Sunday, December 5th, marked a defining day of my life: the day where, after nearly six long months, I had a Starbucks’ iced peach green tea again.
On Saturday the 4th, my dad rushed home from Starbucks to bring me the joyous news. Alex, he said, you’re not going to believe this. I saw the elusive iced peach green tea today. It’s back!
It’s back. Those words rang in my ears, and it took me a moment to comprehend what he had said. Honestly, I had accepted that this day would never come and put the iced peach green tea chapter of my life behind me. Naturally, I was skeptical, so I did the only thing that would assure me that my favorite drink was, in fact, back: I went on the Starbucks app to check that it was in stock at different local stores. And when I saw that it was, I wept tears of joy.
On December 6th, I rushed to Starbucks at 8 am. When I got there, I practically ran to the counter to order. I’ll take the iced peach green tea, I said excitedly to the barista. Oh, how sweet those words were. I had feared I would never hear them again. Yet here I was, telling the barista the order I hadn’t uttered for what felt like an eternity. I held my breath, waiting for her to respond. What if they don’t have it? What if it was all a dream? When she smiled and asked what else I wanted, I exhaled. It’s back. It’s back.
Once I was handed my drink, I took a minute to admire it. The light orangey color, inviting me to take a sip. So I gingerly brought the venti cup to my mouth, tipped my head back, and drank. And drank. And drank. Stars exploded in my mouth, and for a moment, my eyes were filled with bright, beautiful colors. The iced peach green tea was even better than I remembered.
As happy as I am to have my favorite drink back, I still hold onto the fear that it will disappear once more. If it was gone before, it could certainly be gone in the future. The supply chain issue they were having seems to have resolved itself, at least for now, and I, along with the rest of Starbucks fans, pray it will stay that way.
For now, though, I will enjoy my iced peach green tea.