B2B Publishing. Business Visionaries. Hot Property. Times Events. Times Store. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options. Coffee is going corporate. By Jenn Harris Columnist. Ships bound for L. All Sections. About Us. B2B Publishing. Business Visionaries. Hot Property. Times Events. Intelligentsia, from Chicago, specializes in high-end coffee, while Oregon's Stumptown is know for being a pioneer in serving and bottling and selling cold brew.
Even though Peet's started out with tons of credibility in the coffee industry, by the time it bought these two coffee companies, some customers were concerned. Some fans wondered whether the acquisition would ruin the quality of their fave indie roasters, but others were enthusiastic, hoping that joining with Peet's and gaining access to their resources would help bring their favorite coffee to the rest of the world.
At first, it might sound like the founder of Peet's Coffee lived a charm life. Born in the Netherlands to a family that owned a coffee, tea, and spice company and an uncle that ran a coffee company, it seemed like his path was set, but he encountered a few bumps on the way. The first, minor bump, was that his family didn't want him to pursue a career in coffee.
They wanted him to become educated at university, and to pursue a more academic life. But Peet already had experience in his father's business, and had already caught the coffee bug. Then, something happened that threw this mild family drama into stark relief — Peet was imprisoned against his will in a German labor camp during WWII. Though he refused to register with German troops he was captured on the street and forced to toil in a factory, where, strangely enough, the hard work ethic he was known for in later years annoyed his fellow prisoners, who feared he was "working for the enemy.
Peet eventually escaped the labor camp, moving to Indonesia in and learning about coffee in Java and Sumatra, then heading to New Zealand in and living there for a time before eventually flying to and settling down in Berkeley, California, in The first Peet's Coffee shop was opened at the intersection of Vine and Walnut streets just blocks from the UC Berkeley campus, in the s.
At the time, Berkeley was one of the epicenters of the anti- Vietnam war movement, attracting artists like Joan Baez and politicians like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr , to campus to speak to the passionate student body. That also means that much of Peet's original client base was made up of hippies. Known as "Peetniks," a nickname the brand now uses for its customer rewards programs, these coffee fans weren't exactly beloved by Alfred Peet himself.
One customer recalls going to Peet's for the first time and finding the storefront surrounded by a "somewhat motley crew of aging hippies," who were reading poetry, playing the mandolin, and passionately discussing politics.
This little hippie corner of Berkeley, anchored by Peet's Coffee, became known as " the Gourmet Ghetto ," and shared a neighborhood with other now-famous institutions like Chez Panisse. In fact, Peet was the one who introduced chef Alice Waters to high quality coffee, which she says showed her "a new way to look at food, wine and coffee.
Commercial coffee farming comes with a lot of challenges. Sourcing environmentally-friendly, ethically grown coffee where workers are being appropriately compensated for their labor isn't something that a lot of companies get right, but Peet's is certainly trying their best. Peet's participates in direct trade with coffee growers rather than going through a third party, which means they have more transparency when it comes to supply chain management and worker conditions, and they also prioritize coffees that have received USDA Organic, Fair Trade, and Rainforest Alliance certifications.
But instead of ignoring smaller family farms in favor of larger operations who are already up to snuff, they've created a Farmer Assistance Program. The program basically looks for smallholder farmers who could be producing high-quality beans that are up to Peet's standards, with just a little help. The program teaches farmers modern techniques that help produce better coffee while reducing environmental impact.
In some areas, their partner TechnoSource trains employees in new techniques, and in others, like Guatemala, coffee growers are given assistance in finding the resources to teach each other and share their expertise in areas like shade tree management, harvesting, pruning, and more. The hope is that the assistance program can help transform the coffee industry into one that's more sustainable on both a human and environmental level.
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