This was a last-minute spot visit… They just opened the beginning of this year, but I had already had our Leg fully booked. When my cousin showed so much interest in what I do, I knew I had to take her along for one of my Working Tea’s! Since the Tour was no longer going to visit our original July Spot, I fit this one in so I could take her. (well, she really took me cuz she drove haha!)

I wanna take a moment and tell you about my cousin for a bit. We grew up together…her family even lived with us for a sec before they found their forever place in the same city we lived. So, we got live-together close hehe. She’s in between my bio sister and me, so she’s a few years younger than I am. She was the one that helped reconnect my bio sister and I last year, and I will forever be grateful to her for that. Hmm, some Fun Facts… She was the one who taught me how to shave my legs with a razor! (I was using my bio mom’s old electric one before then) She has 2 beautiful boys, my sweet nephews. And during this trip, we found out that her husband is related to a boy I had a crush on in middle school!! Hahaha. I’m so glad I got to take her with me this time tho. Conversation was easy and kept flowing, and (because she’s one of FEW who knew me before Trauma Recovery) healing. She also was an excellent Assistant! I appreciated her views and takeaways from today’s Tea.

The Burgundy Rose Tearoom

4549 Livermore Outlets Drive Livermore, CA 94551

theburgundyrosetearoom.com

My first impression was: it’s clean and quiet. A narrow room, very white. Chandelier-esque sconces lined the walls with these huge mirrors in between.

Our table was right by the front door. It was a new thing to have these super tall tier-holders already placed on the tables…

It took us some time to make our tea selection cuuz… There are 3-pages of 36 (I counted) teas they offer, with quite long descriptions of each. So you def had some homework to do first!

Maple Cream Oolong Tea (oolong, maple, cream) – Very maple-heavy fragrance, it’s a good tea…

Tiger Eye Black Tea (notes of chocolate and caramel) – This was Cousin’s choice. She said it just tasted like black tea to her, no chocolate or caramel. “When you breathe,” she says (LOL) you can smell it, but can’t taste it. I had some sips of it after it had been steeping for a while and I got the very chocolate flavor with maybe slight caramel in the back.

There are two levels of tea service: one for 1.5 hours that comes with salad or soup and one for 1 hour without. We did the 1 hour one. Each tea service comes with only ONE tea sandwich choice, that are cut in 4. She chose hers, I chose mine, and we ordered a 3rd additional tea sandwich à la carte. Peep the sizes…

We were also surprised (because I don’t look at websites or socials before a visit) that they had a whole Caribbean menu!! I love me some jerk chicken and oxtails! But- we came for tea.

Scone with cream & jam – How do the kids these days say it? It was very “mid”. Not a bad scone. Just not very much flavor…even with the fixings. I did like the bite to it. And it proved to be a nice ‘palate cleanser’ later on. While the spoons were cute, I didn’t like that the cream was pre-measured.

Salmon Cucumber [Crostini] – 1) These only came with 2. 2) There was NO cucumber. 3) It was too much salmon for that thin crostini and when you bit it, the whole thing fell apart. 4) The cream ratio wasn’t even. And did I detect OREGANO? That thing tasted like pizza.

Curried Chicken Salad – Mmm it’s good. Nice bite of chicken, I love the grapes. So creamy. I wish there was more. Because we were sharing, I only got these 2 quarter-sized sandwich bites. (which equated to ONE Malaya tea sandwich size, which is my marker for the perfect tea sandwich size) They also kinda reminded me of the tiny tastes we got from Tal-Y-Tara. (pleeease click on that link to see what I’m talking about!)

Jerk Chicken Salad – I’ll admit, the gray was off-putting (“Try the gray stuff, it’s delicious!“) BUT, I still had high hopes. Womp womp wooomp… It was spicy, but a nice spicy. This “jerk” was different than what I was used to. And I grew up with 3 Caribbean Grannies. And (because I used to be heavy into reggae) visited many a Dreadstock and Reggae festivals. This was more peppery than anything, I’m not getting anything else other than pepper. You can see the pepper, like it’s speckled. This was the Essence of Jerk Chicken Salad.

