If you find yourself in Hawaii on the Big Island, there is certainly no shortage of coffee thanks to the popularity of Kona coffee. So, do yourself a favor and drive right on past the Starbucks and pull into the cute little coffee shop of Kona Coffee & Tea Company. It’s in the Kailua area, just south of the Kona airport.

They have more than one location and I visited the Village store in the Kona Coast Shopping Center, which is just off Queen Kaahumanu Highway on Palani Rd. This location is open until 6:30pm, which is great for people like me who enjoy drinking coffee in the afternoon.

This shop serves a variety of coffee drinks – including flat whites – as well as teas. And they serve some food and offer some baked goods in plastic near the register.

For my visit, I order up a piece of the peanut butter banana bread, a large macnut latte and a regular coconut latte.

So, they only offer two sizes for the coffee. A regular size is 12 oz. and a large size is 16 oz. Overall, this was some good quality coffee and I think that the macadamia nut was superior to the coconut, however the flavor of both was good.

The only disappoint here was the PB banana bread. I mean, it sounds like something that would be the ultimate in tasty treats. However, it was truly a letdown. The peanut butter flavor was so strong that you could not even get a hint of the banana flavor. In the end, it was just a peanut butter bread.

And if you’re instantly in love with their coffees, they do sell bags of them in the store. So, load up your suitcase with some yummy smelling Kona coffee before heading back to the mainland. And you’ll get the bonus of all your dirty clothes smelling like coffee!

While in Brussels recently, we discovered a great restaurant and coffee shop chain called EXKi.

As you can probably tell from the carrot on their logo, this is a place that focuses on fresh and natural foods. And since we prefer to drink organic coffee and tea, this was pretty much our go-to place when we wanted coffee in Belgium.

The location that we frequented was the one at De Brouckèreplein 14 in Brussels, but we also popped into the one at Grasmarkt 93 since it is situated near the Grand Place. Just a note here – if you’re checking out the Grand Place, then you will notice that there is a Starbucks right there in the square, but the Grasmarkt 93 EXKi is only a couple of blocks away and well worth the walk.

We also stopped in the location at the main train station in Brugges and in Gent city center, and they offered the same quality as we experienced at the Brussels locations.

Coffee here is reasonably priced and has a nice, smooth taste. You can save a little cash by skipping drinking it in the restaurant as carry-out prices on everything are cheaper.

This was by far the best coffee that we had in all of Brussels. And best of all, the cup sizes were almost equivalent to American sizes! The food here is pretty great too, especially if you prefer some healthy fare to balance out all the Belgian frites that you must consume while in Brussels.

If you’re interested in the wi-fi situation, know that it is free and no password is required. However, you are limited to just 30 minutes of access.

Joe & the Juice is another great chain in Oslo that has great coffee. They also have really excellent juices, if you’re into that.

The location that we visited several time is the one at Lille Grensen (Karl Johans gate 25). You will pass it as you walk towards the Palace, but it is tucked back a little – so keep an eye out for it as you walk!

Another important thing to know about this place is that they open at 7 a.m. on weekdays but not until 10 a.m. on weekends!

Now, if you do go here, then do yourself a favor and do NOT just order a regular coffee or latte. Instead, get a ginger latte.

I know what you’re thinking – freshly grated ginger root in a latte does not really sound like something that would taste good in your jokehole. Well, the joke is on you, my friend!

It is fan-freaking-tastic!

Here’s the thing – the ginger is not as strong of a flavor as you might expect it to be. It is just a nice, light gingery undertone among that typical smooth Norwegian coffee.

I really only have one bad thing to say about the ginger latte here – the cup size for it is TOO SMALL! If you check out the photo of our drinks, the smaller coffee cup is the ginger latte and the larger is a big regular latte.

Prices here are typical Norwegian coffee shop prices, which means that it is rather pricey if your base is American dollars. For two ginger lattes and two of the juices, it ended up costing us around the equivalent of $30 USD – but it was so worth it. In fact, when we head back to Oslo for the weekend, we will be indulging in some of the tasty beverages here yet again.

While we did enjoy Stockfleth’s coffee in Oslo, I do believe that I prefer Espresso House. It is a local chain that has several locations throughout Oslo, but we went into the large, two-story location at Olav V’s Gate 2, Oslo, Oslo 0161. That’s just due south of The National Theatre. Coincidentally, this shop is also a great place to find a free public restroom in Oslo (it’s up on the second level).

When we stopped here, we were a little hungry and definitely in need of some coffee. They have lots of different coffee options and even more food options for you to choose from. This includes everything from sandwiches to pastries and sweets.

We tried two different sweet items, because sweets and coffee are the perfect match.

And, one of us got a latte and the other regular coffee.

As expected, the coffee was nice and smooth. Perfection, really. In fact, this was probably the best coffee that we had while in Olso (in June 2014).

As for the sweet treats, they were also quite tasty. We ended up with a Swedish chocolate ball and some type of brownie that was topped with caramel, pecans, marshmallows and other yummy goodness. The brownie was VERY rich!

One thing to note is that you can get free tap water at Espresso House with your coffee, which is very nice. Don’t you hate when coffee shops make you pay for a glass of water?

Additionally, this place is quite large and there is a LOT of seating. Wi-fi is free and did not require a password for access when we were there.

If you check out this coffee shop, then don’t worry about any language barrier as each staff member seemed to speak great English. And, they were all very nice.