Are you a fan of Panera Green Tea? Recently an alleged Panera Bread employee revealed the secret formula on Tiktok so you can make a copycat version at home!
Dylan Smith, the Panera employee in question, aka Tiktok user @ohana_trender, gives his take on some of Panera’s most popular menu items including chicken noodle soup, broccoli cheddar soup, iced chai latte, mac and cheese sandwich, and their popular green tea.
His Tiktok channel has had millions of views in recent months as fans of the brand seek to learn the secrets to their great food and drinks. Videos that were originally just posted because friends and family members expressed an interest, have gone viral.
What is Panera Passion Fruit Papaya Green Tea?
Before we dive into the recipe, let’s take a quick look at the ingredients and the nutritional value of Panera’s iced tea.
This is how the drink is described on Panera’s website:
Green iced tea with flavors of passionfruit and ripe papaya.
Panera Website
According to the website, the main ingredient is tea concentrate, and this special concentrate mix includes some of the following ingredients – water, sugar, green tea essence, fruit juice color, natural flavor, plant extracts, and more.
Ingredients
Here is a detailed list of ingredients from the website:
- Water
- Passion Fruit Papaya Flavored Green Tea Syrup
- Water
- Sugar
- Citric Acid
- Brewed Green Tea
- Natural Flavor
- Natural Passion Fruit Flavor
- Green Tea Essence
- Green Tea Extract
- Fruit Juice (color)
- Ascorbic Acid
- Turmeric Oleoresin (color)
- Beta-Carotene (color()
- Papaya Puree
- Water
Nutritional Value
A 20 fl oz serving contains 90 calories. Total carbohydrates are 23g (23 grams of sugar in fact) and it contains 0 g fat. It contains 90 calories per 20 fl oz serving, which isn’t bad as long as you take it as part of a healthy calorie-controlled diet.
However, it’s not the best option if you’re following a low-carb diet.
Does the Panera Papaya Green Tea Have Caffeine?
No, there is no caffeine in the Panera Passion Fruit Papaya Green Tea.
As their green tea isn’t brewed but made from a tea concentrate syrup base it doesn’t contain caffeine as green tea normally would.
If you’re seeking a caffeine hit try one of Panera’s other drinks such as Mango Yuzu Citrus with Guarana & Caffeine which contains a whopping 157 mg of caffeine per 20 oz serving!
How To Make Panera Green Tea
This simple green tea recipe as revealed by Dylan Smith is for Panera’s passionfruit papaya green tea, the perfect drink to enjoy during the hot days of summer. The best thing is that this iced green tea can be made for just a fraction of the cost and it’s a simple process.
To make Panera’s green tea you will need their secret ingredient – Passion Fruit Papaya green tea concentrate supplied by Republic of Tea. This can be diluted by mixing 1 jug of concentrate and 5 jugs of water. And that’s all there is to it – 5 parts water to 1 part concentrate.
According to Smith, Sierra mist or Sprite can be added to give your green tea an even better flavor.
Now you may not be able to get your hands on this concentrate yourself as the Republic of Tea only seems to sell their passion fruit papaya tea as black tea bags, so you might need to improvise. There are a few different copycat passionfruit papaya green tea versions posted online.
Copycat Iced Papaya Green Tea Recipe
This copycat recipe mimics one of Panera’s most famous sweet drinks and makes enough for a pitcher!
Step 1: Make the Green Tea
Boil 4 cups of water and add 4 Passionfruit Papaya Green Tea bags (or other sweet tea tropical green tea bags) to the hot water to infuse. Allow to steep for 10 minutes, remove the tea bags and allow to cool.
Step 2: Add Syrup and Nectar
Allow to cool and mix in 2 tbsp of honeydew melon syrup and 1 1/2 tbsp of papaya nectar.
Step 3: Refrigerate and pour over ice
Now you can pour yourself a cup or glass of tea that mimics one of Panera’s most famous sweet drinks!
If You Love Panera Green Tea, Give this a Try
If Panera Bread green tea is a favorite drink of yours then you should definitely try making this drink for yourself! Due to its high sugar content though it’s probably not something your want to add to your daily diet.
Plain green tea without the extras might not taste as good but is a healthy beverage that is better for you if you’re going to drink it regularly. Plus, it comes with some health benefits, from helping with weight loss and maintenance to boosting your cognitive function! Panera’s green tea, while it tastes awesome, is not brewed from green tea leaves but made from a syrup concentrate so won’t offer the same benefits.
Do you love iced copycat drinks? Why not give these recipes a try?
- Starbucks Copycat Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher Recipe
- Copycat Iced Chai Tea Latte Recipe
- Iced Guava Black Tea Lemonade: Starbucks Copycat
- Iced Vanilla Chai Tea Latte Copycat
- Iced Guava White Tea Lemonade Recipe