Petit Fours – So when the Server set our plates in the tier holder thingie, she said NOTHING. When I made her work and asked her what each item was, she didn’t know what the flavors of the petit fours were nor the French macarons. She guessed. I didn’t like that. We had to figure out for ourselves what flavors these were. Good thing we weren’t allergic to what they could have been… Aaanyway, the Lemon was very very faint in flavor. Cousin said it reminded her of Entenmann’s. The Raspberry one was so much better (to me).

French Macarons – THESE tho. These were slammin. The filling was so good and so thick, like you could see bite marks through them. Tea places like to throw these macarons on tiers real quick to fill a sweets quota. So I’ve tasted MANY through the years, through this Tour. Sometimes they’re high quality…most times they’re generic. If Burgundy did anything right, it was these.

I met the owner here, she was nice. But I didn’t hold back on my review this time just because of that. They’re in their first year of operation, so I’m sure there are kinks they still need to work out. Starting with spelling “Caribbean” right on their menu. (facepalm emoji) Come on guys. There were just way too many things lacking during this visit that I’m not willing to keep quiet about this time around. I won’t go as far as telling you not to visit… Try them out. Hopefully they’ll have their stuff worked out by the time you go.

4th Leg is almost over yall! Are we gonna finish strong? Come back and find out! See you on socials…

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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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Our 54th Spot:

Chill Tea & Coffee

2545 Sand Creek Road Brentwood, CA 94513

www.chillteaandcoffee.com

[photo by Kika]

“This is my family. I found it all on my own. It’s little, and broken. But still good. Yeah…still good.”

So- I tried to schedule this Spot for our 3rd Leg in 2023. I think we weren’t able to fit it in our schedule, so I let it go for the time being. When compiling my list for Leg 4, I’m glad I came back to this one. It’s kind of on the outskirts of the Bay, but I was moved to include it. Waited patiently (and anxiously) for them to release their May date + theme (since that’s when we were scheduled to go and they change every month). Um, so SO happy I did!! LILO + STITCH, are you kidding me!!?! We were still on our Disney-high (read this post here) AND he’s my absolute fave!! I am an orphan with a created family, too. I’ve never been more excited for a tea theme in my life!

[photo by Kika]

They really committed to this theme! The music was the beast part!! Lots of Anuhea was playing, definitely some Elvis, I think I heard a Kolohe Kai song. The Hawaiian in me was celebrating! It’s a small operation. A cafe within this adorable plaza. They close off the back, and there’s maybe like 5 tables. Uuultra intimate, which you guys know I love. It just feels super exclusive and special.

[photo by Kika]

I took my OG Tea Dolls with me this time around. We love a good drive to catch up, on the way to and from our tea party. I’m carrying my DSLR less and less. It’s a lot to juggle with my cane…and I’m wanting to focus more on being present with my friends and less on the “work”. I think my iPhone 16e did okay tho! And thankfully, our one girl loves to take great shots with her phone’s high-quality camera.

Strawberry Pomegranate (black) – Good flavor, tastes sweetened.

Maui Mango (herbal) – I’m not sure what made it so bright yellow… It was steeped too long by the time I had it. Again, tasted sweetened.

Passion Fruit, Orange, Guava (chilled) – When I was a little girl, I used to collect the free Pass-O-Guava’s that my family got on the plane rides to/from Hawaii haha. So, this is a favorite of mine. We had this one toward the end of our tea service, refreshing. So cute that even tho it’s chilled, they still put it in a teapot! A bit sweet tho.

Spam Musubi Bites – Let’s all say it together: “I love Arrival Appetizers!!” So fun to have these first thing! It was a nice cut of Spam. Grilled but still soft inside. Nice sauce, nice rice ratio.

What a fun tier! (big smiley face emoji) My inner child couldn’t wait to get my hands on my Stitch ring heheh!!

Egg – There wasn’t a menu (in-person or on the website), so I don’t have the official names and descriptions for each item. Their egg salad could use some salt, the chive was nice.

Cucumber – That cream was thicccc! It was an unexpected but fun texture for me. Cool citrus + dill flavor. Crunchy cucumber, wish there was more.

