A Letter From Our Founder
“You ruined my perception of coffee.”
People tell me that more often than you’d think. It sounds like a complaint. To us, it’s the best compliment we get. It means the coffee you used to drink doesn’t taste the same anymore. It means you noticed.
Paul Massard and I met as freshmen at the University of Miami. Paul built a career in coffee, sourcing and roasting around the world. I’ve been in sales since my parents let me work in high school. In 2015, a birthday text from Paul turned into a phone call, and then a business plan.
By that October we had a roaster and an empty warehouse. No customers, no accounts, no guarantee anyone would care.
Wholesale is where we grew up. One account at a time, starting with The Ritz-Carlton, we earned a place in hotels, restaurants and cafés across the country and the world. Along the way we became a two-time Good Food Award winner and four-time finalist.
What I didn’t see coming was you, our online customers. You order from places we’ve never been, you write to us, and you come back. We read everything you send.
It still feels surreal when someone tells me they’ve had our coffee and loved it. Every time, I think back to that empty warehouse and I’m grateful all over again.
So if Per’La has ruined coffee for you, thank you. We’ll keep doing it.
What are you drinking? Write to me. I read every email.
