Savannah · United States
PERC Coffee
PERC Coffee roasts in Savannah, Georgia.
Since 2010 · Philip Brown
Overview
PERC was founded in 2010 in a 350-square-foot rented former cooler at the Starland Dairy in Savannah by musician-turned-roaster Philip Brown, who delivered every bag by bicycle in the early years using a Diedrich IR-12 he had bought after spending nearly a decade as a barista in Athens, Georgia. The original full name is Panther's Eye Roasting Company — quickly shortened — and the company has since outgrown its dairy cooler twice, opened an Atlanta headquarters, added Atlanta and Savannah retail locations, and become the de facto local-coffee-of-Savannah for restaurants, hotels and grocery accounts including Whole Foods.
Known for
- Founded 2010 in a former dairy cooler at the Starland Dairy in Savannah by Philip Brown (formerly a barista in Athens, GA)
- Original name Panther's Eye Roasting Company, shortened to the acronym PERC
- Brown delivered all early-day bags by bicycle with a Diedrich IR-12 roaster
- Multiple retail locations across Savannah and Atlanta plus a wholesale book including Whole Foods, hotels and restaurants
- Three-vibe (Mild / Wild / Limited Release) tier system designed for accessibility alongside a free first-Saturday public cupping program at the Savannah HQ
Why it matters
Savannah was not on any specialty coffee map when Brown moved there in 2010; PERC is the operation that put it on one and then anchored the city's restaurant and hospitality coffee identity around itself. Combined with the explicit anti-snobbery 'fun, accessible, three-vibe' brand voice and the 100-plus-person Wrecking Crew, it is the working version of what scaling a Southern specialty independent looks like without losing the bicycle-delivery origin story.
Production
- head roaster
- Philip Brown
- roaster machine
- Originally Diedrich IR-12 (2010); upgraded to a larger production roaster after move to East Broad warehouse
- filter equipment
- Clever Drippers, Acaia scales, Fellow kettles
- cupping frequency
- Free public cupping every first Saturday at 1pm at Savannah HQ
- roastery location
- 1802 E Broad Street, Savannah, GA
- espresso equipment
- La Marzocco Strada AV with scales, Mahlkönig E65 GBW grinders
Café
1802 East Broad Street, Savannah, GA 31401