Arguably, drive-thru servers have seen you at your absolute worst. You might be suffering through a hangover, show up to the window in full goblin mode, or find yourself acting inexplicably hangry. But for TikToker Olivia Takau (@oliviatakau17), there’s something worse than all of this: Ordering a medicine ball at Starbucks.
For the uninitiated, Starbucks’ medicine ball is a honey and citrus mint tea. Due to its comforting and vitamin-rich ingredients, it’s widely believed to help with ailments such as colds and the flu. As previously reported by the Daily Dot, it became a secret menu item in 2016 before being added to the real menu the following year. Under the name Honey Citrus Mint Tea, the medicine ball has remained an official Starbucks staple ever since.
In this viral TikTok clip, which has amassed 11.7 million views, Takau seemed to find the whole process of ordering a medicine ball excruciating. In the clip, she visibly cringes her way through asking for the item in the drive-thru.
As she winced her way through the order, on-screen text read, “Ordering a medicine ball will never not be awkward.”
Starbucks didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via email.
Commenters mostly disagreed
However, based on the comments on this TikTok, it looks like Takau is in the minority.
“Why would it be awkward?” one asked.
“It’s only awkward when you make it awkward,” another added.
While a third reassured, “As a former Starbucks worker they know exactly what a medicine ball is no need to feel awkward.”
Takau later clarified why it made her feel awkward in a comment on the post. She explained, “Everytime I order it I just feel like they probably think I’m sick so it makes me feel awkward.”
In fairness, Takau might have been onto something. A further commenter added, “All baristas assume you’re sick when you order that.” However, the majority of commenters, some of whom currently or previously worked for Starbucks, were more concerned about Takau using the right name to refer to the drink.
What’s a medicine ball?
@oliviatakau17 I hope you can feel the awkwardness through your phone screen🫶🏽✨ #fyp #fypシ゚viral #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #fypofficial ♬ original sound – oliviatakau17
“That’s because we don’t serve a medicine ball,” one commenter wrote. “We serve a Honey Citrus Mint Tea,”
While another revealed, “They told Starbucks workers we can’t call it a medicine ball because it doesn’t have medicine in it.”
A further commenter echoed, “Most of us know the medicine ball and don’t have an issue with customers calling it that, but our management can write us up for saying medicine ball.”
With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that some Starbucks workers are more stringent about calling the medicine ball by its proper name, even to the point of refusing service if it is said wrong. So, the anxiety that Takau feels in light of this makes sense.
Takau didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via email and TikTok comment.
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