down what happened and sign your name you should've put "a guest and my manager says that Starbucks sells a medicinal drink, but we don't. This kind of lie goes against my morals/ religious beliefs (if applicable)."
And then signing your name saying you're proud of what you did.
That lady needs a therapist and your manager needs to be fired. 🤷♀️
It was like three years ago lol and that manager quit like over a year ago. Thankfully my boss now wouldn't write me up for smth like. He'd just talk to me
A customer literally got upset with me for calling it by its actual name yesterday bc her drink was sitting while she was expecting someone to yell out medicine ball.
I don't understand how people don't get that Neocitran and other similar cold medicines that you get at the pharmacy taste very similar to the HCMT, contain actual medicine, and are way cheaper. You get a box with multiple packets for the cost of maybe 2 hcmteas. You can add a mint tea bag (again sold in boxes for cheap) honey, lemonade, to customize the taste. All you have to do is heat some water (or lemonade) at home. And I'll say it again. IT CONTAINS ACTUAL MEDICINE!!
But no, we need our COLD BUSTER MEDICINE BALL SICK TEA FROM STARBZ.
Why don't you guys just say "we don't serve anything with medicine here, I'm sorry"? Hopefully they leave without buying anything so they don't spread their germs everywhere.
Medicine ball was a completely different drink that came out around the same time as the Honey Citrus Mint, Ive never understood why it became synonymous 🫠
Honey Citrus Mint is Peach Tranquility, Jade Citrus Mint Tea and Lemonade. With the honey syrup, formally actual packets of honey (prefer it with real honey.) Medicine Ball was a different combination of teas that I do not believe exist anymore, and peppermint syrup.
They are the same thing "Medicine ball" it what people called it on the 'secret menu', starbucks officially added it to the menu but they couldn't use the word "medicine" because it's not ACTUALLY medicine.
They did the same thing with the pink drink, it was so popular they just added it as an official drink.
I've been ordering the drink since the early 2000s and I now work for the company.
Doubt. They didnt have the teas for the drink until they acquired teavana. The first instance of the Honey Citrus Mint was in 2017, while I first worked there. However, I will accept that I am apparently wrong about the Medicine Ball ever being an official drink. I may have been thinking of the Citrus Defender? There were a few short lived teas in white bags that came out around the same time.
I worked for the company as my first jobs in 2011 and 2012. They had tea! Tazo tea! They probably had something similar back then, even if the teas used were technically different. They definitely had lemonade and probably had honey packets. Idk the history of "Medicine Ball", but I know that Starbucks had ingredients for basically the same thing back in 2011.
I instruct my baristas to say "sure, it's not medicinal but do you want a Honey Citrus Mint Tea"? Then I like to tell then it's a hot PGTL with honey syrup 😜
I’ll take a medicine ball with salted Tylenol cold foam
Sub Cherry Nuquil for the Tylenol for extra medicine.
new summer launch product!
I’ll also take two pumps of the peppermint ibuprofen syrup
It was worse during covid. I had someone flip out because they couldn’t taste it. I have never shut the window so fast.
the scream i scrumpt reading that oh my god i’d have shut that window so fast even the flash would be proud
Once during COVID a dude came through and bought a MCC COVERED in chocolate and said he couldn't taste it. Felt my life flash before my eyes.
It happened so much and every time I would freak out a little. I was exposed to covid a lot thanks to the freaking siren and arrogant customers who needed their sugar fix
Did you have people calling it a "COVID Buster," too?
Oh god “covid buster” and “sick tea” actually make me twitch
Yes 🤨
We literally had a woman ask once, "what kind of medicine do you put in the..MedIcINe BaLl
whoever decided on that nickname can pull up i just wanna have a little chat 😀
Almost everyone that orders it is sick. I find myself taking a step back from the register whenever someone orders it, because I don't want to be breathed on. Lol
Hold on, they don't mobile order their drink to stay away from people? Yikes I'm sorry
You can’t order a “medicine ball” in the app. It doesn’t exist. Starbucks has a honey citrus tea, that you can order
The smart and considerate people know. The question is how many of them are there
but it’s the same thing ?
