A Guide To Starbucks’ Most Popular Green Tea Beverages

If you truly want to enhance your Starbucks experience and knowledge, then it’s essential to look beyond the coffee menu. Starbucks offers a wide selection of green tea beverages that make an ideal pick-me-up for nearly any occasion.

If you’re in the mood a warm green tea beverage, then Starbucks’ Matcha Latte, Jade Citrus Mint, Emperor’s Cloud and Mist, and Honey Citrus Mint are solid options. However, if you feel like having a cold, refreshing drink, then opt for the Iced Green Tea, Iced Matcha Latte, or Matcha Lemonade.

Whether you’re looking to broaden your palate with a complex tea latte or simply want to enjoy a comforting cup of hot green tea, Starbucks has an excellent selection to choose from. Let’s look at the best hot and cold green tea drinks at Starbucks, so that you know exactly what to order next time you’re there.

What Are the Best Green Tea Drinks at Starbucks?

Starbucks

Although Starbucks is primarily known for its coffee, it also boasts a great selection of matcha and green tea offerings.

The tea menu is incredibly versatile, so whether you want caffeinated or decaf, iced or hot, you’re sure to find a tea beverage that will perfectly suit your mood.

If you don’t feel like having any of the green tea drinks on the menu, you can order your own custom matcha and green tea drinks as well.

For instance, you can order iced raspberry green tea, iced green tea guava, vanilla matcha latte, or any other creative combination that sparks your fancy.

The list of the best green tea drinks is a long one, and to help all the Starbucks novices, we’ve divided it into two categories — hot and cold. That way, you can easily choose a drink that best suits your temperature preferences. 

The Best Hot Drinks

As far as hot green tea drinks go, Starbucks primarily uses two Teavana green tea sachets: Jade Citrus Mint and Emperor’s Cloud & Mist.

You’ll also see Starbucks’ Rev Up Wellness Tea, which consists a blend of black, oolong, and green teas. This blend is a special option, and none of Starbucks’ other iced or hot tea beverages labeled as “green tea” are made with it.   

On the other hand, the Mint Majesty doesn’t contain any green tea and is simply an herbal tea.

While Starbucks’ tea selection isn’t as extensive as its coffee one, the menu still has a little something for everyone. Let’s take a closer look at the hot options.

Matcha Latte

If you’re in the mood for a decadent drink, then the Matcha Green Tea Latte is just the right option. The drink is creamy, foamy, flavorful, and made with the perfect amount of sweetener.

It’s topped off with steamed milk, which offers up an excellent taste and gives a delightful mouthfeel. However, if you want to further elevate its flavor, try adding soy milk to this Japanese green tea blend. 

If you want to add a bit of extra nuttiness to the drink, then almond milk will work wonderfully. However, if you just want a simple, ultra-creamy beverage, then it’s best to stick to plain old dairy milk. 

A Matcha Green Tea Latte will give you the warm, cozy, and comforting feeling of a cup of coffee, with significantly less caffeine. One sip of this Starbucks drink and you’ll immediately start feeling relaxed and refreshed. 

Jade Citrus Mint

Mint tea is extremely soothing, and this unique tea blend takes it to a completely different level by subtly incorporating hints of lemon citrus. 

Made with a wonderful mixture of lemon verbena, spearmint, and lemongrass, this organic tea blend doesn’t have any of the grassy taste you would normally expect with green tea. Instead, you’re treated to a flavorful burst of sweetness, citrusy tang, and notes of mint.

Along with being incredibly refreshing and vibrant, this delicious beverage is completely calorie-free. It’s the perfect relaxation beverage for chilly days, especially when you just want to curl up under a blanket at home and sip something warm.   

If you want an extra sweet treat, feel free to add a bit of honey to the Jade Citrus Mint tea as well!

If you’re not up for a trip to Starbucks, you can also enjoy this tea from home with this 24-pack of Jade Citrus Mint sachets (on Amazon).

Emperor’s Cloud and Mist

If you’re looking for a simple, straightforward green tea, then it doesn’t get any better than the Emperor’s Cloud and Mist. The unique tea drink is made with leaves that are grown at 3,500 feet, where it’s particularly misty, earning the drink its name. 

Emperor’s Cloud and Mist is particularly known for its smoky and delicate flavor. It’s naturally sweet as well, making it unlike any of the other traditional green teas that you’re probably used to. 

As such, it’s the perfect option for those who aren’t big fans of the bitterness of green tea but are trying to switch to a healthier diet.

Best of all, this drink only contains 16 mg of caffeine, ensuring you won’t feel too hyper or jittery after enjoying it. 

Honey Citrus Mint

The Honey Citrus Mint tea is a Starbucks underdog, as it’s usually neglected by most customers. But this excellent combination of fruity, minty, and sweet flavors is something that shouldn’t be missed. 

Originally, this tea beverage was only a custom order, but it was ordered by customers so frequently that Starbucks added it to its official menu. 

The drink is a combination of the Jade Citrus Mint tea blend and Peach Tranquility, lending it notes of apple, rose hips, peach, and candied pineapple. A honey blend is also added to sweeten the tea. 

If you’re in the mood for a complete infusion of flavors, then you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything better than the Honey Citrus Mint on the tea menu.

However, keep in mind that since it uses a honey blend, it’s not completely free of calories. 

So, if you want something that’s sweet and low in calories, then this should be your first option. It’s the perfect comfort drink for cold days: The hot tea will completely warm you up, while its citrusy and sweet flavors will remind you of the cool spring that’s soon to come. 

The Best Cold Drinks        

Starbucks cold drinks

All the iced green teas at Starbucks are made using the Jade Citrus Mint tea concentrate. This strong tea concentrate is mixed with a wide range of other ingredients, such as juice, lemonade, and water to make refreshing, revitalizing, and thirst-quenching drinks. 

