Panther Coffee

Overview

Panther was founded in 2010 by coffee veterans Joel and Leticia Pollock, who arrived in Miami from a cross-country road trip with a 1927 Probat roaster and opened in Wynwood months before Tony Goldman's Wynwood Walls debuted next door — Goldman became their landlord and deferred rent while the business found its footing. Panther anchored Miami's specialty scene for over a decade before expanding to a second roastery in Joel's hometown of Traverse City, Michigan in 2020, and opened a Shopify-partnered Manhattan popup at 131 Greene Street in early 2024.

Known for

• Miami's defining third-wave coffee roaster
• Vintage 1927 Perfekt roaster sourced from Lighthouse Roasters Seattle
• Wynwood Arts District flagship (2010)
• World's 100 Best Coffee Shops (2025)
• Café Cocano Haiti drying-bed and burlap-upcycling partnerships

Why it matters

Panther proved that third-wave specialty could thrive in a market dominated by Cuban café culture, then anchored the Wynwood arts neighborhood as it transformed from postindustrial fringe to design destination — the rare coffee company whose growth tracks a city's gentrification arc directly.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

Mike (head roaster, surname not publicly disclosed in surveyed sources)

color sorting

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roaster machine

1927 Perfekt drum roaster (Wynwood) — refurbished by Lighthouse Roasters Seattle, runs on natural gas; second roastery in Traverse City, Michigan

filter equipment

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cupping frequency

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roastery location

Wynwood, Miami, Florida + Traverse City, Michigan

espresso equipment

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annual volume tonnes

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Café

Wynwood flagship on NW 2nd Avenue + Brickell, MiMo, Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, Little Haiti (Miami HQ)

Recognitions

• World's 100 Best Coffee Shops (2025)
• Good Food Awards (multiple years)
• Monocle Magazine Top 10 Coffee Shops in the World
• USA Today Best Coffee Shops in America (2014)
• Zagat 21 Hottest Coffee Shops in the U.S. (2015)
• U.S. Barista Championship 5th place

Sources

• https://panthercoffee.com/pages/about-us
• https://www.drinktrade.com/blogs/roasters/get-to-know-panther-coffee
• https://inhabit.corcoran.com/miamis-roaster-of-record-perks-up-soho/
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/brand-connect/wp/enterprise/panther-coffee/
• https://www.brian-coffee-spot.com/2017/02/11/panther-coffee/
• https://every.coffee/roaster/panther-coffee