Starbucks Green Tea Lemonade is one of those iced drinks that tastes more complicated than it really is. It combines lightly grassy green tea with cooling mint, citrusy herbs, sweet-tart lemonade, and plenty of ice for a drink that is bright, refreshing, and easy to recreate at home.
The key to making a good copycat version is understanding that the Starbucks drink is not simply plain green tea mixed with lemon juice. The current Starbucks ingredient list describes an infusion made with a blend of green teas, spearmint, lemon verbena, lemongrass, and natural flavor. That tea is then combined with lemonade.
You do not need to duplicate a proprietary tea blend exactly to make a convincing homemade version.
A good green tea plus a little spearmint and lemongrass gets you surprisingly close, while optional lemon verbena adds another layer of citrusy herbal flavor. Mix the chilled tea with lemonade, shake or stir it vigorously with ice, and you have a refreshing café-style drink that you can make sweeter, tarter, stronger, or lighter depending on your preference.
🍋 Green Tea Lemonade at a Glance
Servings: 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Steeping time: About 3 minutes
Chilling time: 30–60 minutes
Total time: About 45 minutes
Caffeine: Yes
Best served: Very cold over ice
🍵 Ingredients
- 4 green tea bags
- 1 teaspoon dried spearmint or 1 spearmint tea bag
- 1 teaspoon dried lemongrass
- 1 teaspoon dried lemon verbena, optional
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 cups chilled lemonade
- Ice
🍋 Easy Shortcut Version
If you want the simplest possible version, use:
- 4 green tea bags
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 cups lemonade
- Ice
You will lose some of the minty and citrus-herbal character of the Starbucks tea blend, but you will still have a very good green tea lemonade.
For many home kitchens, this is the version I would make most often.
🌿 What Is in Starbucks Green Tea Lemonade?
Starbucks currently describes its Iced Green Tea Lemonade as green tea blended with mint, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and lemonade, shaken with ice.
The official ingredient list breaks the drink into two main components.
The tea infusion contains:
- Water
- A blend of green teas
- Spearmint
- Lemon verbena
- Lemongrass
- Natural flavor
The lemonade contains:
- Water
- Lemon juice
- Sugar
- Lemon oil
That ingredient list gives us a much better starting point for a copycat recipe than simply using one generic green tea bag and adding lemon.
The exact proportions used by Starbucks are proprietary and can also vary with customization, so this homemade recipe is inspired by the current flavor profile rather than claiming to reproduce an exact commercial formula.
🍵 What Green Tea Should You Use?
You do not need an expensive green tea for this recipe.
In fact, a relatively straightforward green tea works best because lemonade, mint, and citrus herbs are all going to contribute noticeable flavor.
Good choices include:
- Basic Chinese green tea
- Sencha
- Gunpowder green tea
- Green tea bags
- Mild green-tea blends
Avoid using your rarest delicate green tea. The subtle nuances that make an expensive tea special may disappear once lemonade and ice are added.
A reliable everyday green tea is ideal.
If you want to explore the differences between styles, see our Guide to Green Tea Types.
🌱 Why Add Spearmint?
Spearmint is one of the herbs listed in Starbucks’ current green tea infusion.
It contributes a light, cooling freshness without making the drink taste like peppermint candy.
For four servings, about:
- 1 teaspoon dried spearmint
is enough.
You can also use one plain spearmint tea bag.
If using fresh spearmint, try 6–8 lightly bruised leaves and remove them after a few minutes.
You want the mint to support the green tea and lemonade rather than dominate the pitcher.
🌾 Why Add Lemongrass?
Lemongrass adds a fresh citrus aroma without adding more acidity.
That is useful because lemonade already contributes plenty of tart lemon flavor.
Dried lemongrass works well and is easy to keep in the pantry.
Use approximately:
- 1 teaspoon dried lemongrass
for this recipe.
If your lemongrass is very finely cut or strongly flavored, start with slightly less.
