Visited Nov 18 around 10:45am. Was greeted by a nice lady, and she had our drinks out within a few minutes. Hats off to her, especially when she appeared to be running the shop alone at the time! The drinks were very good, and I loved the ube float! I liked that the mocha frappe had a stronger coffee flavor and not just sugar like how other frappes from other places taste. She loaded my float UP with soft and tasty boba. The store gave off a very comfortable feel with several tables to sit at if you're not in a rush to go anywhere. I work at a shop similar to this one but I gotta admit, I like Coffee or Tea's drinks better. Shhh... I can't be caught out here praising the competition... 10/10!!! read more

Coffee or Tea? - Mocha Frappe, Ube Float - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

It took a bit of wait to get our drinks because there was only one worker and we ordered 4 blended drink... Besides that, the drinks we got were super! Bf got the cheesecake milk tea smoothie. Something old, something new, something very delicious (thumbs up). I have gotten the honey green tea with lemon before, but not in smoothie form. The smoothie version was much to my liking (happy face emoji). It pretty much tastes like calamansi. Each sip was had a kick of sour...soooo good! I also got a fresh papaya shake and a fresh avocado shake for my parents, I didn't taste it though, but it look tasty. Lol. read more

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I think the first time I ever came to Coffee or Tea was sometime last year and I remember having one of the best Thai Tea Bobas like ever! (Major Thai Tea Addict Here lol) I came back again tonight to try to get a late night boba fix, but unfortunately they were all out of boba, so plain Thai tea had to do, and just as I remembered the flavor was yummy and the sweetness was just right. I know a lot of other boba places allow you to choose the percentage of sweetness but this isn't one of those places but I can't complain because it's always to my liking. Also their tea and coffee selection is big, lots to choose from. I also tried their Shaved ice, I chose to customize my own and I believe your able to choose up to 6 different toppings for only $7 which is a good deal. My shave ice had mango, taro, lychee jelly, condensed milk and green tea ice cream! If was so good and cured my sweet tooth. I love how soft the shave ice is. I had let the worker know that we would dine in to eat our dessert but she must have not heard me because they packed it in a to go container, which is okay not that big of a deal. Also they have milk tea for sale by the Gallon for $15 what a steal! I heard the gallon could fill up to 7 large cups. Will be back for this! read more

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Thought I'd come by and try their version of Tiger Sugar boba. I was very underwhelmed and the drink was way too sweet the boba was. Tbh, I don't think I'll order it again and I'd rather stick to my wintermelon milk tea. At least after all this time, they still offer 10% off. read more

Coffee or Tea? - "Tiger Sugar Boba" - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

The Hot Chai tea is great! Friendly staff, fast service, nice atmosphere! A wide variety of choices.

My favorite boba place...four years ago! Since then, the boba competition has grown tighter, even in Aiea alone. If I'm not mistaken, Boba Cha in Pearlridge across the street is CoT's sister shop, and that boba is pretty decent for the mall, very similar to CoT. Four years later, I still haven't tried the food offerings. Four years later, CoT still enforces a $5 minimum to pay with a credit card. The milk teas are good, and the watermelon drink is so refreshing on a hot summer day! CoT still gets my four stars for the nostalgia as the very first boba shop I tried when I moved to Hawaii. read more

=== 1. VERDICT/VALUE 3.5 stars - oh so close to 4 stars because the drinks are good and quite reasonably priced, but the inconsistent service is based on the staff you have working on the day you go in...so it's still recommended :) === 2. FOOD There are a variety of drinks and even shave ice available, but most people (including myself) seem to choose from the variety of bubble teas available :) With milk teas including boba around $4, you're looking at good beverages that are pretty wallet-friendly! This is what makes Coffee or Tea recommended for friends and family. === 3. SERVICE The biggest challenge may be service. Sometimes, it's good and reasonable. Sometimes it seems to take quite a while to get your drink. Sometimes (like this time), the staff are making visible mistakes, and they need to make 4 drinks to get the 2 you're looking for after verbal corrections. === 4. ATMOSPHERE There are a variety of tables to relax and chat inside, a welcome and great oasis from the heat outside! Parking is plentiful in the strip mall's lot outside. If there was a downside, it's that the storefront is down the blind side of the shopping center, so it's not readily seen from Kam Highway. read more

Coffee or Tea? - Winter Melon Milk Tea ($4): with boba, fantastic on another hot day in the 808! - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

