Hi All,

I just came back from a trip to Hawaii where I did a large sampling of the best coffee shops I could find. I did research here and on the Internet as a whole to try and come up with the best places ahead of time, and this was my findings. Hopefully, this info can be of use to someone traveling over there who wants updated information.

--David

**Scale of 1-5, 1 = awful and not drinkable, 5 = excellent
**I only had a regular latte at each place, exactly the same order, so that is what I am judging on. No skim, no decaf, no added anything.
**I have reviewed them all on yelp if you want additional information.

Oahu:

Green World Coffee Farm, Wahiawa, HI - This is a very fun place to go. They have a small coffee garden with growing berries where you can walk around and relax. In the shop is a mecca to coffee. Lots of coffee stuff (shirts, mugs, etc.) and lots of different beans that they roast. I was informed that their barista's were recently just trained by champion from Australia. The coffee was very good and a must place to visit. - 5

Surfer's Coffee Bar, Wahiawa, HI - Very close to Green World, so if you go to one, go to the other. This was a nice coffee shop! Good space. Nice relaxed vibe. Coffee was great. - 5

Morning Brew, Kailua, HI - Didn't have time to get out to this place as it was a decent drive from where I was staying and just ran out of time. I would try this place the next time as I had heard good things.

Morning Glass, Honolulu, HI - This was an awesome local place! Far away from the beaten back, this was a very local spot which served good food and had amazing local coffee. I really enjoyed it! - 5

Grazer's Coffee, Honolulu, HI - Another small place that is away from the main routes. The barista here put in a lot of effort on the drink and it showed. Very low key kind of place with excellent coffee. - 5

Kai Coffee, Honolulu, HI - Located near the main drag in Waikiki, it is a small place in a mall (hard to describe) but they too had great coffee and I was really happy with what I was served. This was the first place I tried on the trip and started it off very nicely! - 5

The Curb / Coffee lab, Honolulu, HI - This turned out to be a tiny cart kind of a thing outside of a building complex. They had nice equipment, but what I was served was very bad. Not drinkable. - 2

Blue Tree Cafe, Honolulu, HI - A very fun spot. They served food, and all kinds of unusual drinks in addition to the regular fair. My coffee was very good, and they were very friendly. - 5

Brue Bar, Honolulu, HI - I went to this place on Christmas day, and they were open and very friendly. It is a modern looking kind of place and had very nice coffee. They were very friendly and asked me all sorts of questions about my hometown. Very good coffee. - 5

Downtown Coffee, Honolulu, HI - Located near Brue Bar, this was a smallish place that reminded me of starbucks. They were also very nice, but the coffee was not great. It was drinkable, but just ok. You could skip this place. - 3

Aroma Caffe, Honolulu, HI - I didn't get a chance to go to this place, but it was on my list

Island Vintage Coffee, Honolulu, HI - This is a local chain, and they have interesting foods as well. They serve Asai bowls and lots of other stuff, and sell chocolates, and other goodies. I wasn't expecting much from the looks of it, but my drink was very good! - 4

Maui:

Grandma's Maui Coffee, Maui - Didn't get to this place but I wanted to. Supposed to have really good food in addition to coffee.

Lava Java Coffee Roasters, Kihei, Maui - This was a lot smaller a place than I was expecting. They sold a lot of clay made t-shirts there, as well as lots of beans. It was pretty good, but not as good as others. - 4

Maui Coffee Roasters, Kahului, Maui - This was a big place that sells beans and has food as well. I thought it was going to be better than it was, but it was still good. - 4

Wailuku Coffee Co, Wailuki, Maui - This turned out to be my favorite of all the places I went on Hawaii. A nice food shop. Some food. Drinks made very nicely. Coffee beans were great! I ended up getting some to bring back home and have had some success with them here as well. - 5

MauiGrown Coffee, Lahaina, Maui - Wow, was I disappointed. This had a lot of good reviews on yelp, but unfortunately, I didn't read them carefully enough. The coffee is fine as a drip or pour over, but what I was served as a latte was hideous. You can read more about my review on yelp, but suffice it to say, I have never been to any shop anywhere that served me something so awful. - 1

Hawaiian Village Coffee, Kahana, Maui - A decent place not too far from where I was staying. Coffee was good but not great. - 3

The Coffee Store, Napili, Maui - Again, a place not far from me. It was small and they were busy for an early morning. Coffee was pretty good too. - 4

Akami Coffee, Kahului, Maui - Never made it here, but it was lower down on my list to visit.

Great review that makes me want to go back to Maui as I know where to go for a great latte. Thanks for sharing.