Tis Me Michelle

New coffee shop alert (well… depending on when you stumble on this post)! I was sent posts about this coffee shop thanks to my friends. Shout-out to them for keeping me on top of the hot spots! I was totally sold, even more so when I saw that it was Indian-owned and influenced.

The Atmosphere: I’m a broken record on the fact that all the new spots popping up have amazing interior design. This is top tier. They clearly love the emerald, rich green as much as I do. The beautiful marbled bar top, booths, and some chairs were all in a gorgeous green. My favorite element is the luminous wine bottle ceiling and wall accent in the back left corner. If I were dropping by to stay in, that’s where you’d find me. What an iconic meeting background?!

I also love that there are a few cozy corners. Right in front of that fabulous accent wall is a little couch setup. That area feels like a cozy, bougie living room. They’ve made great use of the space by having lots of seating with the booths and couches on the outer walls, and of course, bar seating at the heart of the shop, but also some open space too. I think that was brilliantly done because during coffee hours, people have a spot to chill, but during cocktail time, there’s space for people to stand and move.

The Coffee Corner: Super excited to try the drinks because of the Indian influence. I was hoping they had a real chaya. On their menu, it’s Chā, you may know it as Chai, and in my family’s language, Malayalam, we call it chaya. Because this is such a nostalgic and cultural drink, I am snobby about it. I am not a fan of most chai’s found in coffee shops, especially that one really big coffee shop on every corner. Iced chai doesn’t make sense in my brain. It just feels wrong. Can’t deny, I’m a culprit when it comes to matcha, I always get it iced and often with fruity flavors.

Anyways, once I realized Chā was available, I ordered it. I can confidently say this is the best chaya I’ve had at a coffee shop. It was very authentically made. The right balance of tea and milk. Spiced, but not overly spiced, which is very much how it usually goes if you make it at home. Most chai’s at coffee shops are a masala chai, so it’s much more spiced than what I’d make at home. If I remember to add spices, it’s cardamom and sometimes ginger, but otherwise it’s a simple cup of tea, milk, and a lil sweetness. I didn’t request any modifications, but if I ordered this again, I would ask for it with less or no sugar. That’s a personal preference. My only point of contention is that I saw the influencers whose posts were shared with me were given Parle-Gs with their Chā, and I didn’t get one. I ordered my drinks to go… but like… I still fully expected to get one. For the nostalgia, ya know?

Before I found the Chā I had ordered one of the two specialty drinks, the Keral’s Kulfi. I loved that specialty drinks pay homage to both of the owners’ mothers. That was a cute touch. This drink was an iced latte with soan papdi and a pistachio cold foam. The whole drink was far too sweet, but the flavors were fantastic. Soan papdi is a sweet treat, as the name translates to ‘golden flakes’, it is indeed a flaky treat. There’s a bit sprinkled on top of this drink if you’re curious how it tastes alone. The pistachio cold foam was a delight. If this were a plain iced coffee or cold brew with that cold foam, I would be obsessed.

The other specialty drink was D’s Delight, a latte with gulab jamun syrup. I’m not the biggest gulab jamun fan, and had plenty of caffeine already, so I opted out of this one. The affagato is something I’d try since it’s espresso over pistachio ice cream. If you’ve been to the blog before, you know that I’m a tequila girly who loves whipped cream… Pistachio is another one of my obsessions.

Luminescent serves baked goods from Yeast Coast Bakery. I got the cardamom bun and turkey and cheese croissant. I’ve gotten the turkey and cheese one at Cups & Pups. It’s a good savory croissant. There weren’t labels, so I can’t confirm. I just recall the sweet girl taking my order, saying it was a bun, but it was definitely a cardamom croissant. The texture is just different, but yummy nonetheless.

I believe they are still in the soft opening phase and starting with just the coffee shop portion. I went bright and early, so I wasn’t going to partake in the cocktail menu. TBD on how the cocktails are.

The Parking: Plenty of spots available! Right out front and more off to the side of the building. No problems there. I believe this is up in the Alfaya area, close to UCF. It is a bit of a trek. The only other time I’ve been in this area was to try the Jolibee down the road. Zen Dumpling is across the street. I’ve been wanting to go there too, but only in that moment realized how far that is.

Overall: I will definitely be back. Pulling back on the sugar levels, the drinks were fantastic. And let’s be real, I just want to live there, it’s so gorgeous. This is somewhere I would come to do a remote work day. Even better, once the work day is over, I can stay put for happy hour. The only thing that’s gonna keep me from being there on the regular is the hike.

Rating: 8.5

Address: 12286 E Colonial Dr #105, Orlando, FL 32826