However, if you only opt for sugar-free drinks, then it’s important to note that iced teas with matcha, juice, or lemonade cannot be sugar-free, as all three of these ingredients already have sugar.

It’s also worth noting that after 2021, Starbucks stopped adding additional sweeter to their iced teas. So, if you like a sweeter iced tea, simply ask your barista to add some liquid cane sugar or choose another sweetener, like Equal or Stevia.  

The next time you’re in the mood for an ice-cold drink that will soothe your soul, try any one of these cold Starbucks’ green tea beverages:

Iced Green Tea

The Starbucks Iced Green Tea is the perfect way to beat a hot summer day.

Made with lemongrass, lemon verbena, and spearmint, it offers a refreshing blend of flavors that will perk you up in no time. And when you add ice, it becomes the ultimate cold treat!

If the flavors alone weren’t enticing enough, you’ll be glad to know that the drink is guilt-free as well; it doesn’t contain any calories. However, if you want to sweeten it, then only a few drops of liquid cane sugar will be enough to seal the deal. 

Iced Matcha Latte 

The Iced Matcha Tea Latte is the ideal solution to an exhausting, hot day. The creamy and smooth matcha is slowly blended with milk and then poured directly over ice. 

This results in a delicious, wonderfully cohesive drink that gives you the perfect amount of sweetness without overdoing it. 

Matcha Lemonade

Starbucks’ Matcha Lemonade is an herbal and refreshing take on its classic summer lemonade. On the surface, it might not seem that lemonade and matcha powder will be a good combination. However, take one sip and you’ll be singing a different tune.

The sweet nuttiness of the matcha perfectly balances out the citrusy, tangy notes of the lemonade, allowing both flavors to perfectly complement each other. 

The lemonade’s citrus flavor is also cooling and refreshing, while the matcha’s herbal flavors subtly round out the drink, making it much more sophisticated than all other typical lemonades and iced teas. 

The only thing that tops the flavor of the matcha lemonade is its lovely green color, which will add to your warm-weather aesthetic. 

Iced Green Tea Lemonade

The simple things in life are usually the best, and Starbucks’ Iced Green Tea Lemonade is no different. A delightful balance of sweet and herbal, the beverage will provide you with just enough energy to help you get through the rest of your day. 

Made with lemonade, ice, and a green tea blend consisting of lemongrass and spearmint, the Iced Green Tea Lemonade offers a perfect mixture of sweetness and tang. 

Instead of one flavor dominating the others, all of them complement each other perfectly, resulting in a drink that’s tart, cool, and the perfect amount of sweet.

Think of the Iced Green Tea Lemonade as a healthier, laid-back version of southern-style sweet tea. It isn’t as caffeinated or hyper-sweet as sweet tea, but it more than satisfies the craving for a sweet cold beverage that usually hits you on a particularly warm day. 

Iced Peach Green Tea

If you love having a cold, fruity beverage on a hot summer day, but want something other than a children’s juice box, then Starbucks’ Iced Peach Green Tea is the ideal choice. It’s fragrant and herbal, and offers a sweet fruity flavor, making it taste wonderfully natural and refreshing. 

Its key ingredients include ice, a peach juice blend, and a green tea blend, all flavors that work great together and create a sweet, balanced drink.

The best Starbucks drinks are usually those that have minimal but carefully blended ingredients, and this Iced Peach Green Tea is a perfect example of that. 

Its green tea blend offers a unique and refreshing flavor, while the peach juice is noticeable and sweet without being overpowering or artificial.    

Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonade

If you love the Iced Peach Green Tea but want to add a bit more flavor, then mixing in lemonade will do the trick.

Instead of diminishing any of the bold flavors of the peach and green tea, the lemonade enhances them and adds some more tartness to the beverage as well. 

Teavana Sparkling Peach Nectarine Green Tea

This vibrant drink allows you to turn the lovely flavors of green tea up a notch without sacrificing any of its health benefits. While this beverage is completely free of added sugars, this doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have any flavor. 

In fact, the beverage boasts notes of apples, licorice root, hibiscus, peach, rose hips, and lemongrass.

The fruity and floral notes of all these flavors add a natural sweetness to this drink, while the carbonated water adds a bit of fizz, making the beverage incredibly revitalizing. 

Matcha Green Tea Frappuccino

Starbucks Cold Drinks

If you’ve ever wanted a milkshake with hints of herbal tea, then the Matcha Green Tea Frappuccino has got you covered. This drink is a fun way to satisfy your sweet tooth and appreciate the flavor of green tea at the same time.  

The green blended beverage will definitely lift your spirits, no matter how bad a day you’re having. 

Its main ingredients include creme frappuccino syrup, milk, matcha tea blend (green tea and sugar), whipped cream, and ice, making it a sweet, special treat that will leave you feeling completely refreshed. 

The Matcha Green Tea Frappuccino is perfect for anyone who prefers the creamy and sugary sweetness of a frappuccino but doesn’t really like the heaviness of all the other flavor options. 

Iced Pineapple Matcha Drink

Spicy, sweet, and creamy, the Iced Pineapple Matcha Drink definitely has it all! Blended with coconut milk and mixed with pineapple ginger syrup, it’s definitely one of the best matcha drinks on the menu — and unlike anything that you’ve ever tasted before. 

However, it’s important to note that you may not always find the iced pineapple matcha drink on the menu. If this happens, simply ask your barista to mix coconut milk, pineapple ginger syrup, and matcha together and you’ll have your very own version. 

Since it’s a frequently requested matcha drink, your barista will know exactly how to make it. 

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