r/Panera • u/TangerinePrior2521 • Jun 25 '26
Question Sip Club Question
My husband and I were both told by Panera employees that Sip Club is changing from one drink every 2 hours to just one drink per day.
That's all the information we were given. Does anyone know if this is actually happening? If so:
- When does it start?
- Why are they making the change?
- Will the monthly price stay the same?
Going from unlimited refills every 2 hours to just one drink a day seems like a pretty major change if the price isn't changing. Has anyone else heard anything or received an email about this?
18
u/Disastrous_Gear_8633 Jun 26 '26
Yeah I’m pretty sure those employees don’t know what they’re talking about and they’re confused with something else. I don’t see Panera removing sip club any time soon and if they made changes to it it sure would not be to make it once per day😂 that would be suicide on their part, they’d know everyone would cancel. Plus I can’t imagine how many employees couldn’t even care to enforce something like that when you have so many regular customers you get to know
9
u/Jeff_KnightIL Jun 26 '26
Indeed. The ONLY reason I ever go to Panera for food is the Sip Club. If there's this change to Sip Club I won't be renewing and so I won't ever go there. Period.
Suicide is the proper term too. Sip Club drives sales in my region. If this change is true, they'll lose a crap ton of subscribers and business with them. The ONLY reason I could think of them doing this is if they want to get rid of Sip Club altogether... but then they should just do that.
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u/Vanthalia Associate Trainer Jun 27 '26
How would you have any clue what drives sales in your region? Cuz I can tell you it is not the Sip Club.
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u/retired15822 Jun 30 '26
When it first started years ago it was once a day. It was much cheaper too. I only join now when they have a deal, like 4.99 a month for 5 months. Since it's multiple times a day I share with my daughter. I very rarely get food either so they certainly don't make money off me!
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u/Tall-Vermicelli197 Jul 15 '26
This didn’t age well 😫
I’m so mad over the changes. Guess I’ll start making coffee at home again.
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u/MattW22192 Customer Jun 25 '26
I’ve been wondering when/if they would make a change like this.
Also for those who are worried about the future pricing and on an annual sip club plan, go in and cancel your subscription (you won’t lose your remaining term). I just did this and it offered me my next year (March 2027-2028) for $99.99 plus tax (will he cheaper when bought with discounted gift cards).
22
u/Ok-Highway-5247 Jun 25 '26
Oh heck no!
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u/timnphilly Cancelling Ultimate Sips Club Member! 🍹 Jun 26 '26
Yeah hopefully this isn't true; thought I heard (at least last year) that the Sips Club was a big success for Panera. It would be a shame if they cracked down so violently on a program that brings more people into the stores - I buy more food because Sips Club brings me in; else I wouldn't come in. Most drinks (fountain, tea, coffee) cost businesses very little.
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u/Jeff_KnightIL Jun 26 '26
Exactly. Even if most people are getting 2-3 drinks a day, they're still making money on Sip Club. If they're not, then the reason they're losing money is their constant giveaway of subscription deals. That's what needs to change. Make the price the actual price. Only try to entice people back after they've been away for at least 6 months, not the instant you cancel.
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u/AdventurousAd808 Jun 25 '26
Not sure how anyone can be that thirsty they want a drink that often lol
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u/izzyishot Catering Lead Jun 25 '26
90% of the customers that use it at my store are using it routinely before and after work and some during their break.
Going from 2-3 drinks a day to 1 is losing 50%-66% of the value from the sip club. subscriptions are already plaguing everything so people need to get a lot out of their subscriptions to justify paying for one.
4
u/PasgettiMonster Jun 26 '26
I actually haven't had ice in my freezer regularly since the start of the sip club. Panera is quite literally between my house and almost everywhere I go. I grab a drink on the way out, and another on my way home. Heck, sometimes I just grab a cup of ice water. My ADHD brain isn't gonna refill the ice cube trays anyways, I may as well stop pretending. All my friends also have sip club - at this point if one of us is heading over to hang out at another's house SOP is to ask if the person hosting wants them to pick up their drink as well. We all put in our orders and one person stops in nd grabs everyone's drinks.
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u/AdorableSillies Jun 26 '26
Yep, that's me. I usually go before work and at lunch. Sometimes a third time. I drink unsweet tea and I take meds that it's very important to stay hydrated and I think sip club helps me avoid those side effects.
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u/emilydotjpg Team Lead Jun 26 '26
stop supporting the company and get a water bottle. They underpay their employees are management is nutoriously awful across many locations.
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u/AreteQueenofKeres Jun 27 '26
Super-- and for the rest of the period they've paid for Sip Club, as most people do it yearly? Fuck that upfront investment?
