The Farm Cottage Tea House

OWNERS: Michael Dominguez & Terry Kuhel
ADDRESS: 5200 Carnelian St., Alta Loma, CA 91701
TELEPHONE: (909) 749-9957
E-MAIL: TheFarmGuys@yahoo.com

The Farm Cottage Tea House is located within a residential home on Carnelian St, approximately 0.4 miles north of Hillside Rd. You'll find them on the west side just after you pass Hidden Farm Rd (how appropriate!). The house is actually right across the street from the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation. 

Current owners Michael Dominguez and Terry Kuhel purchased the property in 2005 and have been working on the property over the years. Once the chickens came along, they started selling eggs to family, friends, and local residents. A dozen multi-color eggs will cost you $5.00. Over the past year or so, they eagerly worked on opening the tea house which is within a former horse stable and opened its doors on December 1st, 2016!

Reservations are required and can be made via phone call, email/online form. The tea house is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Their hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00am to 4:00pm. 

Prices range from $15.00 to $34.00 per person for tea. 

They even have a "Little Princess/Prince" option at $23.00 which is catered for children. It includes the choice of a pot of tea, hot cocoa,  iced or lemonade and the finger sandwiches include PB&J, Nutella or Honey, and Butter. It comes with ice cream and a cookie as the dessert. 

On December 11th, I made a reservation for Wednesday December 28th at 11:00AM. My husband and I had the week off from work so I decided to take him here. I emailed Michael and he responded to my inquiry on the same day and also asked which menu item I was interested in.  I decided to go with the "Full Tea" experience at $34.00 per person. 

As we pulled into the driveway, there was a sign saying that they were on the farm somewhere and to call a phone number. As I was dialing the number, Terry came out to greet us and escorted us to the dining room. 

The dining area was so adorable and there were many details and displays to admire. 

The menu was already set, but my husband and I had to chose our flavor of tea. I usually pick a more fruity tea flavor but went with the "Nutcracker Sweet" and my husband got the "Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride". We had the option of putting sugar cubes, cream and/or lavender honey in with our tea. I literally drank my whole pot of tea and they asked if we wanted to try another kind, but I had no room! Everything I ate so so delicious. 

Full Tea includes:

• A Fresh Pot of Tea (for each person)
• Homemade Baked Scone (We got Ghirardelli White Chocolate & Cranberry)
• Homemade Preserves/Jam
• Homemade Sweet Devon Cream
• Homemade Lemon Curd
• Soup and Farm Garden Salad with ingredients from the garden
• Assortment of Finger Sandwiches (We got chicken salad, cucumber & cream cheese, red bell pepper, egg)
• Desserts (We got award-winning banana bread, mini-tarts, cookies)

My first cup of tea.

Tomato Basil Soup and Salad with tomatoes from the garden

Lavender Honey

White Chocolate & Cranberry Scone

"Full Tea"

Our Full Tea experience took approximately 1 hour. After our meal, Terry took us on a short tour of the farm and explained a bit about its history. He showed us the green house of orchids, vegetable garden, and introduced us to some of the animals including their two horses named Cody and Amos, a huge male turkey named Pilgrim and their 4 rescued Chihuahuas. 

@Rancho_Cucamonga_Eats

A goose on the farm.

I'm totally impressed and maybe a little obsessed now. We ended up hanging around the farm for another 20 minutes or so on the grounds watching the animals. I'll definitely be back again with my mom and sister as well as for some of those fresh eggs!

Note that they can also host special events here like bridal showers, birthday parties and soon even weddings!

Don't forget to check out @Rancho_Cucamonga_Eats on Instagram or Rancho Cucamonga Eats on Facebook!

Introduction

Hello there!
My name is Charlene and I'm a foodie. :)
I've lived in the Los Angeles area a majority of my life. My husband and I bought a house in Rancho Cucamonga because we loved the area. We moved here in July of 2013. 

I guess you could say that I've been a "foodie" most of my adult life. My first job was as a cashier at a restaurant when I was 16 years old and I worked as a hostess and server in a restaurant from age 17 to 21. I've been taking photos of my food even before iPhones came out! While planning our wedding, I realized planning and being super detailed comes natural to me. We love to travel and I found myself planning our trips/vacations around food. 

In 2006, I was introduced to TripAdvisor and wrote reviews there.

In 2010, I started writing reviews on Yelp after a bad experience. Isn't that the reason most of us start writing reviews?! LOL. I write my reviews like I'm talking to a friend who's going to eat there or if I'm writing to my future self! I'm becoming forgetful these days so obviously my reviews are really detailed and talk about the small nuances that people want to know, but most people don't talk about (e.g. parking, price, ambiance, owner's names, seat was uncomfortable, how something made me feel etc.) I've been an "Elite" Yelper since then and have met some friends from Yelp events.
What finally did it was when my husband and I traveled all over Europe in May 2013 (right before we moved to Rancho Cucamonga). I was introduced to so many new flavors and ingredients. After we returned to California, I was on a hunt for some serious food, quality food...that tasted delicious!

There are so many food bloggers and accounts for the LA areas. Other than Yelp, I felt like I didn't have anywhere or anyone to turn to in my search for places to eat (at least for the Rancho Cucamonga area). We still didn't know anybody in the area so it was trial and error at the beginning.  We searched online for some places to eat and were very disappointed in the first handful of restaurants we ate at. I was feeling kind of bummed and was like "Gosh, aren't there any good places to eat around here?" Eventually, we did find some gems in the city and of course all of it being documented with photos and reviews. A LOT of new eateries and restaurants have opened and are opening up in the area! I guess the timing worked out for a foodie like me!

I started my own Instagram account in the summer of 2015 since I'd accumulated so many food pics! I use it to share photos of places I've eaten at in the area. 

July 2015: @Rancho_Cucamonga_Eats was born and I urge people to either tag me or use #RanchoFoodies if they want to share one of their photos with me. The number of followers on the account has grown in one year. What I've learned at least is that my followers either live, work or visit the area. I've found some greats places to eat from people on Instagram and have also met some great people in person. (Who would have known!?) Since starting my Instagram, a lot more "Foodgrammers" have popped up covering the Inland Empire and I have also met a handful of them which is pretty cool. 

SIDE NOTE: In case you're wondering, I don't get paid for anything and don't get free food for posting about a place. I do this for fun and I enjoy it. I dine in at or contact businesses like any other person and purchase my own meals and/or items.  However, once in a while there are some grateful owners who are thankful for the exposure and give me food as a gift and of course I will not deny it! (LOL)

I started this blog because I don't think Yelp or Instagram is the place for it, plus I hate typing on my iPhone. 
I'm really glad that people find what I do useful and even I have to look back at my own reviews and photos for information! HAHA. 

Other than food, I'm a big dog lover and own 3 Shih Tzus. You may have noticed that they make special appearances in my photos every now and then.
So with that said, here they are..... 
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and blessed 2017!

Photo by True Emotions Photography (Upland, CA)