Our 56th Spot:

Kiki’s Coffee Shop

1000 N Idaho Street San Mateo, CA 94401

www.kikiscoffeshop.com

They’ve been on my radar since last year… We were supposed to visit in April, but patiently waited until they were offering Tea again. Without compromising my ‘Not Looking at Websites or Socials’ rule, I kept an eye out for them. When I saw something about “Tiki” pop up, I knew I had to book it right away! Yall know I love to try the Hawaiian or Polynesian inspired ones for sure!! My roots beg of me hehe. As my daughter puts it, she says “to see if they’re stereotypical or actual“. Out of the mouth of babes…

To see other Hawaiian/Polynesian inspired afternoon teas we’ve been to, click the links below:

Spot #37 :: Jade Chocolates

Kalani Kakes Island Style High Tea | parTEA with me Blog

NEW MENU ALERT! Muir’s Tea Room | Holoholo Tiki Tea

Spot #54 :: Chill Tea & Coffee

They have a little patio around the back that fits (I think I counted) 7 tables. I really felt like you were over at a friend’s house having tea in their backyard, and I loved it! It was a gorgeous day.

I brought my 2 Bellas, two beauties. They have both been with me for quite a few Spot visits already and are always down to go anywhere on the Tour! Absolutely LOVE these two. They know the drill when I’ve got to do my “work” stuff and they’re just so easy breezy!! (like me!)

Papaya & Pineapple (China green tea, papaya, pineapple, strawberry) – I chose well! This was so fragrant and also transferred in flavor. They come around to refill with hot water, and I thought they had a nice collection of choices that fit this theme well.

Don’t let the minimal look of this tier fool you! Great ratio of their offering: 4 savories and 4 sweets. AND a scone and donut too! At the end, we didn’t want more because we were starving…we wanted more cuz it was so good!!

Pineapple Scone – I bet my longtime Readers can say with me verbatim how I like my scones: (all together now) “Crispy edges with chewy insides!” Thank you, Class. This wasn’t anything like that. HOWEVER, it was still spectacular! It was so soft!! I wasn’t used to this texture, but it was soo good. And there were CHUNKS of pineapple in there yall! I slapped a nice pat of their good butter on top and this was golden.

Coconut Doughnut – I didn’t even know how to describe this one but it was so good. Loved the texture (you’re gonna hear me say that a lot in this post, be prepared), fluffy, not too coconutty. And it was adorable.

Fresh Vegetable Spring Roll (served with sweet chili sauce and hot mustard sauce) – It was good without the sauce, but the chili one just added to its depth. Loove the crunch and freshness.

Chamorro Chicken Salad – When I heard the word “Guam” come out of his presentation of their service, I kinda did a double take. Couldn’t be, nope, they couldn’t’ve… They made Kelaguen yall, KEL-A-GUEN!!! Listen, I don’t think I’ve ever shared on the blog about this. But my bio parents GREW UP in Guam and my DNA says I’m part Guamanian. As a matter of fact, me + the girls spoke about this very detail on the ride there! So I’ve had my fair share of Kelaguen. Whether or not this is what Kiki’s was trying to accomplish…they executed it WELL. And don’t even get me started on that crispy pastry they chose to serve it in. SLAMMIN, yall. Just slammin. Favorite of the tea service.

Kalua Pulled Pork Puff – Great flavor, nice with the phyllo.

Glazed Polynesian Meatball – That is a substantial meatball! I had mine with the hot mustard, loved it.

Key Lime Cookie – Slammin, nice chew, perfect flavor. I would have had a whole cookie sheet to myself!

Haupia Shortbread – That texture is everything. Love love that shortbread! It was a softer cookie, but perfect for this.

Mai Tai Trifle – This one was okay for me. Good flavor for sure, just wasn’t my favorite.

Passion Orange Guava Cupcake – #1: Already got points for not calling it: “POG”. Excellent cupcake, I wasn’t getting the pass-o-guava tho… Maybe they were being modest. But me + my girlfriend wanted to be punched in the face with that lilikoi!! Hehe.

Okay so- it’s a Brother-Sister Duo behind this whole operation guys! (whiny face emoji) And they named the place after their Mom!! (crying face emoji) They both couldn’t have been more wonderful. This place gets lotsa + lotsa stars from me! The location was quaint, the tea was quality, the food was exceptional, and the service was stellar. Bear with them as they renovate the building, but definitely follow them on Instagram @kikiscoffeeshop and join their email newsletter. I will be watching out for their coming themes for sure!

This was the 2nd Tea for me in June! Stay tuned for our July Visit… Thank you so much for continuing to follow and stay connected, we appreciate you all so so much. The donations are also such a big help and I can’t be more grateful to all of you for sticking with us for the past 10 years!!! Can you believe we been at this for that long!? Mad love to the Loyals.

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Our 55th Spot:

Elliston Vineyards

463 Killkare Road Sunol, CA 94586

ellistonvineyards.com

Last spring, I was invited to a lovely dinner party. The location sounded familiar…and sure enough, it was going to be at the same vineyard I had plans to visit for this Leg of our Tour! I tried not to look around too much, so I could still have fresh eyes for our Tour visit. But let me tell you, the views from their banquet balcony- (smoke blowing emoji) STUNNING. I am purposely not including too many photos of this place, as I want you to experience it for yourself in-person like we did today!

I mean, look where we got to have tea! You know I love eating outside!! It was a cozy but comfy round table. There were 7 of us, but enough room. I actually appreciated the closeness, it was nice. We had 2 OG’s, 2 that have been with me since last Leg, and 2 new ones! A sweet bunch.

Osmanthus Tea – This loose leaf tea was freshly arrived from China. We had a good 5-6 refills of it, it was so good! I think this tea made the whole service, if I do say so myself. All the girls loved it!

Gorgeous tier and beautiful display. We all got up to take photos of it!

Cucumber Sandwich – You guys know I respect it when you can do something different with a cucumber sandwich. The cream was tangy, the vegetable was crunchy, and that pepper on top was so welcome.

Roasted Tomato Sandwich – Perfectly roasted tomatoes and plenty of nice basil. My favorite part of this one: it was spicy! Not ruin-your-tastebuds spicy, but exciting spicy.

Smoked Salmon Sandwich – This wasn’t your average smoked salmon from the grocery store.

Chicken Salad Sandwich – Very flavorful! Had an intriguing spice or herb… And loved the texture.

Scone + Sweets – I think the savories and tea were definitely the star of the show here. I was only able to have one bite of the scone and sweets. I loved that cookie!

I would come back for the surroundings and tea alone. But let me not forget to talk about how wonderfully we were treated! From our gracious server to the sweet woman that brought our tiers and cleaned our table…and then even meeting the owner! It was a charming tea from beginning to end. I had an amazing time with my girls and just an all-around peaceful afternoon. Oh, even the music was perfect! I sure hope you make the time to visit Elliston. We already can’t wait to come back for a tour of the house and to spend the night at their Bed & Breakfast!

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