🍃 What Is Lemon Verbena?
Lemon verbena is an aromatic herb with a clean lemon fragrance.
It adds another layer of citrus character without making the drink more sour.
Starbucks lists lemon verbena in its current green-tea infusion, but this ingredient is completely optional for a home recipe.
If you have it, add:
- About 1 teaspoon dried lemon verbena
If you do not have it, simply leave it out.
Do not postpone making the drink because you cannot find one specialty herb.
Green tea, spearmint, lemongrass, and lemonade will still create an excellent result.
🌡️ Don’t Brew Green Tea With Aggressively Boiling Water
Green tea is usually more delicate than black tea.
Water that is too hot can pull out excessive bitterness and astringency, which becomes even more obvious once acidic lemonade is added.
For this recipe, aim for water around:
170–180°F (77–82°C)
If you do not have a thermometer, bring the water to a boil and allow it to cool briefly before pouring it over the tea.
Different green teas have different ideal temperatures, so follow the package instructions when they provide more specific guidance.
Our Perfect Temperature for Brewing Green Tea explains this in more detail.
⏱️ Don’t Oversteep the Tea
Steep the green tea for approximately:
2–3 minutes
Then remove the tea bags or strain the loose leaves.
Do not leave green tea steeping for ten minutes just because the finished drink will contain ice.
That often gives you bitter tea rather than pleasantly strong tea.
For a stronger lemonade, use more green tea, not an excessively long steep.
This recipe already uses four tea bags in only two cups of water because we are deliberately making a tea concentrate.
🍵 How to Make the Green Tea Concentrate
Heat 2 cups water to around 175°F.
Add:
- 4 green tea bags
- 1 teaspoon spearmint
- 1 teaspoon lemongrass
- 1 teaspoon lemon verbena, if using
Steep for approximately 3 minutes.
Remove the green tea bags.
If using loose herbs, strain them out as well.
Taste the concentrate.
It should seem stronger than an ordinary glass of green tea because it will eventually be diluted with lemonade and ice.
Allow the tea to cool.
🍋 Add the Lemonade
Once the tea has cooled, combine:
- 2 cups green tea concentrate
- 2 cups chilled lemonade
Stir thoroughly.
Taste before adding anything else.
Different lemonades vary enormously.
Some are very sweet.
Others are extremely tart.
That means your perfect tea-to-lemonade ratio may not be exactly 1:1.
Think of equal parts as the starting point rather than an unbreakable rule.
🧊 Chill Before Serving
For the best flavor, refrigerate the combined green tea lemonade for at least:
30–60 minutes
until thoroughly chilled.
This reduces the amount of ice that melts as soon as you pour the drink.
You can certainly make the drink immediately and pour it over ice, but warm tea will dilute itself quickly.
A cold pitcher produces a stronger and more refreshing drink.
🥤 How to Serve It Starbucks-Style
Fill a tall glass generously with ice.
Pour in the chilled green tea lemonade.
For a café-style finish, shake one serving with ice in a cocktail shaker or tightly sealed drink shaker for several seconds.
Then pour the entire mixture into the glass.
Shaking:
- Chills the drink quickly
- Distributes the tea and lemonade evenly
- Adds a little aeration
- Gives the drink that familiar freshly shaken iced-tea feeling
You do not need a shaker, though.
A vigorous stir works perfectly well.
🍋 How to Make Homemade Lemonade
Store-bought lemonade is the fastest option, but homemade lemonade gives you complete control over sweetness and acidity.
For approximately 2 cups, combine:
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1½ cups cold water
- ¼–⅓ cup sugar
Stir until the sugar dissolves.
Taste.
Add additional water if it is too tart or additional sugar if you prefer sweeter lemonade.
For the closest overall style to the Starbucks drink, you want lemonade that is sweet enough to soften the green tea but still clearly tart.
🍯 Can You Use Honey Instead of Sugar?
Yes, although the flavor will change.
Honey has its own floral character, while white sugar is relatively neutral.