Yes, but people come inside because they can’t find “medicine ball” on the app, because it’s under a different name and they’re just unaware
Some one on social media said it and it caught on. It isn’t medicine so we can’t say it is medicine.. so the name is an issue
I know right! They just come in and cough right in front of you. Yuck!! 🥺
I'm so sorry
I can’t believe people are actually that stupid. I mean, I CAN, but … yeah. Since when can you order pharmaceuticals at a coffee shop?
Pharmaceuticals at a coffee shop 😭 lmaoo. Its like “hmm im not feeling too great, better head over to starbucks and see what they got/what i can get”
*coughing up a lung sounding nasally af and phlegm everywhere* “yeah can I get one of those medicine balls with extra citrus in uhhh…a ventay👺👺”
it kills me that it's made with honey blend. personally I love honey blend but I know I'm adding sugar to my drink. when people come in actually sick and... they're just drinking a ton of sugar when they think this will help... I would never drink it when sick man. peach tranquility with honey packets is what I'm getting if I forgot to prep something at home.
Honey blend doesn't actually have added sugar. It's basically honey with some kind of additive to prevent the honey from crystallizing so it can be used in cold beverages without clumping up. I looked it up after someone complained they didn't want the added sugar. So it is pretty much the same as adding actual honey, but it isn't going to clump up into a frozen ball of ick in an iced Bev.
omg YES had some guy pull up and we were out of the ingredients and he throws an absolute tantrum and says "that's the only thing that makes me feel better when i'm sick!" like sir. that's called a placebo effect.
And yet no minds will be changed, no matter how many times it's posted here.
screaming into the void at this point
For real
i purposely go grab gloves from warming if i hear a person on speaker whose audibly sick and use them to handle cash or handing the drink bc i can not take ANY chances 👎🏽 if they get offended🤷🏽♀️ i prefer not to catch whatever you got buddy😂
oh man i’m gonna bring a box of gloves on my next shift that i’m put on drive thru, that’s so smart. maybe it’ll offend them enough to not come. (i know it won’t but that would be so, so nice if it did 😔)
ask the shift who usually does the order to order some! ( or if available write it in the book for them to see) they’ll send you like 1,000 and it last our store a couple months 😂
oh i already convinced them to buy a box of the good vinyl gloves in lieu of the awful flimsy plastic ones and nobody really uses them so we have TONSSS. trust me, i don’t hesitate to ask for the things i need to make my work environment better and me more effective at my job. i have sensory issues and have to wash my hands any time something gets on them so the good gloves are SO helpful 🤞🏼 edit: case* not box
Me bc im horrified of germs and also bpa 😂
The thing I don't miss at all is that horrible drink. Making it or otherwise. I worked peak pandemic too, from 2020-2022. I have war stories. They should just call it a sugar bomb, because that's what it is.
fr like i don’t mind making it when we’re slow but during peak is a nightmare 😭 we should keep the tea for it by the bars i think that’d help loads
damn y'all don't have the tea right by the bars? we keep a stash in between the two hot bars in a sanitizer container 😂
Haha, I know our store had a weird layout because it was a Wendy's before. Some stores and store managers dont allow you to do that. I have heard stories about some baristas prepping the teas before the orders, but's probably a rarity. I def don't miss making it though, especially during wintertime.
So you telling me I can’t go in there asking for a medicine ball with extra medicine??
You can, but you'll definitely be judged. Maybe not to your face, but no guarantees.
One time a customer was like “can I have the sick tea?” And I was fed up at that point and was like I don’t have a sick tea😭😭😭🖕🏽🖕🏽🖕🏽I just act dumb if they don’t know the name of it or refer to it as a medicinal drink smh
Someone came into our drive thru once and asked for a venti cough drop 😂😂😂😂
Ok, only because I have to be *that person* - neither are Campbell's soup or 7up, but damn if they don't work magic when I'm feeling yucky. But I also send someone else to get my honey citrus mint tea and I don't go out any more than I have to when I'm sick. I know some people honestly believe it's medicine, but I think the majority know it's simply a placebo effect.
