Where's My Green Tea?

Imagine: It’s early July. You walk into Starbucks after a workout. All you want is your favorite drink: the peach green iced tea. Your interaction goes something like this:

“Hi, I’ll take the peach green iced tea, please.”

“Sorry, we’re currently out of that drink. Is there something else you would like?”

“No problem. I’ll take the Guava iced tea.”

“Sorry, we’re out of that, too.”

Well, this is awkward. I don’t really get any other drinks. I’m not a hot drink person, especially in the summer (fun fact: if you drink something hot in the summer, you are a certified psychopath. Scientifically proven). I don’t like coffee, so getting anything with a hint of coffee is out.

“I’ll take the pink drink then,” I blurt out after a moment. I’m not really a pink drink person, but it was the only thing that came to my mind. I’m slightly upset, but I try to keep the annoyance out of my voice. It isn’t the barista’s fault, and not having my favorite drink today isn’t that big of a deal.

By the evening, I had forgotten about that sub-par Starbucks experience.

The next week, I return to Starbucks. And the exact same interaction happens. Now, this strikes me as odd. To be out of the same two ingredients two weeks in a row… that can’t be a coincidence, can it? Questions whirl in my mind: Is it just the Needham Starbucks that is out of these ingredients, or is it all of them? How soon will the ingredients be back? Will I ever get to taste the sweet peach green iced tea again? How will I get through the school year without it?

So, I do the only logical thing one can do: I go on the Starbucks app and see if any of the other local Starbucks have the peach green iced tea or the guava black tea. Nope. It seems that not a single Starbucks within a hundred-mile radius has them. This is a catastrophe! Next, I confer with Google. Ahhh. It seems as though Starbucks is experiencing a national shortage of certain ingredients. Well, I think, this shortage will probably only last a few more weeks, right?

Wrong. This shortage has been going on for months now, with the shortage of ingredients varying from store to store, region to region. But the Needham Starbucks is missing some necessary items that have to come back, and soon. I mean, we Need ‘Um (get it? Needham, Need ‘Um).

This is a frustrating situation, but please do not take out your (very valid) anger on the baristas. They are doing the best they can with what they have. Literally.

All right, I know this is a tragic article, so I will leave you with a piece of uplifting information: the Needham Starbucks has been renovated… yay!! Hopefully the shortage will be over and I can finally enjoy a good ol’ peach green iced tea.