Alfred Peet

Lore & Background

Alfred Peet was a Dutch-American entrepreneur who founded Peet's Coffee & Tea in Berkeley, California, in 1966. He is credited with launching the specialty coffee revolution in the United States, and coffee historians have referred to him as the man who taught America how to drink coffee. Peet was born in Alkmaar, Netherlands, where his father operated a small coffee roasting business before World War II. After the war, he apprenticed with Twinings in London, then worked as a tea taster in the Dutch East Indies and New Zealand before emigrating to San Francisco in 1955. Displeased with the poor quality of American coffee—which he compared to wartime rationed coffee—he opened his first store in Berkeley on April 1, 1966. He roasted beans in the back of the shop using small roasters, later acquiring a warehouse in Emeryville with larger equipment. Though encouraged to expand, he insisted on maintaining quality at the original Walnut and Vine location. Peet mentored several coffee entrepreneurs, including the founders of Starbucks, though he later distanced himself from their ultra-dark roasting methods. He sold his business in 1979 and retired to Ashland, Oregon, where he died in 2007 at age 87.

Reader's Guide

Alfred Peet’s significance stems from his role as the catalyst of the American specialty coffee revolution. Opening his first store in Berkeley in 1966, he introduced custom roasting of premium beans at a time when most Americans consumed coffee from vacuum-packed cans, a quality he likened to wartime rations. His original location at Walnut and Vine became the nucleus of Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto, spurring the growth of adjacent specialty food shops and avant-garde restaurants. Peet’s influence radiated through direct mentorship: he taught his roasting style to the three founders of Starbucks, who carried the technique to Seattle, and later guided a network of coffee entrepreneurs including those behind Anderson’s Coffee, Pegasus Coffee, and Ohori’s Coffee Roasters. George Howell, who founded The Coffee Connection in Boston and is credited with inventing the Frappuccino, entered the business after being inspired by tasting Peet’s coffee. Despite his stern demeanor, Peet was remembered as a generous instructor, though he eventually distanced himself from the Starbucks founders over their experiments with ultra-dark roasts, remarking that one of them had never learned from him. Peet zealously guarded quality, resisting expansion for years and roasting in small batches before acquiring larger roasters in the 1970s. He sold the business in 1979 but remained a mentor for five years; the company was later acquired by Starbucks’ co-founder Jerry Baldwin. Peet’s legacy is preserved in documentary interviews and a biography written by a Dutch editor.

Did You Know?

• Peet compared the low quality of American coffee to World War II 'rationed' coffee.
• Peet's first store at Walnut and Vine in Berkeley is considered the origin of the Gourmet Ghetto.
• After retiring, Peet moved to Ashland, Oregon, where he died at age 87.