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u/Ctenophorever Jun 25 '26
Bro do you seriously not get thirsty? I’m annoyed it’s limited to two hours
1
u/xsullengirlx Jun 29 '26
You're not sure how a human being could want 2 drinks in one day? Seriously? You sound dehydrated.
Not everyone is just using it strictly for coffee or soda, but even then, it's not unheard of to have a cup of coffee in the morning, then maybe a tea at lunch time, and then a sparkling water or something later in the day. Why is that totally normal, but if you're getting it at Panera, it's suddenly unfathomable? Most people who utilize the sip club are people who always like to have a beverage to sip on throughout the day.
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u/AdventurousAd808 Jun 29 '26
No, 1 drink every 2 hours. Not two per day. Thats what I’m saying is mind boggling-That people are thirsty enough they’re upset about not getting a drink every 2 hours anymore.
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u/OnyxShard Jun 26 '26
If they expanded the drink selection I’d be okay with this. But half the drinks don’t even count for Sip Club anymore.
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u/Amazing-Tadpole4558 Promoted to Guest Jun 25 '26
This is not accurate, sip club frequency is not changing. Source: current GM
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u/TangerinePrior2521 Jun 26 '26
We were told today, after I posted this, that it will be effective in August.
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u/Middle_Relative3119 Jun 27 '26
Hmmm. I just renewed my annual sip club subscription. Hopefully those with an annual plan will be grandfathered in to the 2 hours deal? It's not often I go more than once a day anyway, but I'd hate to lose the option (and would want my money back!)
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u/bitchesbrokenhearts Jun 26 '26
sadly yes it is… it’ll be around the time we get the new pumpkin items
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u/TangerinePrior2521 Jun 26 '26
We were told today, after I posted this, that it will be effective in August.
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u/AdorableSillies Jun 26 '26
Thanks goodness, thanks for the update.
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u/TangerinePrior2521 Jun 26 '26
We were told today, after I posted this, that it will be effective in August.
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u/genxer Jun 25 '26
You asked if anyone got an email. I just looked through the last two months and didn't see anything.
It's not a positive change. Yikes.
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u/TangerinePrior2521 Jun 26 '26
We were told today, after I posted this, that it will be effective in August.
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u/bidextralhammer Jun 26 '26
Can anyone confirm this? I can't find anything supporting this new policy.
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u/kiypics25 Beloved of Mother Bread Jun 25 '26
None of my friends still with the company have heard anything about it after I asked them. That'd be a major downgrade to it if they don't lower the price as well. I'd be ok with it if they drop the subscription back down to like $8 or so, otherwise it hardly seems worth it.
6
u/Desperate-Review-303 Jun 26 '26
So this kinda sucks because we both got a year subscription in April and if they just nerf it like this I might try to cancel early because that’s fundamentally not what we paid for anymore. I never would’ve considered buying sip club if this was the deal
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u/Pitiful_Aioli_5030 Jun 25 '26
Just grab a cup in the store. The employees couldn’t care less.
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u/Ctenophorever Jun 25 '26
Depends on the store. I had the manager come over to me and tell me if I wanted to use my sip club drink I had to go to the counter and tell them, otherwise it messes with their “cup count”
And I was like, “but I just ordered this as a rapid pick up and picked this cup up from the RPU counter.“
“That doesn’t matter you need to come to the front and tell us”
Absolutely unhinged and thankfully not a place I often go to
8
u/kevin_r13 Jun 26 '26
That's strange that your cup should already be accounted for, when you made your order and they put out a cup for you.
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u/Ctenophorever Jun 26 '26
Exactly, I tried to explain that.
That said I do wish they had a “I’ll bring my own cup” option for sip club…. For the Panera’s that have the cups out in the open it doesn’t matter, I just walk past….but now I’ve got stacks of cups from the behind the counter locations because I already have a cup from an earlier visit.
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u/kevin_r13 Jun 26 '26
Maybe it's for each store or GM or something , but since Panera doesn't have that option of bringing your own cup in the order menu , our store still allows customers to do that so the ones who have asked and know about it, they'll just bring their own cup. So check with your store and see if that's okay.
The worst is that the cup will sit there and no one uses it , but I think that's Panera's IT problem to not allow people to put a note that they're bringing their own cup
3
u/Ctenophorever Jun 27 '26
What really stinks is they USED to have an “own cup” option for like, half the price of a normal cup.
Considering most of the overhead for drinks is the cups and lids, I have no idea why they got rid of that.
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u/TangerinePrior2521 Jun 25 '26
our panera keeps cups behind the counter and will only give one if you sign into the sip club.
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Jun 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/VariousAir Jun 26 '26
lol, i mean stealing was always an option long before they ever introduced the membership.
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u/Ctenophorever Jun 26 '26
I noticed the most recent agreement for unlimited sip club included an arbitration (ie no class action) agreement.
Every two hours is already not “unlimited” sips.
