Best Hot Tea at Starbucks
If you’re trying to find the best Starbucks hot tea drink on the menu, look no further.
Starbucks has an excellent selection of hot teas brewed with Teavana tea sachets, each filled with premium loose tea. My personal favorite is the Earl Grey tea.
In addition, Starbucks offers a handful of really tasty hot tea lattes.
In fact, two of these hot tea lattes make the list of the 13 Most Popular Starbucks Tea Drinks.
Obviously, the number of hot teas at Starbucks isn’t as extensive as their coffee selection.
Nonetheless, Starbucks tea menu has something for everyone.
For instance, the variety of hot tea at Starbucks includes black tea, green tea, herbal tea, matcha green tea, and chai.
To help you find the best cup of Starbucks hot tea, let’s take a quick look at every single hot tea available.
Every Starbucks Hot Tea Drink
Have you ever wondered why Starbucks hot tea is so good compared to other restaurants?
Actually, the reason is two-fold. First of all, every tea is brewed in filtered water. The result is a crisp, full-bodied cup of tea.
Secondly, the loose tea in each Teavana tea sachet has room to expand for lots of rich flavor to be extracted.
Here’s a look at every delicious tea on the menu.
- Earl Grey Tea (brewed)
- London Fog Tea Latte
- Royal English Breakfast Tea (brewed)
- Royal English Breakfast Tea Latte
- Rev Up Brewed Wellness Tea (brewed)
- Organic Chai Tea (brewed)
- Chai Latte
- Emperor’s Cloud & Mist (brewed)
- Matcha Green Tea Latte
- Honey Citrus Mint Tea (brewed)
- Jade Citrus Mint Tea (brewed)
- Mint Majesty (brewed)
- Peach Tranquility (brewed)
Personally, my favorite Starbucks hot tea is brewed Teavana Earl Grey with a little sweetener and a topper of non-fat milk.
By the time I arrive at work a few minutes later, my tea is perfectly steeped, warm and milky. And it has just the kick of caffeine I need to get the day started.
All in all, you can select from eight different flavors of Teavana tea bags at Starbucks, in addition to chai and matcha.
Starbucks Hot Tea Flavors
- Teavana Earl Grey Tea
- Teavana Royal English Breakfast Tea
- Teavana Organic Chai
- Teavana Emperor’s Cloud & Mist
- Teavana Jade Citrus Mint
- Teavana Mint Majesty
- Teavana Peach Tranquility
- Teavana RevUp Brewed Wellness Tea
- Chai Black Tea Concentrate
- Matcha Green Tea Powder
Interestingly, the Honey Citrus Mint tea combines two flavors of tea bags, Jade Citrus Mint and Peach Tranquility.
Additionally, it’s worth noting, the London Fog and Royal English Breakfast lattes are also brewed from Teavana tea bags.
Whereas, the chai and matcha green tea lattes are not.
In fact, the chai latte is a delicious mixture of chai black tea concentrate and steamed milk.
On the other hand, the base of a Starbucks matcha latte is sweetened Japanese green tea powder.
Kinds of Hot Tea at Starbucks
Starbucks has several kinds of hot tea such as black tea, green tea, herbal tea, chai and matcha. All brewed tea is made from individually packaged Teavana tea sachets filled with loose leaf blends. Furthermore, all Starbucks tea contains caffeine except for the herbal blends.
| Black Tea | Green Tea | Herbal |
|---|---|---|
| Earl Grey Tea | Emperor’s Cloud & Mist | Mint Majesty |
| Royal English Breakfast Tea | Jade Citrus Mint | Peach Tranquility |
| Organic Chai | Matcha Powder | |
| Chai Concentrate | ||
| RevUp Brewed Wellness Tea* |
As you can see, Starbucks has tea blends to suit all tastes and caffeine levels.
If you’re interested in the exact amount of caffeine for each tea, be sure and check out this Quick Guide to Starbucks Caffeine-free Tea Drinks.
Starbucks Hot Tea Lattes
I don’t know about you, but as a tea drinker (who doesn’t drink coffee), sometimes I feel downright jealous of all the coffee concoctions on the Starbucks menu.
I mean, some even have whipped cream, drizzles of syrup and crunchy toppings.
My solace is that the brewed Teavana teas have zero calories, unless you add sugar or milk.
That being said, sometimes you just want to indulge in something a little more full-bodied than a brewed tea.
Luckily, Starbucks has four hot tea lattes on the menu.
If you’re not familiar, a Starbucks hot tea latte is half strong tea and half steamed milk. A flavored simple syrup may be part of the latte recipe, as well.
Additionally, you can mix and match any tea bag, syrup flavor and type of milk to create your own signature latte.
