Posted on February 25, 2003 - by deCadmus

Peet’s Coffee is coming home…

Peet’s Coffee is coming home to Seattle, again. Sort of. Almost. Well… it’s complicated.

Peet’s was established in Berkeley by the venerated Alfred Peet nearly 40 years ago. It was at Peet’s that Jerry Baldwin and his partners found their inspiration for Starbucks. And, in those early days, their beans, too. When Seattle-based Starbucks got too big for Peet to supply, Alfred taught Jerry, and then Jim Reynolds, how to roast their own.

Fast-forward to the mid-eighties… Starbucks’ owner Jerry Baldwin buys Peet’s and moves to Berkeley. Jim Reynolds follows, only now he’s buying green coffee and overseeing roasting for both Peet’s and Starbucks. Just a few years later, Baldwin sells Starbucks to Howard Schultz and, well… you know the rest of that story.

Peet’s is now on an expansion track of their own, and will launch their first Seattle store in June. By all accounts, Peet’s intends to maintain the very same practices that have served them well for 40 years: frequent roasts, and small batches. Can they do it?