Chicken – I felt like it was dry at first and could use more seasoning. But I loved the cut of chicken. And all that arugula- yesss!

Lemon Blueberry Scone with raspberry preserves – I only took a bite of this one, I thought it was dry. My girlfriend said she wished it wasn’t store-bought. (which they later confirmed it wasn’t, and pride themselves in “making sure that none of our food items are store-bought” and “really really focus on no store bought items” per their owner)

Maha Blanca – First time being served this on a tea service and I was so excited to hear that!! My Tutu used to make and sell these from her home for many years. So my assessment of theirs wouldn’t be fair. My girls all loved theirs tho! The flavor was good, tho I wish I tried it fresh. This one’s texture was more like a jello, and what I was used to was smoother. A+ still for the darling container they used to serve these!

Mango Panna Cotta – Good flavor.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake – This was my favorite from the tier. More of a chewy cheesecake, which I don’t mind. Really salty, which I appreciated. I think I was looking for more savories…

Red Velvet Cupcake – I couldn’t taste any flavor from mine. And it was dry.

Streusel Loaf – Only took a bite, it was okay.

Macarons – Macaron.

You guyssss. I didn’t wanna write this one. When I know my review will only be “okay”, I just wanna leave my card on the table and haul booty outta there. Cuz when I stop to meet the owners…that’s when things get tricky for me. But our server as it is was just so so delightful (and stunning btw too), so I knew if I talked to the owners they would just melt me. And they sure did! It’s a husband + wife team. I emailed with the wife to make our reservations and she was so accommodating. Then I met her and (whiny face emoji) she is just LOVELY. I hope she knows my review comes from honesty and just tasting 50+ Tea Services!! I mean no shade or disrespect and I really do look forward to coming back to Chill Tea again! We were given such good care, the theme was so fun, and like I wanna be her friend she was so cool.

So generous- they even gave a free gift and packed our leftover teas in to-go cups! I hope my Readers give them a chance. Follow them on Instagram @chillteaandcoffee Check out their upcoming themes. Maybe you’ll see me there!

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Our 52nd Spot:

The Post Room at Beacon Grand Hotel

450 Powell Street San Francisco, CA 94102

www.beacongrand.com

I love being proved wrong. I’m not one of those girls that always needs to be right! (stick out tongue emoji) I already explained in my last Spot Review that this one had to be rescheduled, which is why we did 53 first and this one is 52. I like to plan my Legs months before it starts. Beacon had been on my radar for a while, tho they were only offering a Christmas Tea. I wanted to see what a standard or general tea service from there was like and just about a year ago, they started serving year-round. Yes! I called in again while I was creating my plans for Leg 4 and was assured they’d be offering their tea service passed the Christmas season. However, when I tried to make reservations to visit in February, I was denied. Their afternoon tea service was paused and would resume in March. Ay-yay-yay! I had to rearrange my entire Tour. It wasn’t just a matter of switching my February Tea to my March Tea…my individual guests’ schedules and a lot more is involved. Anyhow, I worked my magic and fixed everything. But even when March arrived, reservations on their OpenTable page weren’t available yet… I had to call in several times and was given promises of returned phone calls or emails back for confirmation, but received nothing… It was mad annoying. So prior to my arrival, I was already perturbed. Didn’t even feel like bringing my professional camera, so everything is taken on my iPhone 16e. And then. I walk. Into. This:

My attitude immediately diminished. What beauty! My girls + I took a few selfies by the flowers and got excited for what lay ahead.

The 3 of us got sat at this quiet corner. Snug + comfy chairs, delicious views of the place. There was a pianist/singer whose amplified sound decorated the ambiance. She played the best covers and she did em justice!

Upon seating, they bring over a cart of their offered teas. Brilliant display and set up. I especially loved how she brought the samples to you, so not everyone is touching everything and breathing all over everything. An OCDer’s dream!

Black Vanilla Rose (rose petals, rich vanilla and full bodied black tea leaves are perfectly balanced by the subtle sweetness and delicate floral notes of rose petals) – There were so many good ones, from the modest number of teas they offer. But these flavors are all my jam, so of course this one caught my attention. I chose right! Blended perfectly.