Hot Tea Lattes on the Starbucks Menu
- London Fog Tea Latte
- Royal English Breakfast Tea Latte
- Chai Latte
- Matcha Green Tea Latte
| Starbucks Tea Latte | Tea | Syrup | Milk |
| London Fog Tea Latte | Earl Grey | Vanilla | 2% |
| Royal English Breakfast Tea Latte | Royal English Breakfast | Classic | 2% |
| Chai Latte | Chai Black Tea Concentrate | 2% | |
| Matcha Green Tea Latte | Matcha Tea Blend Powder | 2% |
Like all Starbucks drinks, you can customize a tea latte by changing the type of syrup or milk.
Other Hot Tea Drinks at Starbucks
In addition to brewed tea and hot tea lattes, there’s one other hot tea drink on the Starbucks menu, Honey Citrus Mint Tea.
Honey Citrus Mint Tea
Honey Citrus Mint Tea is also known as Medicine Ball Tea. This is because it’s often used to relieve a cold or sore throat.
To make a Medicine Ball, Starbucks brews together Jade Citrus Mint green tea, Peach Tranquility herbal tea, steamed lemonade and Honey Blend syrup.
While I doubt it’s a cure for anything, it does taste good.
Summary of Hot Teas at Starbucks
| Hot Brewed Tea | Hot Tea Lattes | Other Hot Tea |
| Earl Grey | London Fog | Honey Citrus Mint |
| Royal English Breakfast | Royal English Breakfast | |
| Organic Chai | Chai Latte | |
| Emperor’s Cloud & Mist | Matcha Green Tea Latte | |
| Jade Citrus Mint | ||
| Mint Majesty | ||
| Peach Tranquility | ||
| Rev Up |
How to Order Hot Tea at Starbucks
Ordering tea at Starbucks is straightforward. Like all their drinks, you can customize hot tea, too.
For instance, you can add simple syrup for sweetness and flavor.
Honey Blend and Liquid Cane Sugar are popular choices.
Furthermore, if you like a splash of milk in your tea they have several options in addition to dairy milk.
Let’s start with a few Starbucks hot tea basics.
The Basics:
- Hot tea is available in four sizes: short, tall, grande and venti.
- The number of tea bags and amount of syrup depends on the size of the cup.
- A hot cup of tea is simply a tea bag or two plus water.
- You can add sweeteners and a topper (little bit) of milk to hot tea for no additional cost.
- Syrup may cost more.
- Some hot teas can also be ordered as lattes (roughly half tea, half steamed milk) and these cost more than a simple brewed tea.
Sizes of Hot Tea Available
| Hot Cup Size | Ounces | Tea Bags | Pumps of Syrup | Scoops of Matcha |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Tall | 12 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Grande | 16 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Venti | 20 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
Types of Milk Available
| Milk at Starbucks | Milk Alternatives |
|---|---|
| Non-fat | Almond |
| 2% (default if you don’t specify type) | Coconut |
| Whole | Soy (U.S.) |
| Oatly Oat |
Hot Tea Tips from a Starbucks Barista
- When you order tea (or any drink at Starbucks) first tell the barista the size so they can grab the appropriate cup and write your order on it.
- If you like to add your own topper of cream or milk be sure and ask the barista to leave a little extra room at the top.
- If you order a cup size that comes with one sachet, you can order a second sachet on the side for just a little more.
- If you order a size that comes with two sachets, you can ask the barista to only put one in the water and give the second one to you on the side. Just say, “one in, one out.” Your barista should understand.
- If you don’t specify the type of milk to use, 2% milk is the default.
- If you drink your hot or iced brewed tea (or hot/iced brewed coffee) inside the cafe (not drive-thru) you can get a refill for free with your Starbucks account or for a little more without.
- Here’s a little known secret: if you order any type of drink inside the cafe, you can get a “refill” of brewed tea or brewed coffee
for free with your Starbucks account or for a little more without.
For additional tips and lesser-known secrets, take a look at: 10 Starbucks Hot Tea Secrets You Should Know.
More Starbucks Tea Guides
On a final note, let me just say I’m so glad Starbucks has all kinds of hot tea, not to mention iced tea too.
Even though I live in the Chicago area there just aren’t many tea shops around and really none that I know of where you can sit down and enjoy a cup of hot tea with your coffee-drinking friends. So thank you Starbucks.
If you’re wondering what Starbucks has on tap for iced tea, be sure to take a look at my other Starbucks tea guide: Best Iced Tea at Starbucks, A Barista’s Guide.
For a list of all tea lattes, hot and iced, check out: A Barista’s Guide to Starbucks Tea Latte Menu
And if you love chai like me, be sure to give this post a glance: A Barista’s Guide to Starbucks Chai Drinks
Finally, matcha and green tea drinkers will be interested to read: A Barista’s Guide to Starbucks Matcha and Green Tea Drinks
