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Do you ever opt for a refreshing Panera lemonade in an effort to minimize your caffeine consumption? Well, do we have some bad news for you.
One TikToker made an unfortunate discovery about her beverage of choice, and the revelation quickly went viral on the app.
Sarah Baus, who uses the handle @sarahebaus on the social media app, offered the warning in a new video shared earlier this month, which she captioned, "@Panera Bread this drink should come with a warning because it’s delicious and will lead to my cardiac arrest."
She jumped right in, alerting viewers, "I have learned something that should be illegal," she began the video frantically. "One hundred percent should be illegal."
Baus sat in the front seat of a car, holding the drink in question and gesturing to it as she went on to explain that it had everything to do with the cup in her hand. She stumbled over her words as she tried to collect her thoughts, flustered over the information she had to share.
The woman works remotely, often from a local location so she doesn't have to pay for a coworking space. The bread company offers free refills while you're there, so she typically ends up consuming four to five of the brand's Mango Yuzu Citrus Charged Lemonades during any given visit.
She knew that the drink contained some caffeine, but it turns out she was getting a lot more than she bargained for.
"I was like, 'Man! When I work at Panera, I feel great. I feel awesome! I get so much done!" she said, but she never tracked why until one day when she and her husband were heading to the drive-thru for one. He's diabetic, so he pulled up the menu on his phone to find out the complete nutritional information.
As it turns out, the regular size of Baus' go-to contains 260mg of caffeine (not to mention 82g of sugar). In comparison, an espresso, according to Baus, contains 63mg of caffeine (USA Today reports that a shot of espresso typically contains anywhere between 29mg and 100mg).
That means that Baus is drinking the approximate equivalent of 16.5 to 20.5 shots of espresso every time she works at Panera. Meanwhile, experts recommend you keep your caffeine consumption to under 400mg a day.
"I don't drink coffee. I don't have caffeine very much…I thought!" she continued, explaining how unused to caffeine she is. "I feel like the Hulk!"
Some of the commenters could commiserate, while others were shocked she hadn't been able to tell how much of the stimulant the drink contained based on the way she presented the information.
"yeah i drank 3 of those and actually thought it was my last day on earth," one viewer shared.
"That’s why they call it super charged lemonade lmao," another explained, but, as Baus replied, it's more like "Super DUPER charged lemonade."
"I can't believe you havent been having caffeine withdrawals on non-Panera days😂," someone else said.
"You: It has caffeine me: you don’t say 💀," another commented.
One suggestion as made from a Panera employee to "mix it and do half charged lemonade/ regular lemonade or bubbly lime water," with Baus later confirming, "Yeah Ive started doing 3/4 water, 1/4 mango yuzu haha."
That's probably for the best!