Drip Studio Is a Coffee Nerd’s Retreat in Downtown Honolulu

 

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on May 31, 2023, then updated as part of our October print issue.

 

 

I tell people that I’m not a coffee snob. But even though I’m too lazy to get technical with brewing, I do savor a well-brewed cup, and I like that Drip Studio offers a happy medium. It doesn’t matter if you know everything or nothing about coffee: Co-owner Vincent Pōhaku will craft an experience that couples the beans he has with the optimal brewing style to release the flavors you’re after.

 

 

In some ways, Drip Studio could be considered a normal coffee shop. It opened this year toward the mauka end of Fort Street Mall with high-top tables, a counter and a takeaway window where you can choose from several coffee options (except espresso), tea or a caffeine-free mocktail and be on your way. There’s a rotating selection of small-batch baked goods, too.

 

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In other ways, Drip Studio transcends most definitions of a coffee shop. With each visit, my appreciation for craft coffee grows, not only for the soothing taste and stimulating effects, but for the community of small roasters that Pōhaku and Kelsie Mercado-Uehara, the shop’s owners and life partners, are shining their light on. Pōhaku has been a coffee lover for most of his life. A carpenter by trade, when he was ready to hang up his tool belt, he knew his next step would be to create a space to share his passion for craft coffee.

 

 

From the kitchen, Pōhaku engages with his customers. He keeps a coffee bible at hand that lists upward of 40 coffees from various roasters that he’s in contact with worldwide. A quick consult, and Pōhaku’s got a beverage to cure your craving. Pour-overs ($6.50) are the standard, but he can also make you a Japanese-style iced coffee ($6.50) or a Vietnamese pour-over ($7.50) with condensed milk. There are cold brews, standard ($4.50–$5) or charged with nitrogen gas ($5.50–$6.50), plus the tea and caffeine-free options ($3.50–$5.50).

 

This is where it can get a little nerdy. On each visit, I’ve tasted at least two coffees—including some made with beans from Rose Coffee Roasters of Switzerland, Portland Ca Phe in Oregon and White Nēnē Coffee Roasters on Hawai‘i Island, all champion roasters—brewed using different techniques that evoke distinctive flavors from the same beans.

 

And on a recent visit, I brought beans from Manu Coffee Roasters in Fukuoka, Japan. Pōhaku made me a cup using the Devil’s Brew method created by world champion brewer Tetsu Kasuya. It involves two processes that maximize flavor upfront and pull pure caffeine toward the end. The result is a luscious, full-bodied cup that’s not too hot to drink immediately. I shared my cup with a friend, and we were wired for the rest of the day.

 

 

If you’re a sucker for iced coffees and drinks with cold foam, the Cold Fashioned with Foam ($8.50) is right up your alley. The cold brew is gussied up with maple syrup, orange bitters and a creamy cloud of citrus-scented foam and delivered like a proper cocktail. It dawns on me how much closer Drip Studio is to Bar Leather Apron than it is to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

 

 

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The craft coffee shop is part of a third wave café culture that’s cresting in Honolulu right now. For decades, folks were happy waking up with Folgers in their cup. Then came the wave of triple skim lattés and blended mocha javaccinos in the ’90s and early aughts. In 2011, Eric Rose, a former Starbucks executive from its early days, opened Morning Glass Coffee + Café in sleepy Mānoa, one of the OG shops that started the local slow coffee movement. Now, at places like Drip Studio, The Curb and Bean About Town, everyday caffeine addicts are seeking out single origin pour-over coffees and asking about how the beans are grown and roasted.

 

 

“It’s really exciting to see people embrace and enjoy a scene that was once deemed pretentious or inaccessible,” says Mahina Akimoto-Reppun, Morning Glass’ co-owner and manager. “People would scoff at waiting five minutes for a coffee, whereas now people seem to understand that at most specialty shops, you’re getting an above average cup and that really great things take time and attention to detail.”

 

 

At Drip Studio, Mercado-Uehara delicately arranges berries, mint and edible flowers on one of her ricotta toast creations ($12). Her baked goods entice from under glass cloches and jars: browned butter miso chocolate chip cookies, slices of citrus olive oil cake with orange zest glaze, and guava jelly bars. The menu also lists open-face sandwiches ($10), salads ($10) and other light fare.

 

Pōhaku, meanwhile, is working on turning the rest of Drip Studio into a coffee sanctuary. He describes it as a place where people will be able to explore rare roasts and obscure brewing techniques. It’s a place I’m eagerly waiting for.

 

 

Open Tuesday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., 1146 Fort Street Mall, dripstudiohnl.com, @dripstudiohnl