HiCO - Hawaiian Coffee, Kona Coffee — Restaurant in Hawaii

I absolutely love Hico and their message to deliver unforgettable experiences with handcrafted drinks using local grown coffee. Their quality of service food are top tier, enhanced with their welcoming environment.

however, this last experience changes things. I’ve only ever got their ube matcha and i decided to try and branch out with no knowledge on the menu so i asked the cashier for some guidance and i ordered what i thought was a blended ube white mocha for my partner. He said it was delicious and we went back two days later and ordered 2 more one made with oat milk. When we got them they were iced and we were informed that they can’t make a blended white mocha we explained that we received a blended white mocha 2 days prior and they said no it must’ve been another drink with no other information. We took the drinks in confusion before we realized there was no markings indicating which one was oat milk. I went back inside hoping for answers and i received “based on the drinks i can’t tell which one would be which” while just staring at me as if i had any solution to this encounter. I then asked more questions and came to understand a froshaka is what he had received also coming to the understanding that they cannot make that drink with oat milk so i purchased that drink again, they then said they would remake my iced Oat milk white mocha again. i felt bad throwing out the other 2 iced drinks but i truly could not take the risk of having regular milk. The whole encounter and baristas made me feel stupid and upset, if only i was informed when ordering that a “blended white mocha with or without oat milk” is not a thing it would have prevented the whole encounter. Instead the drinks, and money were made and wasted because of lack of communication. I can acknowledge that my lack knowledge on menu is my fault which is why i repurchased the correct drink but don’t be afraid to correct a customer because it makes things smoother instead of putting in an order praying for the best while standing in the back staring at me while i try and explain myself to...

DAY 6 of Vacation - Our last full day in Hawaii! Of course we had to start off the day with a light breakfast and coffee! My mission in Hawaii is to try as many local Kona coffee shops as I can. This was the 5th coffee shop I've visited.

Parking: Free street parking. Depending on the day, finding a spot can either be a hit or miss.

Ambiance/Environment: I love the openness. They had a medium sized space with a good amount of indoor and outdoor seating. It can get busy, so the inside can feel a bit crowded.

Service: The barista that took our order was a bit all over the place as she was also trying to make some drinks while taking our order. There were a couple times when she inputted an order wrong after we repeated ourselves multiple times. Other than that, throughput took 13 minutes after ordering.

What we ordered:

1. Pumpkin Spice Brown Sugar Latte - This was on their Fall Specials menu. It had an equal amount of the brown sugar and pumpkin flavors. It was sweet, but I could still taste the coffee after mixing it.

2. Matcha Latte - My BIL ordered this hot. They do latte art! The latte art was definitely aesthetic. I took a sip of his drink. The matcha also tasted good; perfect amount of sweetness and not to bitter.

3. Lychee Ribena Refresher - My FIL ordered this. He really enjoyed it! This was definitely refreshing, and the lychee flavor came through!

4. 2 Slices of Hico Avocado Toast - These slices were big! The avocado was fresh and seasoned well. Make sure to eat quick because the toast can get soggy from the amount of avocado and toppings.

5. The Lily Special (iced matcha latte topped w/ ube sweet cream) - My MIL ordered this. She thought the ube foam was light, and the matcha was also sweet and not too bitter. Her favorite part was the matcha forsure.

6. Chia Oat Pudding - My bf ordered this. He absolutely enjoyed this! The pudding wasn't too thick. It was mixed well with the oats, and the...

This was not a good experience. I love coffee shops and decided to give this a try to see if it would be a regular for me while I was on the island for a few weeks. I wanted a stronger coffee so I ordered the Ube Sweet Cream Cold Brew. What I got was some almost pure white drink with ube drizzle... I literally could not taste the coffee. It was like pure sugar and dairy. Never had a drink made that poorly before. The turkey sandwich I ordered was way too big and messy and was a whole ordeal to eat.

I ended up throwing the sweet cream drink away and tried to give them another chance with the Brown Sugar Latte, but the coffee quality was just not there either.

But the main reason for this review was the employees and the general vibe of the place. They are WAY more concerned talking to each other than the people in the store. We walked up and felt literally invisible because the guy behind the register said hi and then immediately kept on carrying the conversation he was having with a barista about his weekend. My friend had to literally ask him if he was ready to take our order and all he said was "yeah". Then the barista seemed like he had an attitude when calling out everyone's names? Didn't seem like he had any actual training due to the quality of the drinks I was seeing come out. It was literally just them constantly talking to each other the ENTIRE time. The quality suffers for it. And then they want you to give 18% minimum tip for it. Just not great vibes.

If you want gimmicky, poor quality drinks in a "coffee shop" devoid of charm and actual service, then come here. Worst coffee shop I've been to in...