PERC Coffee is set to launch their long-awaited line of bottled cold brewed coffee on August 23. A leader in Savannah’s specialty coffee scene, PERC is the first to produce single-origin cold brew. 

But Philip Brown, owner and roaster at PERC, never actually liked cold brewed coffee until he decided to make it himself. “I had a lot of cold brews before that I didn’t love a lot, so I set out to find a method of making cold brew up to our standards,” he says. “We’ve been pretty successful.”

He makes his cold brew by steeping coarsely ground coffee in room temperature water for 24 hours, then diluting the concentrate. 

What Brown really likes about the bottled cold brew is its accessibility. “There’s so much paraphernalia and technique that go along with making a cup of hot coffee,” he says. “Even if you use a Mr Coffee you have to have a 50-dollar coffee maker and a 15-dollar whirly blade grinder, you have to figure out the brew ratio, et cetera. But with the cold brew bottles, all the customer needs is a fridge.” 

“I do like that connection we have, that the consumer is a part of the stewardship of the supply chain,” he continues. “But summer is about ease and breeze and you can just grab a bottle of our cold brew and head to Tybee. I like that we can take care of all the hard stuff and all you have to do is enjoy.”

What distinguishes PERC Cold Brew from others is that it’s all single-origin. This means that the beans used are not a blend; they all come from a single farm or cooperative.

“They’re true to where they’re from, they tell the story of those beans,” says Brown. He compares coffee to wine. Like wine, coffee has a range of flavor notes that vary depending on where and how it’s grown and processed. 

Brewing coffee cold brings out different tastes than brewing it hot.

“It presents differently,” says Brown. “That discovery of how Chelelektu responds to the cold brew process as opposed to hot is really interesting. It’s part of what’s exciting and maintains my insane interest in coffee. I want to pass that excitement and discovery along to the customer.”

Tasting the difference in each bottle is a lesson in origin. As Brown says, “Each coffee has its own story to tell.”

PERC Cold Brew bottles will be available at Brighter Day, Department 7 East, King of Pops, Zunzi's, Savannah Food Co-op, Farmbag, and Whole Foods. Whole Foods will also carry it on tap.