If you’re active on social media or have been watching the news lately, you may have heard about Panera’s new viral drink: The Charged Lemonade. It’s a cold, sweet drink that comes in three flavors, each with a huge amount of sugar and caffeine.

Panera’s charged lemonade can be made at home by heating a mixture of agave nectar and sugar together. In a separate pitcher add your choice of fresh fruit, syrup, or juice flavors. Combine the flavoring with the cooled agave nectar, add green coffee bean extract, lemon juice, and water, and serve over ice. 

So, how do you make this tasty sugar and caffeine-loaded drink at home? We’re going to break down everything we know about how to make Panera Bread’s Charged Lemonade at home, and how you can do it in five minutes or less. 

How to Make Panera’s Charged Lemonade at Home

What is Panera Charged Lemonade?

Panera’s Charged Lemonade comes in three flavors: strawberry mint, mango, and cranberry. According to Panera Bread, the ingredients in this drink include: 

• Strawberry Lemon Mint –  Agave lemonade, coffee extract, caffeine, strawberry, mint, and lemon flavors, and guarana extract (caffeinated plant). 

• Mango Yuzu Citrus – Coffee extract,  agave lemonade, guarana extract, caffeine, and citrus yuzu and mango flavoring. 

• Fuji Apple Cranberry – Caffeine, coffee extract, agave lemonade, guarana extract, and cranberry and fuji apple flavors. 

The Strawberry Lemon Mint and Mango Yuzu Citrus Charged Lemonades have 260 milligrams of caffeine in a 20-ounce serving, and the Fuji Apple Cranberry has 259 milligrams. To put in perspective just how much caffeine this is, an 8-ounce cup of coffee usually has between 80 and 100 milligrams of caffeine. If you have an 8.4-ounce Red Bull, you’ll get 80 milligrams of caffeine. 

They also come packed with sugar with the Mango Yuzu Citrus flavor holding 82 grams of sugar in a 20-ounce serving while the other two have 65 grams. I’m not here to judge or tell you what to drink, but I will put it out there that according to the American Heart Association, the maximum amount of sugar you should have per day tops out at 36 grams. 

Related: Curious what it’s like to work at Panera Bread, check out our guide here.

Charged Lemonade Ingredients & Equipment

CC: Photo by Francesca Hotchin on Unsplash

To make one of these Charged Lemonades at home, you’ll need a few ingredients and pieces of equipment. I recommend setting these out on your kitchen counter before you begin to make the process as quick and easy as possible.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice

• 1 cup of agave nectar (Amazon)

• ¼ cup of raw sugar or honey 

• 6 cups of water

• 1 to 2 teaspoons of Green Coffee Bean Extract (Amazon)

• Ice

• Flavoring: Strawberries (or strawberry syrup) and mint leaves, apple and cranberry juice or syrup, or mango and orange juice or syrup, depending on the flavor you want

Equipment:

• Pitcher

• Bowl or cup with a muddler (Amazon)

• Measuring cups

• Large pot

• Strainer

• Large spoon

Panera Charged Lemonade Recipe

According to Reddit, this whole recipe starts with an agave lemonade base.

1. To start, get your large pot, mix two cups of water, and bring it to a boil.
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2. Once it boils, add your raw sugar or honey and agave.
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3. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the mixture until the sweetener dissolves and you get a clear liquid.
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4. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.
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5. As the mixture cools, you can get your flavoring ready. If you are making the Strawberry Mint flavor:
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   a. Get 10 to 15 large strawberries (roughly a cup when muddled) and muddle them until they’re mush. Force the strawberries through the strainer and into your pitcher. You can also substitute fresh strawberries for strawberry syrup (Amazon). This won’t taste as good as fresh fruit but is much quicker than muddling and straining.
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   b. Remove the stems from 4 to 6 mint leaves and add them in.
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6. For the other two flavors (Mango Yuzu Citrus & Fuji Apple Cranberry), swap out the strawberries and mint for a cup each of apple and cranberry juice or syrup, or a cup each of mango and orange juice or syrup. If you want the best flavor I recommend going with fresh fruit but if convenience is more important to you then you can use the juices or syrup.
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7. Add the flavoring of your choice to a pitcher with the green coffee bean extract, cooled agave mixture, lemon juice, and water, and serve over ice!

FAQs

CC: Photo by Pedro Forester Da Silva on Unsplash 

1. How Much Caffeine is in a Charged Lemonade?

The caffeine content fluctuates a tiny bit, depending on which flavor you pick. In a 20-ounce serving, the Strawberry Lemon Mint and Mango Yuzu Citrus Charged Lemonades have 260 milligrams of caffeine. In the same size, the Fuji Apple Cranberry comes in at 259 milligrams. 

2. How Many Shots of Espresso are in a Charged Lemonade?

There is roughly 64 milligrams of caffeine in a single shot of espresso, so one 20-ounce Charged Lemonade equals roughly four shots of espresso (256 milligrams of caffeine).

3. What are Panera’s Charged Lemonade Flavors

Currently, Panera offers three flavors for their charged lemonade, including Mango Yuzu Citrus, Strawberry Lemon Mint, and Fuji Apple Cranberry. 

4. How Much Sugar is in Panera Charged Lemonade?

Just like the caffeine content, the sugar content also varies between each charged lemonade flavor, but it ranges from 62 to 85 grams of sugar per drink.

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This article was written by Sara. You can learn more about Sara on our About Page