If making homemade lemonade with honey, dissolve the honey in a little warm water before mixing it with cold lemon juice.
Start with:
- 3 tablespoons honey
and adjust to taste.
A lightly flavored honey generally works better than something extremely dark or assertive.
🍁 Can You Use Maple Syrup?
You can, but maple syrup moves the recipe away from the familiar Starbucks flavor.
If you enjoy the combination, start with about:
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup per glass
and adjust.
For a classic copycat, ordinary lemonade sweetened with sugar will taste more familiar.
🧃 Which Store-Bought Lemonade Works Best?
Use lemonade you already enjoy drinking.
A balanced lemonade works better than something extremely syrupy.
If your lemonade is very concentrated or sweet, use:
- ⅓ lemonade
- ⅔ tea
instead of equal parts.
If it is unusually tart, add a little simple syrup.
The advantage of making this drink at home is that the proportions are completely adjustable.
⚖️ The Best Tea-to-Lemonade Ratio
Start with:
1 part strong green tea to 1 part lemonade
Then adjust.
For a more tea-forward drink:
2 parts tea to 1 part lemonade
For a sweeter, more citrus-forward drink:
1 part tea to 1½ parts lemonade
There is no single perfect ratio because both tea strength and lemonade sweetness vary.
The official Starbucks drink can also be customized, so thinking in ratios makes more sense than chasing an imaginary universal formula.
🍋 Make It Less Sweet
For a less-sweet green tea lemonade, try one of these approaches:
- Use unsweetened homemade lemonade.
- Reduce the amount of sugar in homemade lemonade.
- Increase the green tea proportion.
- Add sparkling water.
- Use extra lemon juice and less sweetener.
A simple ratio of:
- 2 cups green tea
- 1 cup lemonade
- 1 cup cold water
creates a noticeably lighter pitcher.
🍯 Make It Sweeter
If your lemonade is tart or you prefer the café drink sweeter, use simple syrup rather than trying to stir granulated sugar into a cold pitcher.
To make simple syrup, combine equal amounts:
- Sugar
- Water
Heat gently until the sugar dissolves.
Cool and refrigerate.
Add a teaspoon or tablespoon at a time until the drink tastes right.
🍃 Can You Use Plain Green Tea?
Absolutely.
The easiest homemade version is simply:
- Strong brewed green tea
- Lemonade
- Ice
The spearmint, lemongrass, and lemon verbena bring the flavor closer to Starbucks’ current ingredient profile, but none is essential to making a refreshing green tea lemonade.
If your pantry contains only green tea bags and lemonade, make the drink.
It will still be good.
🌿 Can You Use Mint Tea With Green Tea?
Yes.
If dried spearmint is hard to find, steep:
- 4 green tea bags
- 1 spearmint herbal tea bag
together.
Remove both after about three minutes.
This is probably the easiest supermarket shortcut for getting closer to the herbal character of the Starbucks version.
Check that the mint tea is actually spearmint if you want a softer flavor.
Peppermint produces a stronger cooling sensation.
🌾 Can You Use Lemongrass Tea Bags?
Yes.
One lemongrass tea bag can replace loose dried lemongrass.
If you find a caffeine-free herbal tea containing:
- Spearmint
- Lemongrass
- Lemon verbena
you can combine one bag of that blend with your green tea.
That can be easier than purchasing three separate dried herbs.
🍑 Make Peach Green Tea Lemonade
Starbucks also currently sells an Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonade.
For a homemade peach version, add:
- ½–1 cup peach juice or peach nectar
to the pitcher.
Reduce the regular lemonade slightly so the drink does not become too sweet.
A good starting pitcher is:
- 2 cups strong green tea
- 1½ cups lemonade
- ½ cup peach juice
Taste and adjust.
Fresh peach puree can work too, but the finished tea will be less clear.
🍓 Strawberry Green Tea Lemonade
Mash or puree:
- ½ cup fresh strawberries
and stir them into the lemonade.
