Lowcountry Cups
Crassostrea virginica
A farmed South Carolina oyster grown in floating cages on Mosquito Creek in the ACE Basin, an hour south of Charleston. Small and deep-cupped, salty and clean with a buttery note and a crisp finish.
At a Glance
Lowcountry Cups is an Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) from the US East Coast. It is notably briny (4/5 brininess) and moderately sweet (3/5 sweetness), with briny, clean, buttery flavors and a finish that is clean and crisp.
Flavor Profile
Finish
Clean and crisp
Expert Notes
Lowcountry Cups are the single oyster of Lowcountry Oyster Co., which Trey McMillan started in 2017 on Mosquito Creek in Green Pond, about an hour south of Charleston in the ACE Basin, the undeveloped estuary where the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto rivers meet. Seed starts in a nursery on land, then goes into floating aluminum cages that the farm builds itself, where the oysters stay under water all year and reach market in 10 to 14 months. Charleston Magazine reported in 2025 that the farm was permitted for 3,000 cages on 16 acres and grew about a million oysters a year. Sources agree on a clean, salty oyster in a small deep cup, and differ on how salty: Fleet Landing prints high salinity, NICO and Amen Street print medium, and Island Creek Oysters, which sells them, calls them very salty and very sweet. Several notes mention something buttery. Origin & Characteristics
- Species
- Crassostrea virginica
- Native to
- USA
- Grown in
- Mosquito Creek, ACE Basin, Green Pond, South Carolina
- Size
- Small (2.5-3 inches)
- Shell Color
- Clean, light tan
- Meat Color
- Ivory to light gray
Where to Try It
Charleston
- NICO Oysters + Seafood Shem Creek, Mount Pleasant
- Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar Historic district
- Chubby Fish Coming Street
- Fleet Landing Restaurant & Bar Waterfront, near the City Market
On these menus when we checked on October 1, 2026. Raw-bar lists change daily.
What Tasters Say
Across 10 sources, tasters describe this oyster as:
Unique notes: summer sea beans, buttered brioche, buttery saltine cracker, mineralic finish
"Cute, clean, light tan shells are filled to the brim with meat. Super salty! Super sweet! The fresh salinity of a handful of summer sea beans, and buttered brioche swiped through some chicken gravy."
saltysweetbuttery
"high salinity; silky, clean and crisp brine, mineralic finish"
brinysilkycleancrispmineral
"Lowcountry Oyster Co. produces a salty and consistent Southern oyster with a deep cup."
saltydeep cup
"Raised in the protected waters of the ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge, these oysters develop a bold, briny character with a crisp finish."
boldbrinycrisp
"medium brine, clean finish"
medium brineclean
"buttery saltine cracker"
butterysalty
About the Farm
Lowcountry Oyster Co.
Est. 2017Trey McMillan grew up in Mount Pleasant and fished commercially for about 13 years before a 2017 trip to the Chesapeake turned him toward oyster farming. Charleston Magazine reports that he started the company that year after buying equipment from St. Jude Farms, which had raised oysters on the site since 2012. The farm sells to restaurants and ships direct, builds oyster cages for other growers and runs tours.
- Cultivation Method
- floating cages
History & Background
The farm sits on Mosquito Creek in Green Pond, in the ACE Basin, a wetland of about 350,000 acres. Island Creek Oysters says tides of seven to nine feet flush the growing area twice a day and that the land around it is undeveloped. The farm buys hatchery seed, raises it in a nursery on land and then moves it to floating cages; Island Creek gives 10 to 14 months to harvest.
On the Charleston menus we read on 2026-10-01, Lowcountry Cups appeared on four of the seven that name their oysters: NICO, Amen Street, Fleet Landing and Chubby Fish. Charleston Magazine describes the company as the largest oyster farm in the state.
Did You Know?
- Island Creek Oysters lists the size as about 2.5 inches
- The farm logo is a caricature of its founder
- Charleston Magazine reported a permit for 3,000 cages across 16 acres in 2025
- The farm builds its own aluminum cages and sells them to other growers
Sources & References
This information was compiled from 10 sources.
- Lowcountry Cups Oysters from Green Pond, SC — Island Creek Oysters
- A Briny Business — Charleston Magazine
- The Bite: A Lowcountry Cup from Lowcountry Oyster Co. — Azure Road
- A State-by-State Guide to the South's 35 Best Oysters — Garden & Gun
- Exploring the Lowcountry: The Story of Lowcountry Oyster Company — The Briny Babe
- Oyster Specials (August 7, 2026) — Fleet Landing Restaurant & Bar
- Dinner menu (8.29.26) — NICO Oysters + Seafood
- Food menu — Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar
- Menu — Chubby Fish
- Lowcountry Oyster Company, LLC — South Carolina Department of Agriculture
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Learn More
The Big Five: A Complete Guide to Commercial Oyster Species
Comprehensive guide to C. virginica (Atlantic), C. gigas (Pacific), C. sikamea (Kumamoto), O. lurida (Olympia), and O. edulis (European Flat)
Read article → Biology & SpeciesThe Atlantic Oyster (C. virginica): From Maritime Brine to Gulf Sweetness
Deep dive into America's indigenous East Coast oyster - flavor profiles, regional variations, and famous varieties
Read article → Merroir & EnvironmentWhat Is Merroir? How Water Shapes Oyster Flavor
Merroir is the marine version of terroir: how salinity, temperature, tides, and plankton in the growing water shape an oyster's flavor. The science, plus how to taste it.
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