PERC Coffee

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

destoning

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head roaster

Philip Brown

color sorting

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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

annual volume tonnes

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Café

1802 East Broad Street, Savannah, GA 31401

Sources

• https://perccoffee.com/pages/story
• https://www.drinktrade.com/blogs/roasters/get-to-know-perc
• https://sprudge.com/build-outs-of-coffee-perc-coffee-in-savannah-ga-188287.html
• https://voyageatl.com/interview/meet-philip-brown-perc-coffee-roasters-savannah-ga/
• https://savannahmagazine.com/taste/perc-coffee-expands/
• https://vlab.virginia.edu/ilab/b/news/posts/perc