A New Must-Try | Trellis Coffee Bar
We saw this shop pop up in Augusta, GA a few months ago and finally got to pay a visit! This is a must try!
The Following
We have been all over the eastern United States at this point. From a coffee shop in an abandoned garage to a few in bookstores to one in a corner unit of a huge office building, we’ve tried a lot of drinks in even unique atmospheres. The truth is most good coffee shops are found in unexpected places or with cafes designed in unorthodox ways. A common thread: the best ones aren’t on the rooftop of an expensive hotel, they’re through three alleys down a run down area in an old house. St Louis Mo, Savannah GA, Nashville TN, Charleston SC, and Birmingham AL, are all hosts of some of the best — but one of our favorite stops so far was in Augusta Georgia! This one blew us away!
The Story
Being in the South Georgia area, we keep an eye on the coffee shops that move there and we have had our eyes on this one for the past few months! Trellis Coffee Bar opened in fall of 2023 just a 2 hour drive away from us and if that isn’t enough to make us find them instantly, they made their presence very known. Their social media and the way they designed the shop caught our eye instantly — we haven’t seen anything quite like it!
This is normally where we would write about ‘the find,’ but since this find was following them on social media followed by anticipation for months (basically cheating), we’ll talk about the building itself instead. Every part of this shop is so unique but the building is what originally caught our eye!
A Unique Buildout
As for the building itself we unfortunately didn’t get the history of it while we were there, something we hope to find out in the future. We like to do blogs somewhat anonymously for an authentic experience and follow up, something we will probably change as we continue. They did chronicle the buildout itself on their Instagram however and it’s clear that they put in the work to make it truly unique!
It seemed to already have two garage doors installed and the green color on the awning may have been original. At any rate they definitely ran with what they had, painting a giant mural on the brick wall and running with the emerald green color to give the remaining walls a bright statement!
Small coffee shops with busy art and lots of color can be overwhelming but they stuck with the green as the common color and added a ridged texture to everything with a beautifully textured divider wall and background to their bar. Concrete floors and high ceilings make it feel open and they had multiple variations of seating from barstools to table seating to sofas. They even had a kids area complete with a mini coffee bar so kids can play barista!
It’s rare that we describe the building this much but in this case, there is a reason — not only is it so much bigger than it seems and tastefully unique, it’s also custom to them in ways you may not expect. As one example, Trellis is home to one of few brewing machines called the Ground Control Cyclops Brewer. When they did the buildout they included a space for it in their shop, in the wall right in the center of their bar. It is hard to miss when you make your order… which conveys an important point.
Trellis has a deeper motive behind the impressive design than just aesthetics — their goal is to reach people and provide a quality experience. It is evident from the moment you walk in, and that doesn’t just go for the building!
The Coffee
Trellis’s menu had plenty of drinks we had never heard of before, complete with pastries that were visible in a vintage pastry case. Their featured drinks include espresso tonic, ‘the 1902,’ the TCB delight, the permit, the mexican chile, and their beloved salted caramel. We instantly knew which ones we were drawn to and the baristas helped us confirm! We talked to the baristas basically the whole time we were there and they were so kind and fun to talk to! They didn’t mind answering all of our weird coffee questions and we learned a lot about how their machines work! I got the salted caramel latte with black salt on it while mom got the TCB delight. Since they look just alike, black salt somehow ended up on the top of mom’s instead of mine which we didn’t mind but they quickly corrected and made another drink for mom! We got to keep both drinks and both were absolutely incredible.
Many lattes I have had recently showcase the creamy sugary bit while leaving the espresso in the limelight which I almost always hate. There is nothing like a sweet treat, but we go to coffee shops for COFFEE, not sugar. Trellis has this spot on. Their espresso was perfect and with just the right amount of sweetness added, even to my salted caramel drink. The flavor of the espresso was perfect down to a t which you rarely find. Frankly the more “fun,” shops rarely have good coffee so I was pleasantly surprised. We just kept falling in love with trellis!
The Pastries
The customer service was wonderful, the drinks were spot on, but we’d be doing a disservice without sharing about the pastries! We went late in the day so most of them were gone but there was still a whole sheet of raspberry chocolate focaccia that we had to try. Having never had something like that I wasn’t sure what to expect but it may be my favorite pastry I have ever gotten from a coffee shop. The serving was not small (only red flag - this was dangerous for my health🤪) and especially for the last item in the case, I was blown away! We have seen more on their social media and all of the pastries look simply incredible. We plan to revisit and enjoy some of them!
Overview
In the end, we cannot recommend this coffee shop enough. They hosted us so well (we may have let slip what we were doing there) and the atmosphere and treats were absolute perfection. We stand by what they are doing creating community which not all coffee shops intentionally do — the camaraderie there speaks volumes in a way you have to see for yourself. If you are ever nearby Augusta or just in Georgia, you have to go here because it is just that good! 10/10 from us!
