I discovered Peet's coffee while at Berkeley and have been a fan ever since. I admit that I don't go to Peet's very often but only for the convenience factor; the locations are rather sparse. However, when there is a choice and I am near I will opt for Peet's over anything around.
Story:
Rewind to 10 years ago, A couple months after I moved to Cambridge Mass. One of my buddy coworkers surprised me by walking by with a cup of Peet's. I had no idea they were out there. I immediately stopped him and asked him about it. Lo and behold there was a Peet's in Harvard Square. I hadn't seen it, I was new to the area still, and it was winter so I wasn't exactly exploring, but Oh Joy!. We immediately conspired to get the company to switch their coffee order to Peet's. I don't recall what it was up until that point, I think they rotated. Others in our small company were a bit skeptical as they were unfamiliar. In a moment of enterprising thought, the receptionist/assistant/whatever-she-was-called-but-she-ordered-stuff-too decided to have a taste-test-vote with 4 brands, one of them being Starbucks and I can't recall what the other two were. Peet's won and that recurring order lasted for the next 6.5 years, ending when the company was sold.
For a good while there, I sort of took it for granted, and it wasn't until we were all ported to the new office, where they were using something else did I notice the change. Apparently I wasn't alone because at some point I noticed yet another brand of coffee sitting next to the main coffee grounds dispenser with a donation tin. The new company was big and the building was big so there were several kitchens with coffee scattered throughout. Eventually I stopped going to the one in "our" area for the most part because I found one of those espresso-cappuccino-indy-packet type machines in the other corner of the building. At the Cali office where I am now, all we have is Starbucks brand bags. I guess it could be worse but I wish I had the clout to convince them to make a switch again.
Soon though, it may not make any difference if what's pointed to in that link goes through. How sad. I may not be a true hardcore coffee aficionado, but that doesn't mean I still don't have my preferences.
2 comments:
Do you like Peets better than Dunkins?
Absolutely :)
After living in the Dunkin Donuts capitol of the world (read: Boston) I did have a quasi-regular sampling of their coffee concoctions. My opinion, their normal coffee is akin to what you can find at 7-11, and their dunkaccino-or-whathaveyou ones are sweeter than Starbucks if you ever thought that possible.
That said, it does have its place in my universe just as Starbucks does, and they massheads do have a certain amount of loyalty to Dunkin so I'd dare not openly criticize it. It is just not my preferred coffee. Between them and Starbucks, I'd say it's a tossup for though I might prefer Starbucks, I'd probably buy Dunkin since it's a bit cheaper for nearly the same effect.
How's that for long-winded?
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