The Coffee Trinity: Granola, MouseTail, and GreenBox
It is already been a month since Higher School of Economics fully switched to online learning. A lot has already changed in this short period of time and as both students and professors are trying to do their best at quickly adjusting to this new world we have to live in and learn to use numerous platforms to conduct classes, we realize that there is also a lot of things we miss about the old times. Students are now using campus pictures as their background on Zoom, building HSE buildings in Minecraft and often discussing how they have never thought they would admit that they actually miss attending offline classes.
Even though not every HSE student will probably be able to tell you where this of that room is located, it’s our campus cafes that all of us love and know how to get to. These are also the places that you probably miss the most right now. Here is a short list and a story behind each of the three cafes that helped you to stay awake at your early morning classes not that long ago.
Granola
One of the most famous cafes that can be found not only on the Kantemirovskaya, but in all HSE other campuses as well is – you guessed it – Granola. Interestingly enough, not that many people now that this café was actually opened by an HSE graduate - Pavel Kalinskiy. Pavel majored in management and even when he was still studying at HSE he already started working on his brand – he was making pastry for such HSE events as the Day of the Donor for free, simply because he wanted to contribute and to help. It was only a couple years later after he actually graduated in 2013 that HSE and Pavel became real partners and opened the very first Granola café in HSE.
One of the advantages of Granola located at the Kantemirovskaya campus is its seated area: here HSE students come not only to grab a coffee and run in hopes of not being late to a class but to discuss their group projects, talk with their groupmates and just to spend some free time. Not only students but HSE professors as well love to come here and can often be spotted with signature Granola cups of coffee. Since the café opens at 8:30 you will have just enough time to get your coffee before the 9am lecture starts.
Though it goes without saying that Granola is famous for being “The HSE café” there is also a beautiful Granola branch on Mayakovskogo, 3. Unfortunately, because of the quarantine the café is now closed but there is no reason to worry. Granola would be happy to deliver your order right where you are currently staying. The links below will take you to the official Granola instagram and vk page so that you can browse through the options and treat yourself with a nice éclair, a piece of cake or cupcakes. That way you can both take a stroll down memory lane with desserts you loved so much and support the brand.
Mouse Tail
If you have a lecture in one of the big auditoriums on the fourth floor or plan to go to the library to study and need a boost of energy – Mouse Tail is there to help you. This particular café is more of a coffee-to-go type and doesn’t have a seated area but there still are some tables for you to stand by and chat with your friends while you are waiting for your coffee. Coffee is not the only thing HSE students love about this café – there are also some snacks, sandwiches and pasty you can buy and heat up with the microwave right on the spot. In case you didn’t know, each sixth cup of coffee that you get is going to be free which means that those five weekdays you had to spent studying will finally pay off on Saturday when you can enjoy your free drink listening to your minor lecture.
Just as Granola, Mouse Tail also has branches all around Saint-Petersburg. Since Mouse Tail is partnering with Яндекс.Еда you can also order some of your favorite snacks online with no need to leave your home. Don’t forget to post your Mouse Tail drinks on instagram and tag @ilovemousetail to be featured in their official instagram account.
Green box
Last, but not the least – Green Box. A place where you can still get your coffee but, on top of that, also have a full course meal, and a place where all the students usually go to right after the PE class next door. In case of Kantemirovskaya campus the café is located on the first floor in the canteen court and has a lot of seated places that get fully occupied really quick during the breaks.
What’s special about Green Box apart from it also making actual meals instead of small snacks is the thought they put into those meals. Here at Green Box the goal is to make meals for people who want to eat healthy. That is why you can see both the description of all the ingredients that are used for a certain product and how much calories it contains on the price tag. That is also why Green Box has a wide range of vegetarian meals and uses organic sugar and fresh ingredients only. If there is anything more needed to convince you to come here apart from the design of the stores and the products themselves, Green Box also tries to do their best at making your in-store experience as good as it can possibly be. You can pay either with cash, a credit card, pay pass, pay wave, apple pay and even by using the app. On top of that, Green Box offers various discounts and special offers for those who use their mobile app, so we highly encourage you to download it yourself and tell your friends about it.
Green Box also offers a delivery! No need to worry about contacting the person who delivers your order to you – all of Green Box workers are wearing masks, and in case you want to avoid contacting through cash or a credit card – you can simply pay for your order on the app. Health is Green Box’s priority and it definitely should be your priority as well.
We highly encourage you to use the delivery services of the mentioned cafes to both stay safe and avoid going outside for the groceries and help these brands in such though times. Meals from Green Box will help you to stay healthy during the quarantine, coffee from Mouse Tail will keep you energized and tasty pastry from Granola will bring back the memories of spending your time at the university.
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Text by
Nadezhda Bykova