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A mug of homemade medicine ball tea with a lemon wheel and mint leaves, honey jar and half lemon on an oak table

Starbucks Medicine Ball Tea Recipe, Made at Home With Fresh Lemon and Just 2 Teaspoons of Honey

Prep
3 min
Cook
5 min
Total
8 min
Servings
1 large mug

Green tea, a peach herbal tea bag, fresh mint and a hot lemon-and-honey top-up: the cozy mug people order when they feel run down, made in your own kitchen with the honey measured by you. What honey can and cannot do for a cough, and who should skip it.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cupbrewed green tea, 1 green tea bag, brewed together with the peach bag in 1 cup (240 ml) of hot water; use decaf green tea for a caffeine-free mug
  • 1/2 cupbrewed peach herbal tea, 1 caffeine-free peach herbal tea bag, in the same cup of water
  • 4fresh mint, 4 to 5 spearmint leaves, lightly crushed
  • 1/2 cuphot water, 120 ml, for the lemon and honey top-up
  • 3 tbsplemon juice, freshly squeezed, about 1 small lemon
  • 2 tsphoney, taste first; 1 tsp is often enough
  • 1 slicelemon, thin lemon wheel, to finish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Steep the two teas with the mint. Heat 1 cup (240 ml) of water until it just starts to steam and bubble at the edges, then pour it over the green tea bag, the peach tea bag and the crushed mint leaves in a large mug. Take the green tea bag out after 3 minutes so it does not turn bitter. Leave the peach bag in for 2 minutes more.
  2. Warm the lemon and honey. While the tea steeps, warm the remaining 1/2 cup (120 ml) of water with the lemon juice in a small saucepan, or in a heatproof jug in the microwave, until it is hot and steaming but not boiling. Take it off the heat and stir in the honey until it melts.
  3. Combine, taste and finish. Lift out the peach tea bag and the mint, pour the hot lemon-honey into the mug and stir. Taste. Add a little more lemon if it tastes flat, a drop more honey only if it is too sharp, and float a thin lemon wheel and a fresh mint leaf on top.

Notes

  • Brewing the green tea for 3 minutes, not 5, is what keeps the mug soft. Green tea left too long in hot water turns grassy and bitter, and the honey then has to work twice as hard.
  • Spearmint is gentler and sweeter than peppermint. If peppermint is what you have, use 2 or 3 leaves.
  • Any fruity, caffeine-free peach herbal tea works. Check the box: some peach teas are black tea underneath, which adds caffeine.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving (estimated) : Calories: 55 | Total Carbohydrate: 15 g | Protein: 0 g | Total Fat: 0 g | Sodium: 3 mg

Category: Smoothies & DrinksAuthor: Emma BloomCuisine: American