Knowra Alfred Peet Alfred Peet Alfred Peet was a Dutch-American coffee entrepreneur who founded Peet’s Coffee in Berkeley in 1966 and helped popularize specialty coffee in the United States.
Peet’s Coffee : An American coffee company founded by Alfred Peet in Berkeley, California, in 1966. The business Peet founded gave his dark-roasting style a lasting public presence.
Specialty coffee : Coffee distinguished by high quality, careful sourcing, and attention to production and preparation. Peet helped bring this quality-focused approach into American retail.
Coffee roasting : The process of heating green coffee beans to develop their aroma, flavor, and color. Peet’s reputation centered on roasting beans darker and fresher than typical American coffee.
Instant coffee : A soluble coffee product made by brewing coffee and drying the resulting extract. Peet’s fresh-roasted beans opposed the convenience-first model represented by instant coffee.
Berkeley, California : A city in the San Francisco Bay Area, known for the University of California, Berkeley. Peet opened his first coffee shop here, making Berkeley the starting point of his business.
Starbucks : An international coffeehouse company founded in Seattle in 1971. Starbucks’ founders credited Peet as an early mentor and initially bought beans from his company.
Coffee blending : The practice of combining coffees from different origins or lots to create a particular flavor profile. Blending let Peet build consistent, distinctive flavor across his offerings.
Commercial coffee roasting : Large-scale roasting designed to supply standardized coffee products to mass markets. Peet rejected the mild, uniform profile prevalent among major American coffee brands.
Dutch coffee culture : The traditions and practices surrounding coffee production and consumption in the Netherlands. Peet’s Dutch background informed his demanding standards for coffee quality.
Jerry Baldwin : An American entrepreneur who co-founded Starbucks and later became a coffee grower. Baldwin learned from Peet and helped carry specialty coffee into a larger business.
Show all 20