Bad Ass Coffee, Makuhari, Chiba

Bad Ass Coffee...  From the name, who would know that Bad Ass Coffee is a chain of Hawaiian-themed coffee shops?  While the name of the shop is funny because it is based on the asses used to climb mountains that coffee grows on, most people don't get the connection between the name and Hawaii.  As a result, perhaps the theming aspect of the coffee shop might fail to attract customers with an interest in Hawaii.  The name even caused some controversy as I remember reading a story about how the city of West Dundee initially opposed the name of the shop when a West Dundee shop opened in the mid-2000's (it folded pretty quickly from my understanding).  However, the name is unforgettable and might help it stand out.  The theming is pretty good with palm trees, Hawaiian motif furniture and Hawaiian music.  No tikis though...
Unlike Honolulu Coffee Company, Bad Ass does not originally hail from Hawaii.

I visited Bad Ass on a Saturday a little after 2pm, and people were still eating lunch.  The place was absolutely packed as along with the coffee, it serves Hawaiian-style food.

 To get an idea of what is on the menu, please refer to the following picture.  Don't you love the Japanese-English with "The dish of legend" and "Pan Cake"?  At least they tried though; I can't imagine House of Kobe (a Japanese restaurant in Merrillville owned by a Taiwanese American family) trying to create a Japanese menu.

Here is one of the legendary bad asses:

They have a good variety of coffee blends such as Hawaiian Pie and Coconut Macadamia, but I was interested in the 100% Kona.  A large ice 100% Kona set me back 530 yen, which is about 6 bucks.  They had malasadas too, and I couldn't resist getting one.

 My meal looked like this:

The malasada was the bomb.  For a second, I thought it was fresh out of the deep fryer.  Maybe it was...  My little golden puff of joy was warm, slightly firm but soft on the inside, and had just the right amount of sugar.  The coffee was, well great.  You can't lose with 100% Kona, the king of coffees.  I definitely recommend that you make it out to Makuhari for this place.  Although the website still lists the Jimbocho location, it closed about 2 years ago.  The closure is a shame as I have some good memories of the Jimbocho location- I spent one of my birthdays there with a buddy and also it was the place where I learned of some great news.  For all of you Chicago people, there is a Bad Ass somewhere in the city.  Please try it and let me know what you think.

The bottom line- for the malasada, Kona and theming, I give Bad Ass Coffee five coconuts out of five coconuts.

Honolulu Coffee Company in Odaiba, Japan and Honolulu, Hawaii

Well, to start, I love coffee.  I love going to coffee shops.  You are going to see various coffee shop reviews here in the next few months and years.　Why do I love coffee shops so much?  Nothing beats 1. Having free time, 2. the caffeine boost from the coffee, 3. the opportunity to learn more by studying books, notes, etc., 4. listening to jazz, bossa nova, or whatever music the coffee shop is playing, and 5. often having attractive people around you (I like watching people) doing the same thing you are doing.

Of all coffees, I feel that Kona is king.  It just tastes so good compared to the others.  Here in Tokyo, a normal bag (the size you see at  Starbucks, supermarkets, etc.) of 100% Kona coffee will easily set you back 35 bucks while you can get the same in Oahu for 9.95.  There used to be a Hawaii coffee joint in Jimbocho called Bad Ass Coffee but unfortunately it closed.  It was pretty well-themed, all the way from the spam musubi to the picture of the Duke on the wall.  Luckily, there still is one in Makuhari.

Recently, while visiting Odaiba, I was able to go to Honolulu Coffee at the food court of Diver City.  They have 100% Kona and an assortment of things that Japanese people believe that Hawaiian coffee shops should have such as pancakes and melted cheese sandwiches.  I believe that Honolulu Coffee is a licensee/franchisee (it might be company owned though) of Honolulu Coffee Company in Honolulu, and I suspect for trademark reasons, the Company portion could not be added to the name here in Japan.  If a licensee/franchisee, I was surprised at the poor quality of the Honolulu Coffee sign as it was pixilated, like it was a computer graphic blown up to the proportion of the sign (not pictured).  If I were a licensor/franchisor, I would definitely want approval rights over something as important as signs.  However, the coffee was great and the pancakes were pretty good.  I think breakfast was something around 2,500 yen or 30 dollars.  That said, I give Honolulu Coffee four out of five Kona shots for the all-around experience.

It was pretty crowded

Nice artwork

 Pancakes, a truly Hawaiian meal.

 Nice decor

Well, not too long after my trip to Honolulu Coffee, I was in Honolulu and was actually able to have coffee at Honolulu Coffee Company at Ala Moana Mall.  Much cheaper, I think my Kona was something like 3 dollars.  

The sign looked much better too.  

Honolulu Coffee Company actually had a sign talking about the Odaiba location.   

I look forward to going to both locations again.