When the new owners of The Setai Miami Beach took control of the luxury hotel in early 2015, they charted a course towards the vision of what the storied property could be. Included in this plan was a desire to integrate their vision with the best Miami has to offer. They wanted to be a location that could showcase local products that lived up to the very high standards of the Forbes five-star hotel and the expectations of the ownership group.
At roughly the same time, two buddies whose friendship began years prior at the University of Miami ( see photo below of then and now ), were discussing a possible partnership in Specialty Coffee. Paul Massard had put in years of work, rising through the ranks to become one of the approximately 350 Q-Graders in the US - the coffee industry equivalent of a sommelier. Originally from Colombia, not only was coffee in Paul’s blood, but he worked in all facets of the coffee industry after college. It was time to put his signature on a roasting operation of his own. His good friend from college, Chris Nolte, had honed his business skills in both corporate logistics and sales - in perfect preparation for an endeavor such as their newly minted Per’La Specialty Roasters.
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