The Bean Counter

Taro Bagels… I’m not sure if anymore needs to be said…
I noticed there are no reviews of this place for over a year, so here is what’s going on at The Bean Counter. This place is located in the business admin building, and really nice for a quick bite between classes. The prices are pretty decent, much cheaper than Starbucks. Did I mention they have taro bagels?! They have a huge variety of bagel flavors: strawberry, jalapeño, plain, everything, ect… Did I mention taro?! Yum! They also have sandwiches, wraps, and lots of different coffees and teas. Pretty tasty and decent coffee. There is ALWAYS a line for this place so it’s obviously better than the sad 3 stars it has now.
I recommend the Taro Bagel!

Thank God for The Bean Counter – a much better Starbucks alternative!
I was pleasantly surprised to find this local-​coffee gem tucked away in the Shidler building. It’s a great location for upper-​campus and conveniently close to my office. And, no matter what time I venture over, I never have to wait in line for over a few minutes nor wait for my coffee for over a few minutes. The staff are friendly, welcoming, efficient, and right now this is my new favorite spot on-​campus.
I order my usual – Coconut Americano – which is always consistently delicious, strong (for my standards), and not burnt. Aside from their local coffee beans [which rotate] they offer teas, fresh bagels, yogurt parfaits, cereal, and even sandwiches for lunch-​time. I love ordering the Spinach bagel, which they toast in their awesome panini press. Yum!
Great little stand!

People have been hating on this café ever since it was called who-​knows-​what before. I personally don’t visit it that often, but I haven’t had a bad experience. Most recently, I had a veggie wrap, which I found to be crunchy and tasty. The coffee drinks aren’t great, but they’re passable if you’re just drinking them for caffeine. The Bean Counter is a viable substitute for Starbucks if you don’t have the time or energy to walk to Campus Center.

I practically live at Shidler during the school year, so I’ve spent more than my fair share of moolah at this coffee shop. I’m 50 – 50 about The Bean Counter – I’ll go if I see any item I really (and I mean REALLY) like. Most times, I’ll go elsewhere for food.
I’m not a coffee drinker, but their Soy Chai Latte is the best one I’ve had. I’ve ordered soy chai lattes at Starbucks, Kissaten, etc… but nothing has come close to the soy chai here. Their iced flavored teas are all right. I didn’t think much of their Long Island Strawberry Green Tea. It’s a pretty fragrant tea, though.
I always get their yogurt parfaits, preferably the fruit ones. They have a new guava granola chunk parfait, but I’m not a fan of it. The granola that comes with the yogurt parfait is heavenly honey-​roasted goodness. Sometimes I feel like I eat granola with a bit of parfait and fruits on the side, haha.
I love their bagels, too. Get it toasted. Always get it toasted. It should be law.
I usually get just the bagel, but when I do get cream cheese, these are my favorite combos:
–Strawberry bagel with Nutella
–Sun dried tomato bagel with chives cream cheese
–Blueberry bagel with cream cheese
Chocolate chip bagel is yummy by itself, but get it with Nutella for extra chocolatey goodness. (Disclaimer: I am not responsible if a few of those take you steps closer to diabetes and/​or clogged arteries.)
I’ve had their Veggie Wraps a few times. I’m pretty sure they leave it in the fridge throughout the week like all their other items. After picking out the hard cheese the first few times I’ve just stopped getting this item altogether.
The biggest downside to The Bean Counter is their $ 5 minimum to charge by card. What if I just want to get my $ 4 yogurt? :-(I hope they change the policy soon.

