Glazer's Coffee

Roger Uyehara says Glazer's Coffee is great for coffee. (5 months ago)

2700 South King ST Honolulu, Hawaii 96826
Glazer’s has the best espresso on Oahu in the last 15 years. If you’re an espresso geek, you’ll appreciate it greatly, and if you’re not, you’ll simply realize that you actually like espresso, cappuccino, etc. (without sugar/caramel/etc.) because this is what it’s SUPPOSED to taste like when made properly.

For you coffee geeks: The last time I was there for example, the owner pulled me an espresso shot with TIGER FLECKING. If you know what that is, you know how incredibly rare that is in a commercial establishment, and I never dreamed I’d see it here in Honolulu. The other workers are skilled, but the owner is amazingly talented, and of course he calibrates his grinder for each roast, humidity, etc., and has tweaked his machine temperature. He grinds for EACH shot, pre-heats the group, does everything right, and the proof is in the cup. The roast he uses is his own custom blend and roast that he has prepared for his shop, and it is better than even the local stalwart Koko Crater Coffee and better balanced than Honolulu Coffee Company (which goes for Kona’s cachet).- Koko Crater if you don’t know serves all of the high end restaurants like Roy’s (but tilts too heavily to Sumatra and roasts a bit too dark)— Glazer’s espresso blend is obviously much tastier, the owner really knows his stuff. He has maximized every aspect of the process for good taste, and I bet 90% of the patrons (who love the cafe for other reasons) aren’t aware of how good he really is, but they know they enjoy his coffee.

And the cappuccinos are amazing of course— poured latte art every time, and micro foam (not hard stiff nonsense like star****s), and the base espresso is of course magnificent, so even a non-coffeegeek will notice that cappuccinos don’t taste acrid and burned (Hello, Star****s). It’s supposed to taste good when made properly, and Glazer’s does it properly. Fantastic, anyone can tell the difference because you’ll actually enjoy your cup. Another specialty is the green tea frappe for those who like sweets. The dessert selection is noticeably poor, but there are no-nonsense bagels, biscotti, etc. There is also free wifi and plenty of outlets for those who need to do work in an office away from home. If I can’t go here, for good espresso drinks that are not burned in taste, I’ll go to Honolulu Coffee Company (in Ala Moana Ctr with a roaster on the premises and some skilled baristas, occasional latte art) or Satura Cakes (better desserts, and in Ward Ctr., almost always skilled baristas, can specify poured or stacked cappucinos). Still Glazer’s is several notches above for the coffee itself.