10% Yelp checkin deal is awesome! I loved the milk tea with coffee jelly but my hubby's iced coffee was too milky without the coffee taste. I love to support local businesses and the fact that they keep their prices reasonable is a huge plus. I'll keep coming back to try other items on their menu! There's always plenty of parking and I've noticed they always have a line. read more

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Very TERRIBLE customer service. Walked in without a "hello" or "welcome, i'll be with you shortly". Nothing. I waited about 15 mins then walked out. Custoner service is very important for a business to grow. read more

Coffee or Tea? is one of my favorite places to get milk tea. The milk tea here is consistently good. Not too sweet or too watery and the boba here is good too. Some of my fave drinks besides milk tea are the lychee black tea and the mocha frappe drinks. They have a good selection to choose from and I've liked everything I've tried so far. The service here has been quick and friendly. Even on my most recent visit, there was only one worker with a bunch of orders and she totally rocked it. Just as a side note: pre-COVID, they were cash only. Now, I believe they take card with a minimum $10 purchase. read more

Good place to get a quick milk tea with Boba of course! Beware that they only have one person making your orders. Waiting can be a while... Would love to try other things on their menu during a non-congested time, which does not seem to be any time soon! read more

Very quiet, ample parking, outlets to charge all of your devices and I also love how the price includes one topping. I got the honey dew milk tea (jumbo) and I also used the yelp check in for a 10%discount. The price came to $4.97, which I thought was reasonable. I got my drink very quickly and with the added $1 to get a jumbo, I thought it was worth it. They have other shakes, smoothies, and dessert options. I wish that they used real fruits in the milk teas. I'm trying to find a place that makes the drinks fresh. The taste of my milk tea was still good, but I could tell it was made from powder. There was also no sweetness level to choose from. Overall, this would be a great place to study and grab an affordable drink at the same time. read more

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Got our order in less than 3 minutes it seemed.. pretty good place but nothing really special. Good place to go for some coffee with boba

Coffee or Tea? That is the question that we faced after eating a sumptuous Thai meal at a nearby restaurant. We could've had a Thai dessert but chose to check out this Asian coffee house as we had previously walked by and were enticed by their colorful menus. Upon walking in to this café, we found the light wood and floral décor to be pleasing to our eyes. The two staffers were friendly and welcomed us with smiles. There were huge menu boards from which we could choose our beverages or desserts from. Strategically placed near the cash register was nice display case of chilled Asian desserts and cheesecake slices. I'm not usually a milk tea or boba tea drinker but was intrigued by their lavender tea. Lavender is a calming or relaxing herb which, IMHO, also tastes good. I asked for my lavender tea to be made with a non-dairy substitute (soy or almond milk) because I am mildly lactose-intolerant but requested custard pudding as my add-in. This tea was fragrant, not overly sweet and the soft eggy custard was a good complement to the floral herbaceousness. Grande $4.25 + $0.25 Custard Pudding. One of our dining mates ordered a shaved ice bowl, which was a humongous serving of finely shaved ice topped with tapioca pearls (boba), azuki beans, condensed milk and a huge scoop of green tea ice cream. The treat cost was only $6. It was big enough to share with among 3 people but maybe it was because we were all so full from dinner. I don't even think that I could've eaten one by myself. It was also good to know that Coffee or Tea has a café in town because who knows when we'll be out this way again? I'd be interested in trying their papaya smoothie or avocado shake made with non-dairy substitute, soon. read more

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One worker and line was long but she did it like a boss. She was quick w/our orders. Boba drinks are affordable and tastes good. They got snacks too and they're affordable bonus for the littles who just want to nibble on something. Definitely recommend this place! read more

I don't carry cash on me, and was a bit disappointed when I found out that they will charge your card if your purchase is under $10. I just wanted to get a drink for myself after getting facial and my drink was obviously under $10. So unless you're getting more than two drinks or you don't kind paying the fee then sure. I always get their matcha shake with boba and it's already consistent. I don't remember when they started to use paper straws, but omg. They're a nightmare. Especially if you have a shake. read more

Coffee or Tea? Definitely tea. The coffee is horrible. So bad couldn't even drink it, threw it away Ordered iced coffee and espresso. Both were bad. Clearly, this is a place for boba... I just assumed since they had coffee in their title, they would have something good. read more

Coffee or Tea? - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

The atmosphere was quiet and pleasant. Be warned that they only take card for orders $10 and up. I thought we would hit this limit, but the shave ice we ordered was more reasonably priced than we thought (not a bad thing at all haha) The shave ice was good with lots of red beans! The tapioca here is good and chewy and I really loved that they used the Dave's Green Tea Ice Cream--my favorite ice cream to this day! Definitely would order this again (8/10) read more

