Last week, I returned back to my roots and decided to critique Dunkin’ Donuts, a staple of the coffee community, to other local shops here. This week, I decided to continue the trend of classic chain coffee restaurants with a quick trip to a Panera located on campus. Personally, I had never tried their coffee before today, and I will admit, it took me by surprise. Not only was the coffee quite delicious and unique, but the specific location I went to has multiple large seating areas for students to relax and work on assignments in comfort and also was full of warmth, joyfulness, and the smell of bakery perfection.

The Panera I tried this week is located in the Kern Building toward the Northwest side of campus. However, there are also two different restaurant locations in downtown, as well as one located further Northeast toward the agricultural buildings. State College is seemingly drowning in Paneras, which is something I am rejoicing after having a taste of their delectable coffee. While I cannot speak for the ambiance of each of these restaurants, I can generalize and apply the atmosphere of the Kern building’s Panera to them all.

Despite the mass of students that all decided to take a trip to the building at the same time and therefore the difficulty finding seating, the actual restaurant was very inviting. The neutral colors and comfy temperature were a perfect balance for the cold weather that smacked you in the face when you walked outside. There was not only seating inside the restaurant, but also tables outside in the lobby of the building and a little circular room with couches and lounge chairs for relaxing. Not exactly the ideal small coffee shop, but very useful and realistic for college students.

Now, onto what you’re all waiting for, the coffee. There were really only two options for plain black coffee at this location, a light and dark roast, but both are blended with a delicious sweet and bold flavor balance and are extremely unique in the taste. It was also a “serve yourself” bar, which is always a personal favorite of mine because I enjoy controlling exactly how my coffee is made. There were plenty of add-in options, from oat milk to almond milk to 2%, as well as tea options, just as the rest of the other coffee shops have been so far. Obviously, another pro to this shop is the scrumptious food made right from their bakery, creating the perfect meal when combined with the coffee.

The only negative aspect of the coffee here is its price. For a medium regular roast coffee with no add-ins, the total was $3.09, which is fairly expensive when compared to other stop-and-go chain coffee shops, despite Panera coffee’s superior taste. However, Panera has created a way to seemingly combat the high prices, as coffee is free for those who are subscribers to their UnlimitedSipClub, which is $11.99 a month. Over many months, this will end up saving students mountains of money, but also restricts students to only drinking Panera’s coffee.

With its multiple locations, conveniently quick service, amazing coffee, even more amazing food, and excellent study atmosphere, this coffee shop classic is definitely high on my list. I recommend looking into the subscription if you are a true coffee connoisseur, as this coffee is, as they say, “to die for”. Panera is a perfect medium between the small mom-and-pop coffee shops on campus and the extreme chain restaurants, such as starbucks. Certainly not the top of the list compared to other shops so far, but also certainly not the last. Grab your friends and go grab some panera, you won’t regret it (but your bank account might)!