Looking to unwind with a fresh cup of joe or a potent blend of tea? If so, check out the newly opened red-awninged Connections Video Caf�, located right across from the Lani Kai.

Co-owners Manuel Maestre and Hamoud Vanoni opened shop Labor Day weekend and offer customers an escape from the daily bustle with a wide array of coffee, teas and sandwiches, as well as comfy furniture to lounge on.

�It was a dream of mine,� reflected Maestre on opening the coffee house. �I love coffee and tea. But I didn�t want a cookie-cutter franchise like those other beaneries. I wanted something less commercialized with a home feel, comfortable and relaxing and bringing together different parts of the world. I envisioned a store where someone would walk in and get a culture shock.

Tea and chocolate

Chocolate's relationship with coffee has too long been monogamous. Sure, they make for happy mouth companions, but in this tiny little space, I want to tell you that if you've never tried eating a bit of chocolate with your tea, you must. Seriously.

I confess that I did not hit on this idea myself. It was pitched onto my desk by some creative thinker at San Francisco Chocolate Company, makers of all manner of chocolates, including tins of delicate, meltingly rich chips that are just the right size for eating with tea.

My instructions were to boil a pot of water and brew cups of chai, black and green teas, then to enjoy each tea with a specific type of chocolate. I did and I was bowled over by the balance I discovered between the teas and the chocolate.

The white chocolate seemed to smooth out the grassy edges of the green tea.