Coffee or Tea? - Shave Ice #1 - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

One of the best thai iced teas with boba I've had on island! Can't report on much else, but there's tons of free parking, it's conveniently located, and they are super quick! read more

Coffee or Tea is actually one of my favorite places on Oahu even though I'm not a huge fan of powdered drinks anymore. As you look at my check ins, I've been here NUMEROUS of times. And I usually frequent only one drink each time I come to this location: black sesame milk tea. It's located in the Waimalu Plaza Shopping Center, near the back. There's a variety of restaurants, salons, and other shops to visit and choose from. A gym is even located here! Parking will never be issue if you're ever here. As I mentioned earlier, I ALWAYS get their black sesame milk tea with boba or coffee jelly. I don't know why, maybe I'm just a huge fan of black sesame things, but it's REALLY REALLY good. They mix some black sesame powder before pouring in their homemade AMAZING milk tea in with it. The black sesame has a nutty, bitter kind of taste to it, so it balanced out the sweetness of the milk tea REALLY well. Ever since I first tried it, I never went back to exploring the different drinks again. Only the Aiea location has this available. The other locations (McCully and Waikiki) used to but because it wasn't that popular, they discontinued it (BUMMER because I always went to the McCully location!). I've tried their original milk tea (bomb), wintermelon milk tea (good but super sweet), and others I can't really recall. I believe you can ask them to make the drink less sweeter. I'm not too sure since their milk teas are already premade... but if you ever need to, try asking! I definitely recommend trying their black sesame milk tea. It's not overly sweet nor not sweet (lol), and usually perfect for a hot day! Also, your purchase has to be over $10 to pay with card, and they have additional 10% off if you do a Yelp check in. read more

Assam milk tea is pretty satisfying. Would like to be able to change sweetness level as it was quite sweet for my taste. The flavor was good but tastes like it may be from a powder mix rather than actual black tea base like some of my favorite other places have. Boba was perfect quality. They have a variety of really interesting flavors and I will definitely go back to try some of those. Overall, a good place that I would visit again, but still doesn't beat out my top pick for Bubble Tea on the island. read more

Coffee or Tea? - Assam Milk Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

Coffee or Tea has always been my #1 favorite milk tea place. I usually get the regular milk tea with boba since the level of sweetness is perfect for me and it doesn't taste like the "powder" taste. If I do want something different I get the melona or taro flavor. This time my fiance tried their shave ice, #2 which is pretty much everything coffee. Coffee syrup, coffee jelly, and coffee ice cream on top drizzled with condensed milk. It was delicious! Don't know which brand of the ice cream it was or if the condensed milk made it taste so much better, but the ice cream part made it for me. They also now accept credit cards with a minimum of a $10 purchase. The only thing I don't like about this location, no restroom. read more

Coffee or Tea? - #2 shave ice. Coffee everything! - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

Our last stop on the way home, after going to Grandma's and Grandpa I always order the biggest size milk tea with boba and Ube walls ($2 extra) just perfect on a hot day and the drive home. read more

Coffee or Tea? - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

Best milk tea on the entire Leeward side. No frills and thrills just the real deal. I don't care for fufu stuff like cheese foams and whatever concoction people are trying to create. I just want Thai milk tea made the authentic way and this is where to get it. Great service too. read more

It's our Boba go to spot when we get a craving for coffee jelly. A nice family shop with a lot to choose from. Try it, you'll love it .

The best boba spot on the island!! I don't what they do differently but whatever it is it's awesome! The smoothies are a fine consistency and always refreshing read more

Such disappointed! Not even can vote one star. The male cashier n he was a server and making drinks, he was not nice. I ordered a bubble tea n I pointed at the size of the clear plastic cup which was the display on cash register. He made the drink , he gave me a paper cup for bubble tea. I told him that he should tell me that it will be served with paper cup when I paid; different cup what I ordered form the display. I also suggested him should changed the paper cup for display on the register instead of clear plastic cup. The cashier who he told me because of Hawaii laws, only can use paper cups , then I pointed at all those clear plastic cups and paper cups put all together at the counter. The cashier told me the clear plastic cup is for smoothies; he told me if I want a clear plastic cup. I can tell him next time when I order and there is an extra charge to get clear plastic cup. I told him that I won't come back anyway, and he told me don't come. read more

