Coffee or Tea?

Came here twice, and unfortunately both trips were disspaoting.
The coffee here isn’t that great, I had a latte and it was like meh. Second time I tried their «popular Green Tea Milk tea» and IT TASTE EXACTLY LIKE A ARIZONA.
That’s the first and last time I’m paying $ 6 for a Arizona

My milk tea was great, until I found a dead roach in it. Not a great picture, but thanks for the extra topping — free of charge! (Hope it posted)

Hubby wanted coffee, I wanted tea so what better place than Coffee or Tea! But this time I tried something a little different than just tea… I ordered milk tea with bubbles! It was good but for me, the colder it became the more I enjoyed it. They were friendly, fast and looks like a good place to meet with a friend or just chill while enjoying your coffee or tea.

Had a sweet time! I used to go a hole in the wall place for Bobo Tea back in Texas that I loved every pay day as a reward. So when I moved to Hawaii I knew had to find one. I went to a place in Hawaii Kai and it was not the one. However, tonight victory was found! I had the Boba Pudding Tea. It was awesome and sweet and perfect. (If you are sensitive about food textures I wouldnt reccomend it for you.) Also had the expresso shake and it more awesomeness. Packed with flavor and would reccomend adding some of the boba balls. The ambience was laid back and quaint and perfect place to hang out to chill and relax. Will be back!

Coffee or Tea is a great place to have a relaxing morning, a study date with a friend or by yourself, and a cool dessert! I love coming here with my friend to study and work on assignments. The drinks are delicious. Best milk teas, great shakes, and good fruit juices. Although the ice in the shave ice desserts are not fine, the delicious toppings efficiently add great flavor making the dessert taste sweet with an icey twist. I don’t recommend coming here in big groups as the café is quite small with tables for two.

I have recently moved to Hawaii from the Mainland. Being a Californian, Naturally I’d crave for some milk tea fix. This place has yet to be one of my favorite milk tea join in Oahu. I usually gear towards either their original milk tea or the honey dew milk tea. The drinks come out perfectly made each and every time!
It is located in the Mc Cully shopping center, in the same plaza with the seven Eleven.

What is the mystery behind this popular place? Honestly, I don’t know, but I come back to this place that’s in one of Hawaii’s worst parking lots ever… Yet I still come and find parking and order my grande chocolate tea with no boba… Man, it’s the adult chocolate milk… Think kids would like this too!
It’s a well kept lil establishment that is strict with no outside food or drinks, noise level, and time you’re there and oh cash only, BUT the service is pleasant if you’re pleasant… So far I’ve only experienced good vibes here… I’ve witness others who haven’t been so lucky… So be patient and you’ll be rewarded…
Their specialties are mainly milk teas, shakes and desserts… Give them a try and see for yourself… Don’t feel rushed if you don’t know what to order… Take your time to look the menu and ask questions and get what you want. Grind On! Pau!

Best milk tea on the island for sure. Peanut butter toast is the bomb papaya milk and watermelon juice very good also

Coffee or Tea has been around forever since as long as I can remember! What I love about this place is how fast they are with the drink orders. Often times when there is a short line, the barista will take my order and make my drink so that by the time I tell the cashier what I ordered, it is ready.
Located in the McCully Shopping Center, Coffee or Tea has many convenient parking stalls right in front or down below in the basement. During nights and weekends it can get a bit crowded with parking hard to find sometimes.
This place specializes in all kinds of tea and coffee so this is the place to stop at if you like these things. Service has always been fast and professional. There are several tables and chairs inside and a few tables with chairs outside. Coffee or Tea is a good place to stop by for some refreshments.

Three words: chocolate milk tea. My boyfriend knows I LOVE chocolate, so he recommended I try that one, and I’m hooked. From the balance between chocolate and tea, to the tapioca balls, Coffee or Tea? has it all. Plus, they’re FAST. I haven’t timed them, but I’m sure the wait time for drinks doesn’t exceed five minutes.
This place gets crowded, and we go on Sundays. He comes here more often then me because he lives kind of close by, but I’m always surprised by how even in the late afternoon people are just hanging out, drinking their tea. It can get a bit noisy because the place is on the smaller side but we only sat in once.
I like this place, and whenever my boyfriend suggests getting tea I know it’s going to be here so I don’t say no. Good stuff.

