I guess I forgot to take a picture of my canned coffee drink of the day, so I snapped a pick of Beans & Roasters Cold Brew in the store.
Despite the cool looking and colorful design of the outside of the can, I didn’t like what was inside. The drink didn’t taste that different from other black coffee drinks. Will pass on this one from now on.
Tully’s Coffee Barista’s Black to start the day (even though this picture was taken at night). Nothing fancy, just straight up black coffee for a good morning jolt.
With convenience stores and vending machines blanketing the Tokyo urbanscape, it’s hard not to be within reach of a caffeine hit. So while touring the streets of Shinjuku, a visit to Lawons yielded this.
I don’t know how true it is, but I think there was a “New” sign next to this drink.Maybe not as bitter as the typical Boss coffee drink and maybe a bit smoother but still a Boss in terms of taste (and the all-important caffeine rejuvenation).
Despite seeing the different brands of coffee drinks available in convenience stores and vending machines, I had to try this Starbucks ready-to-drink beverage. The Caramel Macchiatto with Coconut holds true to its name with strong coconut tones sweetened by caramel. The drink comes with a small extendable straw that’s important. Don’t try drinking this without that straw to puncture the protective lid.
Overall a good drink but a little too sweet for regular consumption. But not seeing this locally, my curiosity is satisfied. Even though there are a few other espresso-based varieties, I’ll pass on this more expensive drink.
Grabbed the most “safe” drink that I saw at the convenince store. I recognized the Boss brand, could see the actual liquid, and wanted a larger size, so this Craft Boss coffee was my pick.
Don’t believe I finished it in one sitting. It did help me make it through the day after waking up every few hours at night.
Bought from a vending machine in the Nakamise shopping arcade is this Georgia European canned drink. Very much welcomed trying to get accustomed to the time difference – in the afternoon in Japan but at night Hawaii time. Nothing great, but it did caffeinate my system.
Side note: there are no Day 1 or 2 entries since technically these were travel days.
I never did learn the reason why several Hawaii Costco locations were without caffeineated varieties of their signature Seattle Mountain Coffee whole coffee beans. But rest assured the caffeine is back in stock.
Is this an epidemic or just bad timing? I’ve been to two different Costco locations in the past two weeks, and on both occasions, I haven’t been able to find their signature Seattle Mountain Coffee in anything other than decaf. What’s up with that?
There are other caffeinated coffee brands available like Starbucks, Kauai Coffee, Peet’s, and more, but my all around, go-to choice is missing. Hopefully, this is just a temporary outage, not a sign of permanent changes to come.
Starbucks released their special edition coffee tumbler that allows for free coffee during January of 2017. Yep, for the 31 days of January, you can bring in this $40 tumbler and get free brewed coffee (or tea). Usually additions like vanilla and caramel are free of charge when using this tumbler.
While you’re there, pick up a Starbucks Gingerbread Cafe, now reduced by 20%.
Wow, the shakeup of small businesses in Kailua just doesn’t stop. Sadly, Island Yogurt is leaving the Windward neighborhood, but Bee & Tea from Chicago opened their first Hawaii store on the same Hekili Street. Also opening on Hekili is The Curb that’s “keeping it fresh, hot, and cool with intentional coffee.”
Now I don’t quite understand their tagline, but hey, I’ll try some coffe with intention. The Kailua location just opened on Wednesday, so they’re still working out some issues on their fourth business day. Umm, yeah, gotta get a trash can inside the store and also an area with napkins would be good. But that wall art is cool, and I do really dig the whale wallpaper.
Their menu is tight and focused, and I went with a nitro cold brew since I don’t know where else I can find this on the Windward side. I’ve never had the foaminess of a nitro, but it’s interesting. There’s a different feel to this drink and subtle flavor changes to this cold brew. I’m not sure if this drink is for me though.
Next time, I’ll go for an espresso drink and fill my Belly.
No, I haven’t tried them yet and didn’t see any promotional materials this morning when I got my fallback Caramel Macchiato. But the Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew sounds overall awesome and the Nitro Cold Brew sounds intriguing. I think I’d try the Nitro first only because of its uniqueness, but it’s also not available everywhere, starting its rollout at Seattle, Portland, New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
So next time I’m visiting the coffee siren, I’ll order up a Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew and give a quick review. I wonder which Hawaii location (if any) would get the Nitro?
Oh eBar, you were my coffee oasis when queues were long at Starbucks. With two locations, a caffeinated drink was readily available after a short walk. But with your new single location in the Ewa Wing, I am saddened.
Sure, the new eBar location looks great. The interior is bright and modern and the outside seating is plentiful and shaded by huge umbrellas. But the coffee. And the wait. That’s not what I remember about the foregone eBar.
Yes, I had to wait in line. There were two people ahead of me to order my drink and three patrons already waiting to get their drink. Then when my Orange Iced Coffee came out, disappointment hit. How much coffee do you see? And how much orange foam do you see?
That’s not my idea of a worthwhile drink. Not having this drink before, I gave eBar the benefit of the doubt. But really, I shouldn’t have. And my goto drink, the Mexican Mocha, wasn’t on the menu anymore. I’ll give them another shot but with lowered expectations.