4.22.13.
I’m not really sure why the reviews are so terrible… but I thought it was a decent place. I guess I would have to say I like The Curb better but I think this side of campus is lucky to have a place that serves coffee :)
I went will an iced coffee ($ 3) which was ok. Didn’t really get a good look at anything else but I wouldn’t mind coming back again if I’m ever in the BusAd area.
Unilocal 365 Challenge: #111/​365

FOOD/​BEVERAGE:
Coffee is a regular drip and nothing stellar.
I was really excited about seeing loose leaf teas in their selection. Tried a fruit infused green tea and the barista put the leaves directly into a cup, poured the boiling water right in. Their tea lids have a filter in pucker opening so you don’t get leaves with your sips. The filter is an amazing idea, but is followed with terrible execution. My tea brewed beyond anything palatable. Please offer a second cup to strain tea into once it’s reached its optimum brew time.
Overall, the tea selection is depressing. Did I see Lipton in there?
BAGELS are yom. Here they toast ‘em on a panini press and offer flavored cream cheeses – I love. I’m pretty sure they get their bagels from Lox of Bagels (but every barista I’ve asked had no clue).
SERVICE:
It’s really hard to be the lone barista for the coffee stand in a B school. Every 75 minutes, a wave of know-​it-​alls rush your counter and you have to stifle your laughter while you serve lame drinks like caramel soy half-cafs.The baristas are never rude even though they must feel burnt out a lot. Thumbs up to the barista who blasts ska and punk for his entire shift.
I would have given them one star, but I bumped this place up a whole star just because they use SQUARE as their point-​of-​sale.
I think they are experiencing growing pains. I’ll give them another chance.

I’m REALLY surprised by the terrible reviews this place has gotten. Granted I only go here for bagels and iced lattes, but it is the only place I will go for bagels and iced lattes anymore.
I used to hate iced lattes. It’s either good coffee ruined by too much milk and sugar, or it’s bad coffee covered up/​made worse by too much milk and sugar. The lattes here taste great! The coffee flavor is delicious and they don’t use a ridiculous amount of sugar. I still ask for just half the normal sugar, which is only one pump because as you may have guessed I hate sweet coffee. Granted, I’ve never had a plain coffee here, but the coffee flavor in the lattes with minimal milk and sugar is awesome.
Also, the bagels are amazing! I love the flavors, the texture and the cream cheese options. I’ve never had a bad bagel here.
I can definitely see how the service gets backed up, especially between classes, but when that happens and the line is 12 people deep, I don’t bother. If you’re standing in that line and complaining about service, well that might be on you.

I’m definitely not a hater and I’d rather not give businesses a 1-​star rating but sheesh! My very first 1-​star rating goes to… drumroll please… The Bean Counter!
I’ve been avoiding making any purchases from here all semester because of my fellow Unilocalees’ reviews and because everyone working there always looked like they were so much better than everyone else and that working at a coffee stand is so beneath them. I was doing well to avoid it until today when BC Burrito was closed and I was just DYINGGG of hunger & thirst.
Let’s start off with the ordering process. It seemed as though my order was such a hassle to take down for the fella behind the counter because he was just so above it. I really don’t understand why since the place was literally desserted. There was one guy who just finished ordering and then there was me. Maybe I caught the barista on a bad day but that really shouldn’t affect the way you treat your paying customers. He literally looked down on me and not in the literal «You’re obviously a shortcake, Deidre» but in the way that would make Eleanor Roosevelt absolutely appalled! Um, excuse me, but I did not give you the consent to make me feel inferior.
My order was simple, too: a 12oz. iced white chocolate mocha and a plain bagel with a side of cream cheese. Came out to be almost $ 8. SERIOUSLY?! Da heck?! Ok, I’ll accept that since I’m absolutely famished. My white mocha was crap. I’m not a coffee head like a lot of other people that I know but I can definitely tell the difference between a good white mocha and a sh-​tty one. The white mocha from here, my friends, is definitely sh-​tty.
The only good thing was the plain bagel that they lightly toasted in their panini press and the cream cheese. If that’s the only thing going for them right now, then there’s absolutely no point for me to bring my patronage back to this establishment.

The coffee is horrible. The tea is blah. The workers are unfriendly. The only thing that is good is the bagels (when they don’t burn them). The only thing helping them out is no competition around them.
Example: In between classes going to get a coffee and a bagel. They can’t just tell each other the order. They have to write it down on their index card or piece of paper, and they don’t look ahead at the other orders. They will make only one bagel even though they can toast 4 bagels at once.

