Markayela Johnson
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – A new Rock Hill coffee shop is taking steps to launch a virtual education program it says is intended to educate customers about the coffee making process.

“We find a lot of people aren’t even aware of where coffee comes from, the countries, or how it’s produced,” said Ryan Sanderson, CEO and co-founder of Knowledge Perk, Full Coffee Immersion.

The business opened its doors in downtown Rock Hill on Jan. 15 and is partnering with the Technology Incubator of Rock Hill to develop the virtual coffee tour.

“The technology component of what we want to do inside our space has not been done yet in the industry,” said Sanderson.

He said the virtual tour will allow customers to go to the farm, meet the farmer and see what the coffee making process looks like.

The company sources coffee beans from eight different regions, including Ethiopia and Sumatra, according to the company’s website.

They use the beans to make what they call their “signature blends,” said Jonathan Taylor, Knowledge Perk co-founder.

“We have decaf Tanzania Swiss water process decaf that we call decelerate,” said Taylor.

The virtual tour, which will take place in the shop, will also allow customers to see, touch, taste and smell the coffee they just learned about.

However, it’s not the only unique component of the business.

“The process would end, as far as the tour goes, with that consumer actually getting to use a roaster,” said Sanderson. “They can actually create their own coffee roast profile and then walk out with a pound of coffee they created themselves.”

The tour is still in the early stages of development and will be launched once the business relocates to the property next door.

“The goal would be before the end of 2019 to have everything in place and everything running,” said Sanderson.