Strain if you prefer a smoother drink.
Combine with green tea and ice.
Strawberry adds both sweetness and acidity, so taste before adding extra sugar.
🍊 Orange Green Tea Lemonade
Replace about one-quarter of the lemonade with fresh orange juice.
For four servings:
- 2 cups green tea
- 1½ cups lemonade
- ½ cup orange juice
The orange softens the sharp lemon flavor and gives the drink a sweeter citrus profile.
🌿 Mint Green Tea Lemonade
For a more herbal drink, add fresh mint to the pitcher while it chills.
Lightly bruise:
- 8–10 spearmint leaves
and add them to the cooled tea lemonade.
Taste after 15–30 minutes.
Remove the leaves when the mint flavor is strong enough.
Leaving large amounts of mint in the pitcher overnight can make the flavor too dominant.
🫚 Ginger Green Tea Lemonade
Fresh ginger adds a warm, spicy note.
Add:
- 3–4 thin slices fresh ginger
to the hot tea after removing the green tea bags.
Let it infuse for around 5 minutes.
Remove the ginger, cool the tea, and continue with the lemonade.
This version works particularly well when the lemonade is fairly tart.
🫧 Sparkling Green Tea Lemonade
For a lighter fizzy version, combine:
- 2 cups strong green tea
- 1 cup lemonade
- 1 cup sparkling water
Add the sparkling water immediately before serving.
Stir gently so you do not knock out all the carbonation.
This is especially refreshing at a summer tea party.
🧊 Make Green Tea Ice Cubes
If you hate diluted iced drinks, make extra green tea and freeze it.
Pour cooled tea into an ice-cube tray.
Once frozen, use those cubes in your green tea lemonade.
As the cubes melt, they add more tea instead of plain water.
This trick is particularly useful when taking the drink outdoors on hot days.
🍋 Make Lemonade Ice Cubes
You can do the same thing with lemonade.
Freeze lemonade in an ice tray and add a few cubes to each glass.
As they melt, the drink becomes slightly more lemony rather than watery.
For a party, a mixture of green-tea cubes and lemonade cubes looks especially nice in a clear pitcher.
🧊 Can You Cold Brew the Green Tea?
Yes.
Combine green tea with cold water and refrigerate for several hours.
Cold brewing generally produces a softer and less astringent tea.
However, if you want the herbal flavors from lemongrass, mint, and lemon verbena to extract quickly, hot brewing is more convenient.
For this particular copycat, I prefer making a hot concentrate and chilling it.
⚡ Does Starbucks Green Tea Lemonade Have Caffeine?
Yes.
The caffeine comes from the green tea.
Starbucks currently lists approximately 25–30 mg of caffeine in a grande 16-ounce Iced Green Tea Lemonade.
That amount is an estimate and can vary with preparation and customization.
Your homemade version will also vary according to:
- Type of green tea
- Number of tea bags
- Steeping time
- Serving size
- Tea-to-lemonade ratio
Spearmint, lemongrass, lemon verbena, lemonade, and sugar are not the primary caffeine sources.
🌱 Can You Make It Caffeine-Free?
You cannot make true green tea caffeine-free because green tea naturally contains caffeine.
However, you can make a similar lemonade with a caffeine-free herbal base.
Try:
- Spearmint
- Lemongrass
- Lemon verbena
without the green tea.
Brew the herbs, chill the infusion, and combine it with lemonade.
The drink will not taste exactly like Starbucks Green Tea Lemonade, but it will retain much of the fresh herbal-citrus character.
Decaffeinated green tea is another option if you simply want less caffeine rather than none.
🍋 Is the Starbucks Version Very Sweet?
Starbucks currently lists a grande 16-ounce Iced Green Tea Lemonade at around 50 calories and 11 grams of sugar.
The actual nutritional content of a customized drink may differ.
At home, you control the sweetness entirely.
That is one of the strongest reasons to make it yourself.