I love the novelty of bubble teas and so I like to try then wherever I go. This place is still by far my favorite.
This place is quant, with elevated seating to the right of the entrance. To the left you’ll find the workers busy making different drinks, the menu in large print across the wall, and a small case of desserts. The desserts don’t usually change and often consist of two types of cheese cakes (a plain and turtle) as well as a carrot cake and cheese cake fusion. The desserts are simple and not the reason I come.
I come for the bubble tea! My favorite is Lavender Milk with bubbles. Uneventful to some, but the perfect blend of flavor, milk tea, and sugar. Their drinks are not overly sweet and the tea is smooth with no bitter overtones or after taste. The tea is never powdery and the bubbles are chewy and soft. If you love bubble tea then this place is sure to satisfy your needs.

Today is the second time I’ve came to coffee or tea? And it was such a bad experience. First, the girl taking my order /​ringing me up was being so short w me and being beyond rude. Second, as I was leaving the store and drinking my tea, there was A HAIR IN MY DRINK. There’s no way that was mine either because it was only after a few sips and I had a tight lid around it. AND my hair was slicked back in a bun and it would have been impossible for it to fall in there.
I’ve tried their shave Ice before and it was good, but after this experience I will never come back here. Their employees need to start treating their customers better and making sure their food & drinks are SANITARY.

I really do love some of the drinks at Coffee or Tea (CoT) but the thing that makes this a 3-​star and not a 4 or 5 star is inconsistency. There have been a few instances where one day I am craving a drink from CoT. But, when I get my drink, it tastes nothing like it usually does, usually it’s too sweet. This last time the boba balls tasted way too sweet and had a different texture. So the ball’s sweetness + the drink sweetness was too sweet. It was kind of gross.
I feel like there are too many good drink places out there to lose out on returning customers because of inconsistency. I’m not sure about others but I would choose a different place over this place knowing that I would always get a GOOD cup of whatever I’m getting for my $ 4 or $ 5.

I came here for a night cap with the gf last week, and our original plan was to go to Taste Tea, but since there was no parking available at Taste Tea… somehow we ended up at a place called Coffee or Tea?
Coffee or Tea? is located in the McCully Shopping Center. This little shop features bubble tea, tea, & coffee drinks, but they also serve a few desserts too.
The shop is pretty cool looking hip café, it’s clean, but there aren’t a whole lot of tables to sit.
They do pretty good business here, as I saw a lot of people walk in & out to buy drinks.
While Jules & I were here for our night cap, we ordered a tea & coffee (I had the coffee).
What can I say about the coffee?
The coffee wasn’t bad at all, but I think I like Philz, Starbucks, or Peet’s a little better. The coffee wasn’t overly strong, nor did it have a good bite, but since this was our plan «B» location, then that would have to do…
Lots of parking at the McCully Shopping Center, if you can’t find parking in the main lot, they have covered parking in the garage below the building.

I had been to the Coffee or Tea? location in Pearl Kai, but never here at McCully before. After a savory dinner at Agu Ramen, a group of friends and I came here for dessert. I was definitely craving something sweet after indulging in that savory but salty ramen.
One of my close friends highly recommended this boba place, as it’s one of her favorites on the island. I’m personally grateful that the Pearl Kai location is closer to me, but this McCully location is a fine option if you’re in town.
Parking in this lot is always really crowded because of bunch of businesses are located in this plaza – including Regal Bakery – but I was fortunate to find parking really quickly on this particular Friday night. The stalls tend to be more compact as well.
The coffee shop wasn’t too crowded during the time of our visit, and our group of five found a larger table to sit at pretty quickly. If you check in on Unilocal,you can get a slight discount, so take advantage of that.
Half of our group ordered shave ice, but I just got a milk tea because I was already pretty full from dinner. There’s a large assortment of drinks on the menu, as well as a few pastries in the display case if you’re hungry.
The only gripe I have about this place is that there’s no restroom inside the coffee shop … since it’s primarily a café serving drinks, shouldn’t there be an accessible restroom?! However, I like this spot because the boba is superb. It’s a great spot if you want to meet up with friends, but I think I still prefer the Pearl Kai location because it’s slightly calmer.
Here’s what I got:
«Milk Tea»: I knew I could depend on the tried-​and-​true milk tea from here, based on my experience at the Coffee or Tea? location at Pearl Kai. I opted for the same during this trip, since I just wanted something simple but slightly sweet. I got my medium-​sized «Milk Tea» sans boba and enjoyed the slightly sweet taste. It wasn’t overly sweet but was the perfect solution for dessert after a savory dinner.
«Shave Ice #1»: There are several different shave ice options, and this was one of the ones my friend chose. It features azuki beans, tapioca pearls, condensed milk and green tea ice cream. I’m not the hugest fan of green tea, but my friends readily enjoyed this option. One of my friends said that the condensed milk drizzled liberally on top gave this shave ice a slightly sweet taste, and the tapioca pearls gave it added chewiness. The green tea ice cream was subtly sweet and the azuki beans were almost like icing on the cake. This isn’t an option I would personally order for myself, but two of my friends enjoyed it and said they would order it again in a heartbeat.
«Shave Ice #2»: This shave ice option comes topped with coffee jello, tea jello, coffee syrup, condensed milk and coffee ice cream. I actually had a bite of this concoction because I love coffee ice cream. I’m not the hugest fan of the jello included either in the shave ice or the teas/​smoothies, but it does provide a chewy consistency to the dessert. I did like the taste of the coffee syrup and the coffee-​flavored ice cream. This is sure to please any coffee fanatic out there, but the coffee flavor isn’t super strong/​overwhelming.
«Espresso Shake»: I saw this as one of the options on the dessert poster, and I definitely want to try it sometime. It’s sure to be delicious and refreshing; I’ll just be sure to get mine sans the whipped cream.

