Alfred Peet and his coffee

Alfred Peet was born in Alkmaar, Holland, on March 1920, the son of a Dutch roaster.

He had grown up working in his family’s coffee business in the Holland. Later he learned the tea trade in Indonesia. By the time he landed in California, he knew the best way to roast and brew both beverages.

After several years of living and working in the United States, he decided to roast his own coffee and sell it in his store, using money he had inherited when his father died.

On April 1, 1966 he invested in a roaster and decided to open his own shop selling coffee beans and loose tea at Walnut and Vine Streets in California.

Peet bought premium coffee beans and roasted them the same way they did in the old century.

Intent on selling whole bean coffee for home consumption, he offered a small coffee bar to introduce his customers to good coffee.

When customers came into his Berkeley shop, Peet would offer them a fragrant cup of coffee while they waited for beans to be freshly roasted.

He chose Berkeley, where a collection of European-style shops and bistros serving fresh cheeses and breads, along with other gourmet delicacies, was beginning to gain popularity with consumers.

When he opened the door to his new shop, in Berkeley, he letting the rich scent of roasting coffee beans waft out to the sidewalk.

Peet’s informs its customer about new products in a number of ways. In addition in store sampling, it trains its call center employees to look at what customers have been ordering, ask them what flavors and qualities they like, and recommend new coffees and teas.

Peet retired in 1983.

Peet’s also sells coffee and tea through hand delivery which over time has become a significant part of its business.

In 2001, Peet’s became a public company trading in the NASDAQ. Alfred Peet passed away on August 29, 2007, at his home in Ashland, Oregon. He was 87 years old.
Alfred Peet and his coffee