Drinks are great. But super expensive. And make sure to have cash cause their CC minimum is $10. Kind of ridiculous considering your one drink is right under $9. I think CC minimum should be maybe $7. That's more understandable. read more

Very bad customer service comes with attitude! Worse part is you order a single shot coffee thinking you will at least get the size of the cup it's given to you in and for the price too... Nope the single shot is the size of the medicine cup you give your kids cough syrup in. Also the paper cup you put that single shot in sir , was really a waste of our trees. read more

Solid little shop with plenty of coffee, tea, smoothie, and boba options. Thai tea was tasty and sweet. I got a pineapple smoothie with added boba. Passion fruit iced tea was also good. I liked the fact that they also had interesting Asian snack foods for sale. Kit Kats, sunflower seeds, interesting rice cakes flavored with different things. This was a nice little treat after dinner next door at Oh My Grill. read more

Always so friendly and quick with the drinks. I prefer this location than the others.

They work pretty quickly to make the fresh fruit boba drinks. Both the mango and pineapple drinks that my husband got definitely tasted like the sweetest fresh fruit you could bite into. They don't offer sugar preference levels so with that being said they were a bit too sweet for my preference, but a very nice treat that I would recommend to any fruit lovers. Ginger milk tea has a nice mellow ginger flavor, just enough to feel it's spice. I love ginger so I would have preferred a stronger kick of it, but it's perfect for anyone who's curious or unsure about their ginger tastes. The TARO smoothie boba was PERFECT! Creamy, earthy and the flavor was spot on! Also they fill their smoothie drinks like a slurpee! Meaning they fill it above the cup line! So generous. read more

Coffee or Tea? - Taro boba after we taste tested first ;) - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

My daughter and my friends come here for one thing: WINTER MELON MILK TEA. My child's top milk tea place! Second would be Nice To Meet You and third would be Mr. Tea. Based on Winter melon only. When I need a sweet chocolate fix I'll order the Mocha Frappe or the chocolate shake. I've tried the Mocha Frappe with pudding, not bad. A plus for this place is if you check in on Yelp 10% off of your order! read more

Love the milk tea which is very refreshing and tasty. Very cute shop and nice service

Always great! Hot or cold drinks, it doesn't put on airs either! Check it out! Update: this is a great place for boba drinks and cool desserts. If you have a project that you need to get done with some caffeine to assist your endeavors, this is the place! The matcha latte with or without boba will do the work. You'll be able to concentrate and get things done. WiFi is wonderful there. If you have a party elsewhere, you can order large sizes for teas with fixings. Always courteous. read more

Coffee or Tea? - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

Cash ONLY & if you're not sure of what to order, you can ask for samples. =) +1 This place reminds me of the numerous Taiwanese boba/ milk tea places in Cali. Caramel milk tea with boba: A Very sweet caramel taste, boba was good & chewy. Lavender milk tea with milk: A Sweet milk tea with hint of lavender, nor as sweet as caramel though. Boba was also good & chewy. Nice clean & chill place with AC to hangout with friends. Tip: Yelp check in gets you 10% off your order. read more

Coffee or Tea? - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

My daughter and I drive from Ewa to this place every weekend just to order the taro milk tea with boba, they make it the best, and the service is amazing. Thank you for making us feel welcome. See you next weekend. read more

I really do love the original milk black tea. It has the right amount milky, strong taste of good brewed tea. It has a ton of sugar, but you need sugar every so than. ;) Adding in custard, boba, or jelly are some of the toppings of choice! I'm not too fond of the taro milk tea, or honey dew milk tea. It's a little too powdery for me. It is cash only, and if you check in on yelp it's 10% off! Drinks can run from $4.50-$9.00. The more stuff you add, the higher the price it gets. There is usually an ATM close by to the Coffee or Tea locations so you can withdraw cash from there. During busy times, the wait is a bit long but it can be worth it! :) read more

Coffee or Tea? - So good on a hot day. Milk tea with pearls - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

NEW OBSESSION: strawberry green tea slush with golden boba. Such a treat to beat the Hawaiian heat. Still CASH ONLY. ATM is across the building inside mom/pop store. read more

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I've been to a ton of bubble tea places, and let me tell you, they have the BEST bubble tea one could ask for! The drinks are nice and creamy and sweet, and the boba is soft and chewy. The cheesecake there is so good! Even though they bought it from Sam's Club and which they got from Cheesecake Factory. Despite that, everything there is so good!!!! read more

Coffee or Tea? - The bubble tea I usually order. Taiwan Milk Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii