Ellianos serves coffee and more

ALBANY — I love coffee. This magical little bean may not lead you to any giants, but it sure will make you feel like one. So when I was asked to head over to Ellianos, I could not refuse.

One of the joys of being in a town the size of Albany (or any town in southwest Georgia, really) is that you’re never too far from a familiar face. Little did I expect to see my middle school best friend’s little sister manning the shop with her sister-in-law.

Unlike the “sit down and pull out your laptop” kind of coffee shops, you drive up to the window at Ellianos to order at your convenience.

Because this is a place to get your morning coffee or your midday pick-me-up, I asked them to help me choose their best drinks. They whipped up their green energy smoothie, an iced Carmella, an iced chai latte, and the cookies & creme freezer. Because I like my drinks cold, I ordered them all iced, but they have hot options, too.

Ellianos also has bagels and muffins available.

The customer has a full range of choices for beverage customization. They provide different flavor additives, such as vanilla, caramel and pumpkin, and a full but uncomplicated coffee menu. Their smoothies come in different fruit flavors, among them strawberry, banana and piña colada. They also provide several dairy alternatives. Jordan and Miranda Proctor were kind enough to swap in soy milk for me.

“We can make any drink ‘a la carte’,” Jordan said as they busily prepared my order. “We make our coffee from the ground up.”

Miranda chimed in, “We can make drinks for anyone with allergies or for people who are worried about their sugar. We can customize drinks for diabetics or people who can’t have caffeine.”

The first drink I tried was the iced chai latte. A chai latte is a tea drink with milk and a mixture of spices. Normally, this is not my go-to choice at any coffee shop, but Ellianos has mastered this one. I must confess that this drink was gone before I made it back to the office. It was delightfully sweet and had the warmth of cinnamon, but with a hint of that fresh tea taste that hits the back of your tongue the way sweet tea does.

Next it was time for coffee, the reason we came here. The Carmella is one of their most popular drinks, and I could see why. The coffee has a punch to it. There is no way you’re ever getting coffee this fresh out of your tin at home. It was sweet, but they don’t try to cover up the roast with loads of sugar and cream like a lot of the major coffee chains do, and you honestly don’t need to. This is coffee that speaks for itself. This is good coffee.

The caramel and vanilla flavors signature to the Carmella just enhance that. Now for the sake of frugality, we all know having your cup of coffee at home is the way to save money, but Ellianos is so affordable, your bank account won’t even notice.

The drink Jordan and Miranda really wanted me to try was their green energy smoothie, a perfect pick-me-up for warm weather. I took a swig of it expecting it to taste “healthy,” but I was deceived. After I got over the initial tang from drinking a smoothie immediately after coffee, I asked why it didn’t taste grassy.

“We only use spinach in our green smoothie,” Miranda explained. “The thing that can throw people off about green drinks is when someone uses kale, but we use spinach because it doesn’t really have a flavor so you can taste all the fruit.”

Ellianos uses a blend of spinach, banana and other fruits in its green smoothie. If I had to really break it down to an exact taste, it would lean toward banana and strawberry. The best part about this drink is that it includes three whole servings of fruits and vegetables because they cram as many fresh ingredients as they can in there. You can add chia seeds or protein powder to make it even healthier.

I feel like I’m almost ready to run a mile … almost.

Finally, the dessert we all think about on our cheat days, a drink that is so delectable that it is almost sinful, and the envy of your coworkers: the cookies & creme freezer. This is a frozen drink of coffee, Oreos and ice cream. This was the only drink I ordered without a dairy alternative because it would have changed the texture.

First their coffee came for the major coffee chains, then the smoothie came for the major smoothie chains, and now their “freezer” has come for the ice cream chains. This is somehow a perfected concoction of liquefied Oreos, liquefied ice cream, and high-quality espresso, all at the same time. Forget the birthday cake; I’m coming back for this.

Ellianos must be Albany’s best-kept secret, or maybe I just wasn’t ready to join the fan club. I can’t believe that I’ve never tried this place before because it is just that good. I can officially say that I have found my new spot to get coffee.

Ellianos is located at 2854 Meredyth Drive, off of Westover Boulevard in the parking lot where the Piggly Wiggly used to be.

File Photo
Gypsy Crow