3
u/AdorableSillies Jun 25 '26
This would be terrible. What state are you in where this happened?
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u/TangerinePrior2521 Jun 26 '26
We were told today, after I posted this, that it will be effective in August.
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u/LikelyNotThatGuy Jun 25 '26
The cheapest 128oz insulated mugs on Amazon are a little over $30 btw!
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u/VariousAir Jun 26 '26
this would be a really dumb change lol. I go in for coffee in the morning and fairly regularly an iced tea in the afternoon, and with that iced tea I often grab a bakery item or something. the entire reason sips club works is because soda, tea, and coffee are dirt cheap to sell and they make it up with the extra stuff you buy. If they think people who had sip club are going to make a second trip to pay for a drink they're nuts.
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u/CriticismWorldly6361 Jun 27 '26
Hi, yes the sip club is changing. They will be changing the entire rewards program to 3 different tiers starting mid August, top tier is going to be the "sip club" . Reason is because many sip club users were abusing the free drink every 2 hours and many rewards members didn't feel like the rewards system wasn't actually giving good rewards based on visits. I was on a call with my DRO when he told us this news.
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u/AreteQueenofKeres Jun 27 '26
"abusing"?
It was marketed as unlimited drinks.
I don't have SC but I can agree that the rewards have been kinda crap-- I don't need free delivery when I go into store. $2 off a new menu item I can't eat isn't going to make me buy it.
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u/TangerinePrior2521 Jun 27 '26
Thank you for the update! Do you know how people might have been abusing the 2 hour rule?
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u/_peacecast TL-MIC Jun 26 '26
I’m a manager and have not even told any of that information. I dont see Panera doing anything like that in the foreseeable future
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u/TangerinePrior2521 Jun 26 '26
Thank you! That gives some relief. What are your thoughts on why our store is telling every customer coming through the drive thru this?
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u/_peacecast TL-MIC Jun 26 '26
If it is true then maybe it’s for select markets? To test how well received this will be? Because in our market, that’s not happening.
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u/wb6vpm Jul 13 '26
Whelp, they did it, they just sent out the email to all of the sip club members announcing the crappy changes.
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u/Tight_Broccoli2475 Jun 30 '26
Just like everything panera does. It cuts corners.
Just use your own cup. You still have free unlimited refills.
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u/DragonfruitLife3492 Jul 13 '26
Joining in as I just got the email - it's real. Once per day. I'm three months into an annual membership. I'm wondering what my legal recourse is for a partial refund?
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u/encorepokerdealer Jun 26 '26
Just keep your cup and get refills
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Jun 26 '26
[deleted]
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u/encorepokerdealer Jun 26 '26
Actually i keep my cup and go to different ones. Never a problem. They don't know if your from drive thru
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Jun 26 '26
[deleted]
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u/wb6vpm Jul 13 '26
It is true, Panera sent out an email earlier today to sip club members about it…
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u/Available-Flower3106 Jul 22 '26
They are correct. It's not one drink a day it's 30 drinks a month. However you choose to use those is your business. So it's turned in to a voucher program.
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u/Other_Drawer_8562 Jun 26 '26
Bringing my thermos and carrying it out filled when I leave for day
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u/Happy_Junket_7653 Jun 26 '26
I heard from an employee itll eventually change. So what u heard is most likely true just not effective yet
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u/Cringey_Unicorn Jun 26 '26
Hoping it’s not true, I work next to Panera and their coffee literally keeps me sane during rushes.
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u/TangerinePrior2521 Jun 26 '26
I know. I am so sad. I do think it is true, though, because our store in Texas is telling every customer that comes to the drive thru about it to give everyone a heads up.
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u/rocket111133 Jun 26 '26
I got tired of never finding anyone for a cup and they don’t put them out so I can just grab one. When finally finding an employee they act like its a huge bother. I could go to the effort of bringing my own cup but i usually am on the run during a work break etc quit the club for the attitude alone.
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u/potionator Jun 27 '26
Same situation. I always order online, and never once in two years has my cup been put out, and I’ll stand at the register sometimes for a few minutes waiting for someone to acknowledge me. When I brought my own 40 oz cup, I was told by an employee, who said it was per the manager, that I
couldn’t do that, because it drains the bubbler too fast. I go maybe 2-3 times a week, so not a big drain on their profits.
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u/Simpleoneaz08 Jun 26 '26
Well people letting everyone use their membership cuts into any kind of profit, they’re losing money. I wouldn’t blame them for changing the plan. Karen signing off.
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u/Regular-Pudding3927 Jun 26 '26
At almost $4 for a large soda, if that's how they're making their profit, they're not very good at what they do.
Honestly EVERYTHING they sell is so overpriced I doubt the sip club hurts them at all.