The other teas chosen at the table were: Hibiscus Berry Herbal (blend of hibiscus & herbs for a soul searching, mouth watering cup of calorie free, sugar free, and caffeine free heaven), which my friend kept repeating “This tea is wonderful! Did I say that already?!”; and Bourbon Vanilla Rooibos (bourbon vanilla, African red herbal roasted with notes of malt & Madagascar vanilla bean) which our other friend described as ‘homey, nostalgic, and comforting’. Teas were great, to say the least! And always a plus for me during tea services.

Remember “The World’s Most Amazing Vacations Rentals” on Netflix!? I loved that show. While I enjoyed taking a trip with them all over the world, (covering mouth) hehe, my favorite part of each visit were the Arrival Appetizers!! I mean, who wouldn’t? Free food + alcoholic beverages just waiting to greet you?? (raises hand) Yes please!

So once we were settled with our teas and choice of Brut or Rosé Proseccos, they brought us WELCOME Chocolate Covered Strawberries!!?! I loved that!! Nice touch Beacon, well done.

[photo by my girl, we’ll call her “Wife of Filipino” (inside joke) for her blog nickname]

So many luscious colors on this tier!

No individual shots of each item this time, I (as my husband said) “Grove 45‘d it” and just took the fewest amount of pictures possible so I could be present with my friends. Of the couple angles I took, the overhead ones were my fave!

Ube Scone – This was so crunchy! More like a biscuit than a scone, to me. Either way, I slapped some honey butter on that joint and ate it all up! Light ube flavor.

Tomato Mozzarella Scone – I didn’t think I would like this one, cuz I just wasn’t in a tomato frame of mind… But it surprised me! Packed a punch of chewy goodness.

Mixed Berries Streusel Muffin – Give me anything with a streusel! Again, just light flavors here. Still ate it tho!

Egg Salad (lemon aioli, amarosa potato, spinach bread) – The bread was fun. Again, light flavors… Everything was “light” for me. This one wasn’t my favorite, but still a good sandwich. My girl W.o.F. loved this one.

Prosciutto & K&J Orchard Figs (fig jam, goat cheese, pistachio, brioche) – Now we’re talkin! Fig jam – loove! It was a nice + welcome sweetness. Arugula – loooove! Can never have enough of that leaf.

Black Angus New York Strip (horseradish aioli, arugula, white bread) – Thanks to Wife of Filipino for warning us of the strong horseradish with this one. She did not like that. Me, I adore that stuff. I like it when you can’t breathe for a quick second!! HAHA. Appreciated everything about this tea sandwich.

Maine Lobster Roll (brown butter, meyer lemon, house made sweet roll) – The bread on this one was too toasted. Like, I was scared I was gonna cut the roof of my mouth. But the lobster inside were nice big chunks of it, and the sweet relish was unexpected but good.

Coconut Pandan Rice Cake – Loved the bouncy texture, but this tasted like perfume to me.

Passion Fruit Cupcake with Mascarpone – Perfect pastry, didn’t like the cheese…but I will always love the pop of a lilikoi seed!

Coconut Lemon Cake – Nice spongey cake, light flavors.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself here. Once again, happy to be proven wrong! The setting was stunning, the food was very good, and the teas were top notch. But what made this the very best experience was our amazing server (I don’t usually write names here) Tessa!! She showed us a spectacular time and her zest for life was just infectious. The girls I was with, W.o.F. and [I’ll call her] my New York Sweetie, were so much fun too. The conversation never stopped! Thank you ladies, for making it an afternoon to remember. It was a whole 7 weeks since my last Tea, and while I was dragging my feet getting to this one- yall made me remember why I love doing this.

Thank you Readers/Followers/Subscribers/Donators for keeping me here! See you again soon! Visit us on our socials!

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Our 53rd Spot:

The Hidden Tea Room

310 N. California Lodi, CA 95240

www.hiddentearoomlodi.com

[Note: No, I didn’t misnumber. It is our 53rd. Our 52nd was rescheduled. Stay tuned for that…]

Don’t judge a book by its cover, they say. It’s really cute in there! And they played really good tranquil music. I actually Shazam’d a few!