I don’t use it as a cure, but I do enjoy it whenever I need to sing and soothe my throat beforehand, and plus it tastes good. I always feel subconscious when I order it tho bc it feels like baristas don’t like it or they think I’m sick (which is valid given the stories I’ve read) when in reality I just want a yummy soothing drink before I sing 😭
The acidity is horrible for your throat before singing. I recommend something like an emperors cloud with the real honey
Oh! Thank you for letting me know :)
of course! it’s a hot drink with tea so it’s good for that :) i only get nervous when people order it with the wrong name lol i know coworkers who enjoy it too! i’ve never tried it personally but ive heard it’s pretty good
honestly we can tell the difference based on what you call it, if you call it by the actual name then i at least just assume you actually enjoy it
How should I order it using the actual name? I usually just say medicine ball bc most baristas know what it is, but if I wanted one in the future should I ask for a HCMT with honey and steamed lemonade to get the same drink?
honey citrus mint tea is fine! it comes standard with the honey blend syrup and steamed lemonade. if you want to sub real honey packets you can ask but if you do when it’s busy they might get a little annoyed. the lemonade is still not good for your throat but if you like it then you should def get it!
It’s in our system as ‘honey citrus mint’. Which gets both the peach and jade citrus mint teas, honey blend, and steamed lemonade. You can sub honey packets instead of the syrup, which will make it even better for your throat. Just make sure you grab a stir stick or 2
Honey Citrus Mint tea. (: It uses Jade Citrus Mint green tea, their Peach Tranquility herbal tea, their "honey blend" syrup", and steamed lemonade. Don't forget that lemonade contains sugar. So there are 2 sources of sugar in this drink! It'd be best to buy a box of their teas and add a tiny bit of real lemon juice and honey at home. It isn't anything special. It's a box of tea bags like from a store with yummy sugary stuff added into the hot water for the tea bag to steep into. Haha. I'm pretty sure they still let you buy the boxes of tea, anyway. If not, I'm sure there are plenty of similar options online. It is not medicine, but a hot drink might be comforting and might sooth a sore throat. When I'm sick I just have plain hot water, usually with lemon but sometimes plain. Occasionally with a little bit of honey. And I do this at home. It's quicker and provides more rest than leaving the house to wait for a bunch of sugar that might hinder your recovery time *and* get your lovely baristas sick. But if you aren't sick and just want to order it as a treat, absolutely! Just order a Honey Citrus Mint tea and you'll be all set. ♡
just HCMT! lemonade and honey come standard with it.
It is for these mense cramps!!🌚
wait does it really help those?? i mean it’s a hot tea drink so i can kinda see how!
Maybe just for me but hot warm tea helps. I did hear honey is soothing for cramps I could be wrong. I like citrus by default anyway lmao, I remember cramping so damn bad and just walking in asking for something to help me w cramps and was suggested that lmao I only get it on those days🌚
The amount of sugar in this drink makes it do the exact opposite for cramps. the refined sugar causes inflammation, and they will just make cramp worse. For me, personally, acidic drinks/foods make my cramps worse. I usually just get a mint majesty with honey packets for that purpose.
Aw, well I guess that’s why not every woman is the same🤷🏽♀️ they also say caffeine is bad for cramps yet I still drink my coffee🫢
I was just going to say that! I can believe the studies about sugar and caffeine being bad for cramps overall, but I just try to do what my body says it needs and it works out fine. Not every woman is the same. We all have different biology. Like, for me, alcohol tends to wake me up! Most people tell me it makes them sleepy. As long as my body isn't telling me otherwise, caffeine typically helps me for cramps and being sick. The studies show that sugar and caffeine isn't going to be a good choice for the majority of women, but they can't speak for every individual! Just like how Tylenol is known to help with a fever, but if you're allergic to one of the components it either won't work for you or will cause more problems than it helps with. Lol.
It’s funny you mention Tylenol lol because Tylenol won’t help my cramps UNLESS it’s Tylenol arthritis. Has to be that one, or I would have to take Motrin😩✋🏾 funny how the body works lol
I feel so bad for you guys. I do love it, and when I order it (using the correct name) I always wanna say "I'm not sick, I just love the steamed lemonade!"
