Alfred Peet, RIP

Alfred Peet, who improved the state of coffee in this country immensely, has died at age 87. Here's the obituary from the SF Chronicle.

Thanks for the post, Amata. Interesting man and an interesting story. Peet's was long my go-to coffee and, were Intelligentsia not in town, it would still be number one for me. Even so, I usually have some on hand and, indeed, just bought some the other day. It's so fortunate for us that the company chose Chicago for at least an outpost. Another true pioneer passes, leaving us that much the poorer.

Ah, Peet's. I used to frequent the original Walnut Street location in Berkeley. Bless him for introducing the concept of real coffee to the world; without him we'd still be lost in a sea of Sanka and Taster's Choice.

I can claim to be an early Peetnik, frequenting the original Peet's store as early as 1968 when I was a student at UC. With due respects, though, the press tends to give Peet's too much credit in creating a coffe culture in the US. Graffeo, in San Francisco's North Beach started roasting European-style coffee in 1935, and the first espresso in the US was made from Graffeo Coffee on the first ever espresso machine imported to the US (by Thomas Cara, another North Beacher). I was enjoying the results of the collaboration frequently before Peet's ever open its doors. The caffe latte, as we know it was invented in Berkeley, but by Leno Meiorin, proprietor of the Cafe Mediterraneum in 1959.

I guess the point of this digression is to remind $tarbuck$ that they have a whole lot of people to be grateful for, not just Alfred Peet.

Thank you for posting this obituary. May he rest in peace.

I also learned my early coffee habits from Peets. I'm drinking a cup of Peets' Sierra Dorada blend as I type this message!

I believe one of the key Intelligentsia guys also had a formative experience in Berkeley's coffee scene that pushed him into the coffee industry. For dark roasting, I still prefer Peets. But for lighter roasting that brings out the flavor of the coffee bean, I think Intelligentsia does a magnificent job. Intelligentsia's Latin American beans are among the very best I've tasted.