Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii

The coffee ice cubes are coffee. That's the one detail to know going in. The iced drinks at this Bad Ass franchise on US-17 BUS in Surfside Beach don't water down as they melt, because the cubes are frozen coffee instead of frozen water. Small thing, real difference on a hot South Carolina afternoon when your iced latte is going to sit in a cup holder for forty minutes.

The brand is built on Hawaiian beans, and the shop leans into the tropical theme hard despite sitting on a coastal highway about as far from Kona as you can get in the lower forty-eight. Bright interior, beach-themed walls, indoor seating, a manager often working the floor. Easy to drive past if you're not looking for it. Easier to miss than the chain probably wants.

The Bad Ass Latte is the namesake order. The Triple Wave iced latte and the Caramel Wave both pull regularly, and the toasted vanilla coffee is a reliable hot drink for cooler mornings. On the food side, the breakfast sandwiches are the move, and yes, there is a spam sandwich on the menu in earnest. The sausage, egg, cheese, and pineapple version is the one that splits opinion the most, and the split is along exactly the lines you'd expect. Frozen coffee on the menu for the kids, or for adults who'd rather not admit they want it.

There's wifi and there are outlets, so people do use it as an extended workspace, which works as long as the line stays manageable. Pup cups available at the window. Parking is straightforward, an underrated feature in a beach town in summer. It's not a destination coffee experience. It's a roadside stop with stronger coffee than the location suggests and a theme that's fully committed to itself, which is most of what you need it to be on the way to or from the beach.