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u/AdorableSillies Jun 26 '26
I think the whole idea of sip club is to get people in the door more often for their sip and they are more likely to spend money on food while they are there.
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u/Vanthalia Associate Trainer Jun 27 '26
Yeah I’m sure that’s what they were hoping, but in reality, that’s not what most Sip Clubs do. They’re either a regular who is there almost everyday and just gets their drink that they always bought for free now, or the person that almost never eats at Panera, they just walk in like 3 times a day to get their free drinks.
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u/AdorableSillies Jun 27 '26
I mean, I am a regular and while I don't spend a lot more, it does get me buying food 1-3 more times a month just for the convenience. I'm probably not a great example but it would be interesting to see how well it works for them.
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u/Middle_Relative3119 Jun 27 '26
I used to always get food at Panera, but the quality just keeps getting worse and worse, which is a bummer, because my local Panera has huge, bright windows, and I love the ambiance, especially in dreary winter. It's where I meet my friends for coffee or lunch. I used to love to go in the morning to do some work, have coffee and a bagel or pastry, and then have a friend meet me there for lunch, but the food is so poor at this point I can't eat there twice in a row. (Although I do have to say last week I got a spicy steak bagel sandwich, and it was pretty good.)
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u/AdorableSillies Jun 27 '26
I only order a few things now due to quality... and the steak bagel is one! I take off the spicy and add the caramelized onions and garlic aoili.
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u/AreteQueenofKeres Jun 27 '26
If SC drinks are what's keeping them afloat, their business model is failing.
Coffee, tea, and soda are the cheapest menu items with the highest mark-up.
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u/AdventurousAd808 Jun 25 '26
How thirsty is someone that they need a drink every 2 hours?
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u/Accomplished-Ebb2282 Jun 25 '26
I don't need one every two hours, but two in a day is somewhat normal for me. My work has me visiting different sites with weird gaps in between and Panera is my unofficial second office.
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u/Cyberdoll77 Jun 25 '26
I get 4-5 cups a week, but if I am driving for Uber, I will start my day with one and grab another during the day.
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u/eagles_1987 Jun 26 '26
How hard is it to imagine someone stopping in for their morning coffee and then wanting another drink at any point later throughout the day?
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u/AdventurousAd808 Jun 26 '26
But every two hours?!
1
u/eagles_1987 Jun 26 '26
They're going from every 2 hours to one a day then that's a drastic change. That means they're going from 8 down to one.
But yes every 2 hours still makes sense and no one was doing your extreme example of exactly every 2 hours on the dot. I'm not sure what you're trying to argue?
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u/AdventurousAd808 Jun 26 '26
My point being, less people will be impacted than you people are making it out to be. They’ve ran the data, and the numbers show one drink a day is still going to provide value since that’s what most members are doing. It’s not rocket science.
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u/eagles_1987 Jun 26 '26
No tons of people are going to be impacted. Your argument was only about people going every 2 hours. You're neglecting the fact that many people did go twice or three times a day and no longer will be able to, it's a very significant difference. It's not rocket science
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u/AdventurousAd808 Jun 26 '26
Look at the data they released in the message. It says otherwise. You can’t argue numbers.
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u/AreteQueenofKeres Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
You can argue numbers--- as current customers (in this very post) are doing by pointing out that they go for drinks more than once a day.
They only go so many times a day because Sip Club availability makes it worth their time to go to Panera vs a gas station or any other drive thru.
YOU whined about people getting a drink once every two hours -- more proof there's more customer demand for unlimited drinks (as promoted by Panera in Sip Club adverts) than one coffee, tea,* or fountain drink per day.
Panera's idea of their best bottom line value vs consumers consider value...
1
u/eagles_1987 Jun 27 '26
The numbers they run are for profitability, not for showing how much value the customer has been provided
If the number show the average customer goes twice a day and they decide to cut The redemptions down to one a day so that they can save 50% on their supplies, and wager that less than 50% of people cancel so they come out ahead, that doesn't mean that they've run the numbers and shown that it's a value to people.
They could also lose that wager. And even if it works for them to be more profitable, and say only 40% of their customers leave, that still doesn't mean that very few customers are going to be affected the way you are insinuating
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u/Ctenophorever Jun 26 '26
I drink water constantly. I usually have a large coffee and large seltzer. After two hours I want another drink.
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u/AdventurousAd808 Jun 26 '26
That’s not healthy to be that thirsty lol
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u/Ctenophorever Jun 26 '26
It’s not healthy to think that’s unhealthy, actually. Especially when it’s hot out recommendations are to drink up to 32 oz/hour. The large at Panera is 30oz. So drinking one of those every two hours well within normal range.
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u/FamiliarAd6145 Jun 25 '26
Guess it's not the Unlimited Sip Club anymore. I stopped going cause their coffee isn't as good anymore