A woman is going viral on TikTok after unknowingly ordering one of Panera’s controversial caffeinated lemonades.
In the video, Krissy (@krissybugs) is seen sipping on a cup of lemonade, and her hand is literally shaking while she holds the cup. Wondering what’s causing the unexpected reaction, she takes a look at the cup, seemingly confirming that what’s in her cup is, in fact, just lemonade.
Krissy walks over to Panera’a’s beverage area to triple-check what’s in her drink. That’s when she figures it out. Her lemonade isn’t “just lemonade.” It’s the chain’s Charged Strawberry Lemon Mint lemonade which the label describes as “Plant-based and Clean with as much caffeine as our Dark Roast coffee.”
“Oh,” Krissy says after learning what she’s actually been drinking. “To be fair I thought the ‘charged’ meant charged with vitamins.”
“I feel like there should be a warning on these,” she adds in the caption.
The video has more than 160,000 views on TikTok.
@krissybugs I feel like there should be a warning on these #panera #fyp #foryoupage #adhd ♬ original sound – 🐝🐞krissy🐛🦋
On the chain’s site, Panera refers to the Charged Lemonades as “the ultimate energy drink guaranteed to charge up your day.” The caffeine comes from a mix of guarana and green coffee extract.
According to the drink label, 20oz of the Strawberry Lemon Mint drink contains 260 mg of caffeine. Compare that to an 8 oz can of Red Bull which has 111 mg of caffeine, and an 8 oz cup of coffee which on average has about 95 mg of caffeine, according to USDA data. With that in mind, a 20 oz charged lemonade from Panera is equivalent to almost two and a half Red Bulls or nearly three cups of coffee.
A healthy adult can generally consume 400mg of caffeine a day without dangerous or negative side effects, the Food and Drug Administration reported.
The Daily Dot previously reported on a Panera customer who, also unaware of the lemonade’s caffeine levels, got four or five free refills throughout the day, amounting to more than 1,000mg of caffeine.
Commenters were equally as surprised as Krissy about the sheer amount of caffeine in the lemonade cup.
“I just learned about this today too, after downing a 40oz cup in less l than an hour. Thought I was gonna die!! Never again,” one person said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Krissy via TikTok direct message and to Panera via email.