Use less lemonade for a lighter drink or make homemade lemonade with less sugar.
🧋 Can You Add Boba?
Yes, although it turns the drink into a very different style of beverage.
Cook tapioca pearls according to the package directions.
Sweeten them lightly with simple syrup.
Add about:
- ¼ cup cooked boba
to the bottom of a tall glass.
Add ice and green tea lemonade.
Serve with a wide straw.
For detailed boba instructions, see our Brown Sugar Boba Milk Tea Recipe.
🎉 Make Green Tea Lemonade for a Party
This recipe doubles easily.
For approximately eight servings, use:
- 8 green tea bags
- 2 teaspoons spearmint
- 2 teaspoons lemongrass
- 2 teaspoons lemon verbena, optional
- 4 cups hot water
- 4 cups lemonade
- Plenty of ice
Brew the tea concentrate, cool it, add the lemonade, and refrigerate.
Do not add ice to the pitcher until serving time.
Otherwise, the melting ice will gradually water down the entire batch.
🧺 Take It on a Picnic
Prepare and chill the green tea lemonade before leaving home.
Carry it in:
- An insulated bottle
- A tightly sealed pitcher
- A beverage container kept in a cooler
Bring the ice separately if possible.
Fresh mint and lemon garnishes can also be transported separately and added when serving.
Keeping the drink cold gives you better flavor and is especially important when fresh fruit has been added.
🫙 Can You Make It the Night Before?
Yes.
This is an excellent make-ahead drink.
Brew the tea concentrate, mix it with lemonade, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
If using fresh mint as an additional infusion, remove the leaves once the flavor is strong enough instead of leaving them in the pitcher indefinitely.
Add:
- Ice
- Lemon slices
- Fresh herbs
immediately before serving.
❄️ How Long Does Homemade Green Tea Lemonade Last?
Store it in a clean, covered container in the refrigerator.
For the best flavor, drink it within a few days.
The fresh green-tea flavor gradually fades over time, so this is not a recipe I would prepare a week in advance.
If you add fresh fruit or herbs, remove them after they have infused rather than leaving them in the pitcher for several days.
😖 Why Does My Green Tea Lemonade Taste Bitter?
The most common cause is overbrewed green tea.
You may have:
- Used boiling water
- Steeped too long
- Used an unusually bitter tea
- Left the tea bags in while the drink cooled
Use cooler water and a shorter steep next time.
If the tea is only mildly bitter, additional lemonade or a little simple syrup may rebalance it.
If it is aggressively bitter, starting over often produces a better drink than adding enough sugar to hide the problem.
💧 Why Does My Drink Taste Watery?
Usually, too much ice has melted into weak tea.
To fix that:
- Make a stronger tea concentrate.
- Chill the drink before adding ice.
- Use tea ice cubes.
- Increase the tea-to-lemonade ratio.
Remember that the tea should taste noticeably strong before it meets the lemonade and ice.
🍋 Why Is My Green Tea Lemonade Too Sour?
Lemons vary substantially in acidity.
Store-bought lemonades also differ.
If your drink is too tart, try:
- Simple syrup
- Additional green tea
- More cold water
- A slightly sweeter lemonade
Make adjustments gradually.
A tablespoon of syrup can change a pitcher more than you might expect.
🍬 Why Is It Too Sweet?
Add more unsweetened green tea.
This is the easiest correction because it preserves the basic tea-and-lemonade flavor.
You can also add:
- Cold water
- Sparkling water
- Fresh lemon juice
depending on the flavor you want.
For your next batch, simply start with a higher tea-to-lemonade ratio.
🧊 Why Shake Green Tea Lemonade?
Starbucks describes the drink as shaken with ice.
At home, shaking is optional, but it does have advantages.
It rapidly chills the drink and mixes the tea, lemonade, and melted ice into a uniform beverage.
Shaking can also add a light layer of tiny bubbles on top.
If you have a cocktail shaker, add one serving with ice and shake briefly.
