Trellis Coffee Bar — Restaurant in Augusta

WHAT IS THE COFFEE LIKE AT TRELLIS?

In a word: absolutely spectacular.

I know that's two words, but they earned the second one.

The first time I tried a Trellis Coffee Bar creation was at a pool party, which seems both weird and impossible considering coffee bars tend to require things like electricity, coffee grinders, espresso machines, running water, and a bar.

Nope! Not necessary for Trellis. There they stood with their cute little Trellis Trolley on 5 square feet of perfectly manicured lawn adjacent to the liquid war zone that is born every time you mix a pool of water deeper than 2mm and a quantity of children greater than zero. They stood stalwart amdist the chaos and MOANA party favors offering their wares to the hundreds of (ok, 50 or so) thirsty guests. In my ignorance I assumed I was going to get either: A. a hot cup of coffee in the middle of summer which would've been horrible, or B. a hastily thrown together cold brew that was 45% ice, 20% milk, and 35% cold brew mix from Fresh Market.

I WAS A FOOL.

I was given OPTIONS, first of all, options between several classic cold brews sporting familiar flavors like caramel, vanilla, and chocolate, as well as several options sporting flavors that were unique, intriguing, and in one case potentially dangerous (but the kinda dangerous that makes you go "Oh my! I could never! I'm just not brave enough!" But you do anyways and it's amazing). I couldn't decide between lavender, rose, and CHILLI PEPPER. Yes, chilli in a cold brew coffee. Sounds bananas (peppers?) right? Who comes up with this silly stuff?

Obviously I chose danger.

You guys, it was the most unique and interesting cold brew I have ever had in my life. It was a revelation, and has completely changed my perspective on cold brew. I don't know what kind of black magic the folks at Trellis are using to make their drinks, but it's absolutely spellbinding. I tried the lavender next (a really hard flavor to pull off without making the drink taste like soap), and it was perfect. I went back for another chilli brew, then I deigned to try the more common flavors...just to make sure this mad deliciousness was consistent. It was all for science, so none of the calories counted.

I've been steeping myself in fancy coffee for two decades and I'm far too busy doing nothing to spend an embarassing amount of time writing a review unless I thought it was worth it, so do yourself a favor and give Trellis Coffee Bar a visit at their new permanent location.

Just watch: visitors will be coming to Augusta with "go get coffee at Trellis" on their list of...

People often ask me what I think of Trellis Coffee Bar, and I’m always reminded of the Siege of Vienna in 1683. When the city was surrounded by Turkish forces, a brave nobleman named Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki escaped the city disguised as an Ottoman Turk and made his way to seek help from the Duke of Lorraine. Returning back to the city, he convinced the townspeople to hold fast and not surrender, as help was on the way. They persisted, and ultimately the siege was ended when friendly forces led by the King of Poland came to the aid of Vienna and drove off the Ottoman Turks.

Kulczycki was considered a hero to the people of that town, and he was awarded much for his efforts, including large amounts of coffee beans left behind by the Turkish army. Legend has it that Kulczycki opened the first coffee shop in Vienna, and this was likely one of Europeans’ first encounters with coffee.

This unexpected but admittedly delightful history lesson serves as a great metaphor for my opinion of Trellis. In a town besieged by corporate, characterless coffeehouses, help is coming. Trellis, to me, represents many aspects of this story. They are the brave Kulczycki, determined to serve their beloved city. They are the King of Poland here to save the day. They are that first coffeehouse in Vienna, introducing thousands of citizens to the best drink they had ever consumed.

Now perhaps history is not your thing, and you’re rolling your eyes at this review. So allow me to describe Trellis in a different metaphorical manner.

An encounter with Trellis Coffee Bar—from the people, to the coffee, to the whole experience—is hard to explain. It is the feeling you get when your head first hits the pillow at the end of a long day. It’s the feeling you get when you hear your new favorite song for the first time. It’s a hot shower on a cold January night. It’s the sound your hand makes with a perfectly executed high five. It’s laughing with your best friend until you cry. It’s finding a $20 bill in an old jacket pocket. It’s a brand new pair of fluffy socks. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

Do yourself a favor and go to Trellis Coffee Bar. You...

The atmosphere in Trellis is calm and peaceful with a fun, funky vibe. We loved the space and it was very quiet even when full, which it stayed. We were there in the afternoon with a steady crowd leaving and coming in without the noise and busy of chain coffee shops. There were lots of people working on laptops, so I could definitely see coming back to work. My husband had the strawberry matcha drink and liked it, but warning it’s $9 for just a regular glass. We don’t usually do matcha, so that may be the market price and we just aren’t aware. He didn’t look at the price when he ordered, so that was on him. My oolong was nothing special and honestly didn’t taste like any oolong I have ever had, it was weak and minty. There was no tea bag just a mug of light tan water. It was only $3.50, so not a speciality drink price. I would definitely go back and try something different though, because the space was lovely. I think I just didn’t choose well. My husband loved the shop too but said he wouldn’t choose his drink again based on price and he isn’t a matcha guy, but he would try a coffee. Sometimes it’s your choices and not the business, and I often think these kind of honest reviews are even more of a testimony to a business. You can not love what you chose, but still really like a business. This coffee shop is a gem, and I am sure we will find our drinks there. Their pastries must be fabulous because the cases had been cleaned out by the time we got there around 2 pm, but what they had looked great. We are hoping this little independent helps spark more local shops to help revitalize the area because what they did with a gas station is really cool. (On a side note we observed one of the guys walking out with a tall cold water for a local women in a wheel chair trying to drum up work. His quiet kindnesses was not...