You guys already know, I don’t look at any website or socials or menu before I visit a new Spot so I can come with fresh eyes. Had no idea there was a Gift Shop in here too!? I LOVE gift shops!! And so do my 2 girlfriends I brought with me yay! Since we came a bit early, we were able to peruse…and they even walked away with quite a few goodies!

Our table was huge! I felt so far away from my husband (our chauffer hehe) (no but, my girls absolutely love him and he loves them back too)… But it was actually such a good idea, because sometimes at these tea spots there just isn’t enough room for all the tiers, and scone fixings, and teapots. So what a great idea for having all this room!

I could tell from the gift shop and from the names of the teas offered on their menu, that it was mostly (if not all) teas from Harney & Sons. That was okay with me, cuz at least I like that store brand. My girls and Huz got the Bangkok (coconut, ginger, vanilla), Salted Caramel (which we actually have at home…I boil before guests come over for a natural air freshener), and Thai Rooibos (one of my favorite blends from Harney). I ordered their tea of the month which was Cupid’s Cherry Chocolate. Both notes were present, but it was sweetened…and I didn’t like that.

They offer two levels of tea service and one for children. I always get the one with the most stuff, so I can try everything for you guys! Okay so- before I go in on this review, I have to say 2 things. (1) It makes it really really hard to do my job when the customer service is so good AND especially after meeting the owner. And (2) but you know I’m always gonna keep it a hunnid with yall, ALWAYS.

Vanilla Scones – Everyone gets 2 scones, yes! These were really good. Ultra crunchy outside with super chewy fluffy inside. I add all the fixings offered (as per ushe), and ate my whole first one before the tier even came. Never happens! Even my friend who said she’s not a scone person, liked these.

I could already tell when I saw those big-o quiches that this Tea was gonna be just aiight. Don’t forget: I have been doing this for 10+ years and have a seasoned palate. This is not my first rodeo; 52nd to be exact. (yeah I know what I said, labeled “Spot 53” but really our 52nd)

Sundried Tomato Quiche – The egg was so juicy (just how I like), light tomato flavor, seasoned well.

Cucumber Cream Cheese – Far too much cream, barely any cucumber (I mean, you can see from the picture). They were cut so thin, so when you did get a bite in there- it was soggy. (not crunchy, which is how they should be) And the cream cheese had like a tang in it. And not a good kind.

Deviled Ham – We all enjoyed the spice this one had. Buut, that was about it. It was fine.

Chicken Dill – DRY! Shredded breast meat. Too much dill. My girl + I were talking…maybe add some lemon zest in that joint or something!

Listen, I really tried to make it work with these! I even began to emulate my inner Remy (from Ratatouille) and started taking bites of sandwich with different things to make it taste better!! The Cucumber- great with grape. That Ham- amazing with apple. Chicken- take a bite of orange with it, yass. But didn’t finish either and didn’t take home the leftovers.

White Chocolate Chip Blondie, Butter Cookie, White Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroon – I only took a bite of each and didn’t want any more of either. Blondies used to be my favorite. I know me a good blondie! That didn’t taste like a blondie. The white chocolate chip was nice. When she said “rose butter cookie”, I expected to have some rose water flavor or something. Nope. Just butter. And bland butter cookie at that. Again, the macaroon was just okay. The white chocolate on the bottom made it palatable.

Despite the below mediocre food (honestly, my kids could have presented a better tea service), I do have to say: the customer service was GREAT. The owner, oh she was lovely! They have been there since 2016 and she’s only owned it for 2 years. These are the times when I have my husband in my ear reminding me that people could use my Tea Consulting if I just started that business already! If the staff at Hidden Tea Room do happen to read this, I hope they take my notes as constructive criticisms and offer better food and tea. They have a good operation there. I didn’t add a picture of their store, cuz I wanted you to experience it for the first time like I did!

And it’s always a good time with those girls, it doesn’t matter what we do or what kind of food we have! They’re like family, so we know how to make it a party!! We enjoyed the almost 2-hour trip out there and almost 2-hour trip back. Even stopped by a coffee shop on the way home and had my very first Dutch Brothers! (shh, don’t tell anyone I had coffee…I know this is a TEA blog!)

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