THE CONVERSATION
Ray: This week, Perc Coffee Roasters out of Savannah, Georgia.
Kandace: I want to know the story Ray.
Ray: Let’s hear the story, Kandace. Tell us about Perc.
Taylor: My name is Taylor Wyrosdick, I work for Perc Coffee Roasters here in Savannah, Georgia as the Head of Training and Education.
Image courtesy Perc Coffee Roasters
Philip: My name is Philip Brown. I’m the owner and roaster here at Perc coffee.
Kandace: Before that, he was roasting in Athens.
Ray: That’s right.
Kandace: Georgia.
Ray: Still.
Kandace: Before that, he was playing in this band, the Summer Hymns, touring around, right?
Ray: Yeah.
Kandace: He was a roaster on tour, and as he was touring, he hit the West Coast, tried coffee in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco.
Ray: Wondered why he wasn’t getting those flavors out of their coffee. This is before Perc. Part of it might have been that they were, I think you said, roasting full city.
Kandace: Well, that’s why.
Ray: Could’ve been. It could have also been sourcing differently. I think he’s sourcing very good coffees at this point.
Kandace: Yes. He’s working with Olam, and Cafe Imports, finding really beautiful coffee. He started looking for a city that could use a coffee scene.
Philip: I wanted to go somewhere that wasn’t … It was in need I guess, so we chose Savannah as a place where we thought we could make an impact. I bought a used Diedrich IR-12 and a bike. I didn’t buy a bike, I already had a bike. I did all my deliveries with a backpack, and did everything myself for the first year. Slowly but surely got some accounts and made some pretty great partnerships.
Ray: We do like this coffee very much, actually. We only managed to save the one bag. We just devoured it, delighted in it.
Kandace: It’s open, because we’re drinking this one too.
Ray: It’s open, but I’m going to flash back to … Do you guys want to see this? Peel that off and … You’ve probably seen these before, but it’s got a zipper, it’s really nice … We’re back.
Kandace: How did you do that?
Ray: It feels very modern yet kind of authentic, but the coloring of it is very pleasing and that off-white really fits in with their brand. In fact, speaking of-
Kandace: Kay Loves Candy.
Ray: We talked a little bit about the design.
Philip: I work with a graphic designer called, her name is Kay Wolfersperger. She’s really amazing. She’s a SCAD graduate, and I really like working with her. I will say, we communicate probably an hour every day. Every single thing that we do runs through her because she’s taught me that brand consistency and things like that, if one thing gets out there that’s totally off, it doesn’t ruin everything, but it’s something that we care about and we have a shared vision. We really try to make sure that …
We’re careful with making sure she sees things and helps out with it. I have a lot of opinions. I’m probably the worst customer because I’m super particular.
Ray: There’s so many nice details in all of this design stuff, I want to show them. They sent us a little note, this is apparently their roaster.
Kandace: Apparently.
Ray: Apparently. It looks like a roaster. They make a nitrogenated cold brew, I think two actually, from what I saw on their website.
Kandace: Oh, two.
Ray: Yeah, two.
Photo by Logan Crable
Philip: We put it on tap and we’re nitrogenating it, and it’s fun. We also do flash brew too, and we do different stuff, but for sure down here …
Taylor: Hot and humid all the time. There’s definitely a big market for it here. People walk around Savannah all day, and they’re not necessarily looking for a hot cup of coffee or a shot of espresso or anything, but they still want to taste something that’s good and isn’t flat and isn’t boring. We offer the nitro cold brew and we offer through several of our accounts as well.
Ray: The music looms large in their legend, as you would say. Philip, a lot of times would specifically pair a coffee with an album or a song.
Kandace: That’s crazy, who would do that?
Ray: We paired this coffee for this episode with this album. Not only because I think the music is appropriate, but also because the colors match. It just fits right together, it’s like a well-worn jacket. It’s like coming home.
Kandace: Did you have to start listening to Bob Dylan for this episode?
Ray: Yes, normally I don’t touch the stuff. Perc Coffee of Savannah, Georgia. You have no idea how many times we rehearsed this.