I really hate how lazy I am to go somewhere else to grab a snack or coffee. The stuff here is super overpriced for what you’re getting. If they weren’t in such a great location, they wouldn’t do so well. I also really hate how I have to spend $ 5 to get anything. Honestly, they aren’t going to change because of our Unilocal reviews or are we going to stop going. Therefore, we just have to suck it up until they have the next contract renewal with UH

I have been spending way too much money here this semester. And therefore have tried a number of their foods.
I really like their tuna sandwiches and have gotten it at least 4 or 5 times already. It’s very flavorful lol. But don’t get it grilled. It tastes better un-​grilled. Its pricey though. Nearly $ 5.
Definitely get their long island strawberry green tea. It’s a loose leaf tea so it’s $ 3 for a large. I’ve only gotten it iced but I’d imagine it to be good hot also… Maybe even more so depending on if you like stronger or weaker tea.
I didn’t care for their pumpkin spice even though that’s normally a fave of mine. I had a killer stomachache after drinking it so I’m gonna just stay away from that from now on.
Their chocolate peanut butter something else cookie is interesting. I’m not a real fan of it… It’s more of a blob than a cookie.
Their cheesecake cupcakes are pretty good but extremely pricey. I really enjoyed the Oreo one I had but I only bought it bc it was the daily special. I don’t envision myself buying it again.
Their rice crispy treat was pretty good but needed more marshmallows in my opinion. The price was good for the size though.
31 Unilocal Challenge: #19/​31

Now that I am a JD/​MBA student, this spot has become my last resort during my night classes. If I have time, I will go out of my way to go to Starbucks Manoa instead, but sometimes I just have to rush to class and need something to eat and drink. I try to avoid their iced coffee, because it is usually watery and weak. I did have an iced hazelnut latte that was pretty good and was made with real espresso, but still not as good as Starbucks. The service is very slow because there is usually only one employee working, and the line can get long. The taro bagel is tasty, and the Rice Krispies treats are a great indulgence when I need to stress eat.
$ 5 minimum for credit/​debit card transactions… and they mean $ 5. I rang up $ 4.97 and had to buy a cup of iced water for 25 cents to use my card.

What a history this coffee shop has had. I have got to say now that we can just let the past remain in the past; and let the future of this place (which seems to be much brighter) have better opportunity than its past.
Saying that, I have to start by saying the coffee has gotten infinitely better. This place IS under new management, and they change their drip coffees daily. Two days ago, I tried the locally grown Wailuku coffee and it was awesome! Today I had a Kaua’i grown batch, and it was even better! The new people are much more cheerful and better coffee makers than the past owners. They do not have such a wide variety in their menu, but I hear the bagels are great. Only inconvenience I can see here is that you need to spend at least $ 5 to use your card here. However, since they’re new, I understand why.
This coffee corner is especially great if you go to this part of the school; away from Campus Center and Paradise Palms. Sure it doesn’t have as much variety of coffees as those, but what it makes up for in that is their better service. I’ll take better service and limited menu over cruddy service and extensive menu any day. This place is great joy for those students who do not have time to venture over to the Campus Center for that caffeinated boost before classes. Good luck to the new Bean Counter crew. Salud!

When the time comes for a quick snack or a caffeine pick me up and I am being far to lazy, The Bean Counter seems to be the choice for me. Not because I thoroughly enjoy their food, coffee, or service, but simply as a matter of convenience. After all desperate times call for desperate measures!
The coffee is poorly made at best despite the fact that they use rather reputable brands. The staff there haven’t been trained well enough in making coffee/​tea and from what I’ve experienced, their temperatures are always off and their flavors inconsistent.
The food is also rather questionable. Since they don’t have a kitchen on-​site, they are limited to pre-​packaged items and baked fare. They are ok, but it is barely tolerable at best. Be sure to check the food before leaving since they can be old sometimes. On two occasions I’ve found mold on it…
Service is rather lackluster with most of the staff being rather lethargic and simply passing through with their tasks. Their lack of training becomes more evident by the nonchalant attitude they carry. Let’s be honest, I’d be more sympathetic if I got good service at least.
Like I said though… desperate times call for desperate measures.