If you do not, use a jar with a tight lid or simply stir vigorously.
🍽️ What to Serve With Green Tea Lemonade
The tart, fresh character of this drink works well with lighter foods.
Try:
- Cucumber sandwiches
- Chicken salad sandwiches
- Shortbread
- Lemon cookies
- Fruit salad
- Scones
- Almond cookies
- Strawberry cake
- Fresh berries
- Light salads
It is particularly good at an outdoor summer tea because it offers a colder alternative to traditional hot tea.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is in Starbucks Green Tea Lemonade?
The current Starbucks drink combines an infusion of green teas, spearmint, lemon verbena, lemongrass, and natural flavor with lemonade and ice.
What green tea does Starbucks use?
Starbucks currently describes the drink as using a blend of green teas rather than identifying a single retail tea bag on its ingredient page.
Does Starbucks still use Tazo China Green Tips for Green Tea Lemonade?
The current Starbucks ingredient information does not list Tazo China Green Tips. It lists a green-tea blend with spearmint, lemon verbena, and lemongrass.
Can I make it with plain green tea?
Yes. Strong green tea mixed with lemonade makes an easy and delicious version.
What ratio of green tea to lemonade should I use?
Start with equal parts strong green tea and lemonade, then adjust according to taste.
What temperature should I use for green tea?
Around 170–180°F works well for many green teas. Follow your tea’s package instructions when available.
How long should I steep the tea?
About 2–3 minutes works well for this recipe.
Does Green Tea Lemonade contain caffeine?
Yes. Starbucks currently lists about 25–30 mg in a grande 16-ounce serving.
Can I make it less sweet?
Yes. Use more tea, less lemonade, or homemade lemonade with less sugar.
Can I make it caffeine-free?
Use an herbal infusion of spearmint, lemongrass, and lemon verbena instead of green tea, although it will not taste exactly the same.
Can I make it with bottled lemonade?
Absolutely. Bottled lemonade is the easiest option.
Can I make homemade lemonade?
Yes. Lemon juice, water, and sugar are all you need.
Can I make this the night before?
Yes. Refrigerate the tea lemonade without ice and add fresh ice before serving.
Can I add peach juice?
Yes. Peach green tea lemonade is an excellent variation.
Why is my tea bitter?
The water was probably too hot, the tea steeped too long, or both.
🍋 A Simple Café Favorite to Make at Home
Green Tea Lemonade works because the two main flavors balance one another.
Green tea contributes a fresh, slightly grassy backbone.
Lemonade adds tartness and sweetness.
Spearmint cools the drink, while lemongrass and lemon verbena reinforce the citrus aroma without simply adding more lemon juice.
Once you understand that combination, the recipe becomes extremely easy to customize.
Use plain green tea when you want something simple. Add the herbs when you want to move closer to the current Starbucks flavor profile. Make the lemonade less sweet, add peach, top it with sparkling water, or freeze green tea into ice cubes for a drink that refuses to become watery.
And unlike the old version of this recipe, you do not need to track down a supposedly required Tazo tea bag to make it work.
Brew a good green tea.
Add lemonade.
Pour it over ice.
That is the part that really matters.
🔗 Related Articles
- A Tea Enthusiast’s Guide to Green Tea Types
- The Perfect Temperature for Brewing Green Tea
- Tropical Paradise Green Iced Tea: Copycat Panera Green Tea Recipe
- Brown Sugar Boba Milk Tea Recipe
- How to Brew Tea: Water Temperature, Steeping Times & Brewing Methods
- Tea Recipes: Hot Tea, Iced Tea, Lattes, Matcha, Chai & More
📚 Sources & Further Reading
- Starbucks — Iced Green Tea Lemonade
- Starbucks — Iced Green Tea Lemonade Nutrition & Ingredients
- Starbucks — Iced Green Tea Nutrition & Ingredients
- Starbucks — Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonade
- Tea and Herbal Association of Canada — How to Brew Tea
