Coffee or Tea? — Restaurant in Honolulu

Best boba place I’ve ever been to. I went here all the time with my friends back in 2001-2002 when I was stationed here in the Army. This place was always packed with people sitting there enjoying their drinks and pastries. My friends and I would come here and sit for an hour reading car magazines and chatting. It was a great place to escape work. Fast forward to 2024 and I’m here on vacation. Coffee or Tea looks exactly the same but the boba scene has probably shifted more toward a takeout commodity. I took mine to go back to the hotel and it was better than I remembered. The Assam tea is of higher quality than what I’m used to in the many more trendy boba shops I’ve been to all over the country. The taro was also the best I’ve ever had. I felt the texture of fresh taro but most places that use fresh taro don’t taste as good as the artificial (purple) taro powder. Maybe Coffee or Tea uses both? Whatever they did was just perfect. A side note, they still shake your milk tea with a bartender’s shaker cup just like they did in 2001 and probably since opening in 1999. If you haven’t tried them yet you don’t know what...

Really bland coffee. I got the large cafe latte with almond milk (~$4.50) and when I drank it, there was literally no coffee taste. I had to go back in to ask because I thought they made a mistake as it felt like I was just drinking steamed almond milk.

The staff there said they put in one espresso shot. It didn't taste like there was a shot of espresso and I think for a large size, there should be two shots.

Was kind of expecting the staff to offer another shot in or something but they were pretty neutral throughout the whole experience which was disappointing.

Seeing other people make good reviews here makes me think that maybe the person who made it wasn't experienced in making coffee, but I think this might have been the worst coffee I...

Horrible customer service! I was an everyday customer and supporter of the Waikiki location next to Ross. They were extremely friendly and made great drinks. However, this location told me they couldn't make my drink. It wasn't even a crazy request. Just a jumbo espresso shake with added sugar but the guy looked at me and said we don't add any extra sugar? Ok, then just make it However I said. Then he wouldn't accept my debit card because it wasn't at least$10. So I said then I'll make it a super jumbo which is a extra $2.50 he said we don't make super jumbo espresso shakes lol. I'll head over to Coffee Bean and Tea leaf and you've lost me business forever....