One woman is going viral for a hysterical video in which she claims one of the chain’s iced beverages turns her “into the Hulk” with how much energy it gives her after consuming it.
TikTok user @sarahebaus posted a video from her car that’s been viewed over 580,300 times on the platform, telling viewers that she’s learned of a drink that “should be illegal.”
She frantically starts off the video explaining that she often works from a Panera to escape her home office and often indulges in the free refills that the chain offers — often having 4 or 5 cups a day. Her drink of choice? The Mango Yuzu Citrus Charged Lemonade.
The woman then goes on to tell a story about how she went through the drive-thru with her husband who has Type 1 Diabetes, which caused him to check the nutritional value of the drink to make sure it was safe for him to consume.
@sarahebaus @Panera Bread this drink should come with a warning because it’s delicious and will lead to my cardiac arrest #panerabread #mangoyuzucitrus #remotework ♬ original sound – sarahebaus
She then shockingly tells viewers that one cup of Mango tea has 260 milligrams of caffeine and compared it to one shot of espresso, which has 63 milligrams of caffeine.
“I don’t drink coffee. I don’t have caffeine very much,” she explained to viewers. “I’m not used to caffeine like that … I’ve decided I’m gonna water them down but Panera who’s gonna create a product with 263 mg of caffeine? Look what you’re doing. I’m dying!”
Naturally, the comments were flooded with horrified viewers, especially those who had similar experiences.
“Yeah I drank 3 of those and actually thought it was my last day on earth,” one viewer joked.
“I had three of those one time, I swore up & down caffeine doesn’t do anything to me,” the user explained. “I was up until 3 am.”
Others expressed their concern for the woman.
“Set the drink down, girl,” one woman said. “You ok?”
“This is so unhinged,” another said alongside a laughing emoji. “Is your heart okay?”
According to Panera’s nutritional information on its website, one 20 oz serving of the drink does in fact contain 260 mg of caffeine, along with 86 g of sugar and 350 calories.
The company also points out that the drink contains as much caffeine as their Dark Roast coffee.
To put that into perspective, the FDA considers 400 mg of caffeine per day a safe amount for an adult to have per day, noting that the average person consumes about 135 mg of caffeine daily — half of one serving of Panera’s drink.
On her Panera “office” days, it appears the TikToker was drinking more than 1000 mg of caffeine a day.
Panera has not yet returned a request for comment.
