Penelope's Coffee and Tea

Penelope's Coffee and Tea

Walking into Penelope's Coffee and Tea is like entering a serene oasis in the middle of the city. The coffee shop is pristine and immaculate with clean white marble tile along the wall, wood tables, black chairs, wood-like linoleum on the floors, and a pop of blue from the wall supports, the sofas, the cups, and the logo. A pleasant tune plays on the loudspeakers.

You order and pay at the counter. Then you find your seat in this comfortable cafe. The service is friendly and fast, so they will have your order shortly. The prices are typical for a coffee shop in the Bay Area.

The menu is on televisions mounted behind the cashier, and you can find a printed copy in front of the cashier. Penelope's Coffee and Tea has an extensive menu of typical and interesting coffee beverages and a variety of breakfast dishes. 

They have hot and iced Greek coffee, available in standard, white mocha, or mocha. They also serve a Freddo cappuccino and Freddo espresso, which are Greek iced coffee drinks. Their espresso bar includes a capupccino, a mocha, a caramel macchiato, a white mocha, a latte, and an americano. They also serve brewed coffee, cold brew, iced coffee, and a lot of different pour over options. What really caught my eye was the selection of specialty drinks, which included a Lilian latte (espresso, lavender, and French vanilla), a wild berry latte, a Penelope's Samoas (espresso, caramel, chocolate, and coconut), a salted caramel, a shortcake, a cinnamon dolce, a coconut cupcake, and a cookie monster latte.

When it comes to tea, they are equally prepared. When it comes to hot tea, they serve a chai latte, a London fog latte (Earl Grey tea, vanilla, steamed foam) a berry Topia (green tea, peach, blueberry), and a three little bears latte (green tea, mango, raspberry). When it comes to iced tea, they serve a Party at the Beach (green tea, strawberry, coconut), Georgia Peach (black tea, peach, coconut, honey), Mango Madness (black tea, mango), Kosta Kosta (green tea lime, blueberry, raspberry), Gummy Bear Tea (green tea, mango, raspberry, gummy bears), T-mojito (green tea, coconut, lime, peppermint), Caramel Cookie (black tea, salted caramel, cookie dough), and a Unicorn (green tea, almond, orange, pomegranate). They also serve matcha drinks: matcha, lavender matcha, and matcha mojito (matcha with lime and coconut).

In the way of food, they serve: several types of avocado toast; a turkey bacon, ham, roast beef, and Caprese panini; French toast; omelettes and "womelettes"; an egg and cheese, ham, and veggie breakfast sandwich; breakfast burritos; waffles (made fresh on the waffle irons behind the counter); oatmeal; yogurt, and Greek specialties like baklava and bougasta. They also have an assortment of pastries in a glass case as part of the  counter, including doughnuts, muffins, and croissants. 

Everything looked and smelled delicious. I watched several happy patrons devouring their breakfasts (French toast and omelettes), and I picked the most interesting-looking latte on the menu to try for myself: the cookie monster latte. The cookie monster latte was a sweet treat. The underlying coffee flavor was very mild. At the same time, it tasted strongly of a sweetened cookie flavor. It was delicious!

In the end, I had a very positive experience at this cafe. All five of my senses were engaged. The cafe was aesthetically appealing . The music was pleasant. My chair was comfortable, and my beverage was refreshingly cold. The entire restaurant smelled heavenly. And my cookie monster latte tasted incredible! 

It is a particularly beautiful cafe with a very relaxing feel; it felt like a peaceful sanctuary away from all the action of the city and the stressors of my life. They have free wifi for customers, so I decided to stay for a bit.