In the newly renovated Alderman Library at UVA, there are a variety of options for all kinds of students at Saxby’s, the new coffee shop, including everything for coffee and tea lovers to something for the absolute gremlins that are energy drink consumers. Here is my rundown and rating of some of the best (and worst) drinks at this new caffeine paradise.
To preface, these are all my personal opinions, and as such feel free to disagree with me. I have a very particular palette when it comes to things I will spend money on and therefore I rate my drinks from “would not give to my worst enemy to drink it” 1, to a 10, which I categorize as the willingness to sell a kidney for it. Right in the middle I have 5, which essentially is the boundary between whether I will buy it again or not. Slightly harsh I must say, but I figured when every flex dollar is as precious as your last bit of calculator battery on a math exam… I think it is fair.
Starting us off is the cold brew collection, it is delicious, and as someone who loves their coffee super sweet, having the option to change the concentration from full to half to none is brilliant. So far I give their Vanilla Bean Cold Brew a solid 7/10, delicious for a post-Bodo’s walk to E-way. The Milk & Honey Cold Brew gets a solid 8/10 and the Kettle Corn Cold Brew, (the seasonal special as of right now), a sad 3/10. The Kettle Corn Cold Brew was halfway decent at first but went downhill from there. The Chai Cold Brew… however, is a gift to my sleep-deprived self, I rate that at a beautiful 9/10, this drink can conjure up the pure magic that is me passing my math exams. So, if you are a chai lover, run don’t walk to grab this delicious drink.
So far their basic hot latte is pretty good and the ability to change the sweetness really helps, so I give it a solid 7/10 for good coffee. This rating extends to the Vanilla Latte and Mocha which are both good but I am an iced coffee girly so my heart does go to the iced versions which I bump up to a solid 8/10.
I have not tried it, but I have heard the plain coffee is very good and my friend rated it an 8/10 for the folks out there who drink the straight-bean water that is black coffee. Obviously, that is not exactly my cup of tea but you know what is? Tea. Which gives us the Matcha Latte. I find it delicious and as someone who is very picky about their bright green iced drinks, that is saying a lot. It falls within 8/10 iced and surprisingly the same for hot, even though I am not typically someone who enjoys both. Similarly, the flavored iced teas are rather good and the green tea is wonderful in the hot afternoons.
Finally, we move on to the energy drinks. I am a Dutch Bros fanatic through and through so when I heard there was going to be something like those flavored energy drinks I was so excited, it was the first thing I ordered. I am sorry to say, I have to give the Peach Rush Energy Drink a 2/10. I applaud the effort and maybe the others are better but I couldn’t even drink it so I ordered something else. Since then I have been a little scared to try another energy drink from them, but that’s okay because they have such a wide selection that you don’t have to settle for anything you don’t like.
Saxby’s has something for everyone in the caffeine and not caffeine world, I know I did not do the smoothies but since it’s just opening I think I’ve done a half-decent job giving you a rundown on some of what the new coffee shop on grounds offers. Stay caffeinated and awake during midterms you lovely people and good luck!