These past two weeks have been absolutely crazy for me. With 4 exams, quizzes, projects, papers, events, and more, midterm season hit me hard. Throughout it, I needed to find ways to stay sane and not burnout. One of the ways I de-stress and reset my brain is through food. Although Tiktok wants to claim that “choccy-milk makes the pain go away”, they need to expand their horizons to “food makes the pain go away”. Unlike most of my posts, this week’s eatery is an on-campus staple. This week, we’re going to Saxbys!
If you don’t already know, Saxbys is a campus-favorite, located in the Business Building near North Halls. Saxbys is a fairly well-known cafe-chain with locations on college campuses; Penn State being one of them. Their mission is to “Make Life Better” by serving quality food and building up the community. Saxbys also allows student employees to earn credits through working at the cafe as well through its Experiential Learning Platform. So, Saxbys is absolutely a favorite among the college community.
Along with their mission as a business, Saxbys delivers amazing food and drinks. The menu is full of coffees, teas, and smoothies as well as “perfect pairings”. My first time going was after class during the fall semester, and I just kept coming back. My sister, Beth, along with a Youtube-famous Penn Stater, Rachel Kim, convinced me that I had to try it out. In the fall, Saxbys offered the most delicious Pumpkin Matcha Latte; it was perfectly smooth, slightly bitter, and earthy flavored. The matcha quality from a place like Saxbys blew me away.
Other must-tries are the muffins, bagel sandwiches, and the green grilled cheese. The green grilled cheese is a classic with pesto and kale added in to make it a mouth-watering meal. Additionally, Saxbys sells other drinks, like cold brews, macchiatos, and more. However, right now, the Vanilla Love Matcha is my new obsession. “A hot matcha latte, infused with our house-made vanilla bean & finished with a pretty raspberry garnish.” It is on the sweeter-end of matcha drinks, but it works, creating a comforting feeling as you drink.
As Saxbys has some of the best matcha drinks, it is fascinating to look at matcha’s origins. Matcha traces its history back to the Tang Dynasty of China when people steamed tea into bricks to make transport easier. Among Asian cultures, Buddhists adopted matcha to cultivate and use in rituals. Modern-day Matcha is basically finely ground green tea leaves. Because it comes from green tea and the process it goes through, matcha contains many health benefits when you drink it, including antioxidants, metabolism boosters, fiber, and it relieves stress. Now, matcha is a popular drink that everyone can enjoy.
So, whenever I need a break, I take the walk up Shortlidge from Atherton to get my matcha latte and food to de-stress. The next time you need to get out of the dorm, I highly recommend heading over to Saxbys.
How do you de-stress?
-Rachel
Saxbys- Saxbys Penn State University, Business Building, 210, University Park, PA 16802
This is another great post. I am not much of a coffee or tea drinker, but the pesto-kale grilled cheese sounds like something I would like to try. Thank you for recommending such interesting eateries. To answer, you question, working out is usually what I do to de-stress.
I didn’t even know this place existed so thank you! I had a short period of time where my coffee consumption went from having 3-4 a day to absolutely none because it stopped tasting good for a while, but I’m happy to say I’m back on that coffee train! I am definitely going to have to give this place a try! I usually go to Saints or Crust and Crumb, both of which are downtown and also have super good coffee, but I’d love to branch out!
Saint’s is a favorite of mine as well! Best cold brews!
I have never heard of Saxbys. The food choices you described made it sound like a café that I am eager to try. I am not a big coffee drinker, but I do enjoy green tea and other teas. I wonder how similar Saxbys is to Starbucks and which one of them has better items. In regard to your question, I usually destress by playing video games.
Oh my goodness you are making me more and more excited to go to campus for the fall semester. I have not had the to chance of experiencing the yummy delights that are located at state college. I have a soft spot for matcha lattes and I absolutely cannot wait until I have the opportunity to taste the drink you are talking about! I will also look into your sister’s channel to learn more about the surprises that I can find at PSU.
Yay!! You definitely need to check out places when you get here! Also, Rachel Kim isn’t my sister, but one of my sister’s friends… she’s a super cool creator though!
I heard of Saxby’s before but I didn’t know we had one on campus! A friend of mine that goes to another university works at a Saxby’s and she loves it! Pesto and kale grilled cheese sounds delicious! I will have to go sometime!
This is the first I’m visiting your blog and everything about it so amazing! I love the punny titles! Never actually eaten at a Saxby’s so I really hope their motto of Making Life Better will come become true when I go!
This was a very exciting post! Even though I live really near to the business building, I am surprised that I’ve never heard of this place. Your blog post always introduce me to some new places to visit in state college. I am really excited to try out Saxbys this week!