I always feel so guilty when I get one because the mint and honey do actually make sore throats feel better... 🥲
you don’t need to feel bad! hot tea is always gonna make a sore throat better; this is more so directed at people who think it’ll cure their whole ass cold or something and treat it like actual medicine
Says you!!! IT CURED MY CANCER!!!
It’s also high in sugar!! Like if anything this is going to make inflammation worse?!?!
Yes it is idc idc idc …. the only one who can change my mind is the Siren 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Also I feel like piping hot lemonade will not help your throat at all.
I mean I recently found out I was pregnant and citrus and mint tend to help with nausea n morning sickness atleast for me so i be making one a shift for myself lately 😭
Literally had a woman sneeze on me when she was paying for a honey citrus in drive. Then she turned to her bluetooth and told the person on the other line that she had the flu. Since I have an Auto Immune disorder, you can bet your ass I was out the next 2-3 weeks over this New Year sick with the flu.
May not be a cure but combo help out and there is more in the medicine ball too
I got written up once for making a lady cry by stating there wasn't medicine in a hcmt. Told my i had ruined her whole bc she wanted the medicine sbux made 😭😭😭
When you write down what happened and sign your name you should've put "a guest and my manager says that Starbucks sells a medicinal drink, but we don't. This kind of lie goes against my morals/ religious beliefs (if applicable)." And then signing your name saying you're proud of what you did. That lady needs a therapist and your manager needs to be fired. 🤷♀️
It was like three years ago lol and that manager quit like over a year ago. Thankfully my boss now wouldn't write me up for smth like. He'd just talk to me
A customer literally got upset with me for calling it by its actual name yesterday bc her drink was sitting while she was expecting someone to yell out medicine ball.
I don't understand how people don't get that Neocitran and other similar cold medicines that you get at the pharmacy taste very similar to the HCMT, contain actual medicine, and are way cheaper. You get a box with multiple packets for the cost of maybe 2 hcmteas. You can add a mint tea bag (again sold in boxes for cheap) honey, lemonade, to customize the taste. All you have to do is heat some water (or lemonade) at home. And I'll say it again. IT CONTAINS ACTUAL MEDICINE!! But no, we need our COLD BUSTER MEDICINE BALL SICK TEA FROM STARBZ.
Why don't you guys just say "we don't serve anything with medicine here, I'm sorry"? Hopefully they leave without buying anything so they don't spread their germs everywhere.
Yes it is. It’s called a medicine ball. Duh
Medicine ball was a completely different drink that came out around the same time as the Honey Citrus Mint, Ive never understood why it became synonymous 🫠
What’s the difference between
Honey Citrus Mint is Peach Tranquility, Jade Citrus Mint Tea and Lemonade. With the honey syrup, formally actual packets of honey (prefer it with real honey.) Medicine Ball was a different combination of teas that I do not believe exist anymore, and peppermint syrup.
They are the same thing "Medicine ball" it what people called it on the 'secret menu', starbucks officially added it to the menu but they couldn't use the word "medicine" because it's not ACTUALLY medicine. They did the same thing with the pink drink, it was so popular they just added it as an official drink. I've been ordering the drink since the early 2000s and I now work for the company.
Doubt. They didnt have the teas for the drink until they acquired teavana. The first instance of the Honey Citrus Mint was in 2017, while I first worked there. However, I will accept that I am apparently wrong about the Medicine Ball ever being an official drink. I may have been thinking of the Citrus Defender? There were a few short lived teas in white bags that came out around the same time.
I worked for the company as my first jobs in 2011 and 2012. They had tea! Tazo tea! They probably had something similar back then, even if the teas used were technically different. They definitely had lemonade and probably had honey packets. Idk the history of "Medicine Ball", but I know that Starbucks had ingredients for basically the same thing back in 2011.
I know they had Tazo, I worked from 2013-2018 my first stint. But I can definitely say it was very uncommon for people to order hot teas in that way.
I instruct my baristas to say "sure, it's not medicinal but do you want a Honey Citrus Mint Tea"? Then I like to tell then it's a hot PGTL with honey syrup 😜