Average service and tea but this place is nostalgia! I’ve come here since high school and they are consistent so they get +1 star.
Try my drink of choice here, the crystal lemon for something different. I know people like the boba and milk teas including taro, almond and the regular. I remember Jasmine being good too. They also have desserts!
Note, there are places to sit with one or two people and that the parking is basically McCully Shopping Center (underground is typically where the spaces are).

I don’t get over to McCully Shopping Center often these days but I recently was walking by and needed some caffeine. Coffee Or Tea caught my eye so I decided to check it out. I was happy they had the menu in the window so I could peruse before going in.
The menu is huge! I had no idea this gem existed! From your regular coffees and teas to milk teas, shaved ice, shakes, assorted iced teas, granites & more. I saw hot ginger which I almost craved for my sore throat if I didn’t need caffeine so badly.
I entered and was greeted immediately. This location is way bigger than I thought; there is plenty seating inside. The owner was seated at the end of the long bar and a smiling young woman was helping me. I ordered an iced regular black coffee add two shots espresso and a shot of vanilla syrup. She was nice enough to tell me the cost of the shots & syrup before punching it in to confirm I wanted it still. I had already looked so I knew but I truly appreciated that. She went to work quickly after I payed while I looked at the desserts in the case and noticed they also offer some other foods like hot thick toast with various fillings. The owner saw me taking photos of the menu and pointed to show me where they had take out menus. They happen to be reusable placemats as well — I almost felt wrong taking it. Extra nice touch!
My drink was ready quickly and she asked me to taste it in case I wanted more vanilla. Talk about customer service! It was actually perfect though. I was pleasantly surprised at this cup of joe and will definitely be back in here next time I’m in the area. I love my Starbucks fo’ life but I’m finding some really good coffee places around the island that are appeasing my caffeine needs in a real positive way.

boba is life!
It’s hard to say that this is my favorite boba place, actually. it’s hard to pinpoint which boba place on this entire island it my favorite, as for me I feel that all the boba drinks on this island taste the same.
I’m definitely a sucker for taro, and please add a little extra taro while you’re at it. I actually enjoy the boba drink I had here, it’s sweeter than most places… I have no idea if that’s a good or bad thing… Foods and drinks only taste sweeter if you add more sugar… And in my case that’s not a good thing if you’re trying to watch your weight :/​!!
Other than that, I think that this place does top most of other boba places that I’ve had. Also, before you go into the store, check in! They have a 10% coupon for checking in, and I’m not sure if it will be valid by the time you read this, but it doesn’t hurt to try! :)

BOBA 4 LYFE. I’m all about that boba life and this place has the goods. Try WINTERMELLON!!! I can’t believe they have wintermellon because on the mainland, I have not seen wintermellon anywhere except SoCal.
I also got a more traditional Jasmine green tea with sugar.
If you need the Boba hook up, this place should be your go to dealer. :D

The first time I tried Coffee or Tea, I hadn’t yet been converted to a milk tea drinker, and I ordered a green tea sweetened with honey which set me back over $ 5 and I left feeling poor and confused.
Over the past two and a half years I’ve developed an unhealthy love affair with milk tea and boba and now can truly appreciate Coffee or Tea and no longer find myself ordering $ 5 teas I can certainly make at home.
I find myself in the McCully shopping center on a regular basis, and when I have cash on hand this is a welcome treat. My favorite is the wintermelon milk tea with light «bubbles» aka boba.
Check in with Unilocal and save some money off your drink as well.
This business is cash only, and there is sometimes a language barrier and there’s a time limit for their tables but it’s a business not your living room so I understand them not wanting you to stay there all day.
The drinks are tasty, the staff is courteous and it definitely hits the spot on a hot day. Their cups say they’re Hawaii’s #1 but they’re my #2 :)