Yes, sure, Starbucks does not have EXCELLENT COFFEE, but it does tend to focus on service. Most people aren’t concerned about the quality, or even the coffee itself, they are concerned about the environment and most importantly: service.

Let’s not bash Starbucks! TIM HORTONS FOR THE WIN!

In New York, we had excellent coffee at a small Greek diner in Brooklyn (Park Slope, 7th Avenue at the main drag that goes over the Brooklyn Bridge. They used beans roasted in Berkeley.) We also found that N.Y.C. cops and firefighters drink tutti-frutti coffee, usually hazelnut, and that most N.Y.C. coffee is slop (weak, and prepared by the counterperson, not by the drinker. On the plus side, is is only 50 cents a cup.). We also had excellent coffee at a combination hotel dining room/piano bar on Central Park South. Most coffee shops were pathetic, although expensive, but a few lunch places that catered to only a midmorning (10 to 2) crowd served excellent press pot coffee.

The Starbucks at the Forest Hills IRT/IND station had excellent dark roasted coffee available (more acid that Peet’s but quite tasty and certainly preferable to the 50 cent cup at the deli.) The worst Starbucks I ever had was in Danville, presumably expresso, weak, bitter, and much inferior to the local Buttercup diner, which kept two 100-cup percolators (regular and decaf) outside their store for joggers (honor system, take your coffee with you on your run, pay for the day or week next time you stop inside). The rest of the Starbucks I have drunk is forgettable, always acid, not good enough to go back, not bad enough to poor out. There is a lot to be said for coffee tourism, the occasional delights are so memorable, and the bad cups are so forgettable that the overall experiences are positive. Of course, if there had been a Peet’s available, I wouldn’t have bothered trying to local vendors.

Teddy Knight, a Peet’s fan since we used to get peanut butter, peanuts roasted and ground in the original coffee roaster/grinder, at Vine Street.

I Love Peet’s. I adore Peet’s. I would kill to live around the corner from a Peet’s and sip it every morning, noon and night. BUT – I live in Elkton, MD and the chance of living near a Peet’s is non-existent. So – in my universe of Elkton, MD – I would be thrilled with a cup of Starbuck’s coffee. Believe me – Starbucks is waaaay better than a local diner cup of Joe (usually weak and burned) any day of the week.

It’s easy to be a snob when you have a lot of choices – so for those of us that don’t – give us a break. Starbucks still brews a good cup of coffee (or double tall latte) ….

As for Ruth’s Chris vs. a Sizzler steak – I really doubt your Sizzler steak (and ambience) were of higher quality than Ruth’s Chris. Is Sizzler a better value? You bet… Better for families? Absolutely. Decent steak? Usually… I certainly agree that Ruth’s Chris isn’t what it used to be. It’s overpriced for the quality now…. But if your Sizzler is serving USDA Prime Beef – I need the location.

I love the analogy of Starbucks = McDonalds, Peet’s = In’N'Out Burger. Perfect. I love In’N'Out – but again I have to travel 3000 miles or so to get there. But every now and then – since I can’t get my n’N'Out- I just need a cheeseburger happy meal with a chocolate milkshake – usually after a night of too much drinking…

I’m so hooked that I even built a giant LEGO brick logo that is hanging in my office!

http://brickplayer.com/blog/2008/01/23/starbucks-coffee-mosaic/

Peets also buys the best coffee beans in the market, paying two to three times what they’re worth to make sure that the sellers grow shade-grown, fair trade, organic beans. Also, our coffee roasters only roast the beans after a store places an order and less than 24 hours after roasting, the beans are on their way to the store. We have a wonderful array of single-origin and signature blends from all over the world. Come and order beans and we will weigh them, grind, and bag them for you. I heard from a customer that Starbucks doesn’t have the beans like that, they pre-bag them…not so fresh? The drinks are delicious and not-too-sweet. Frappuccinos were good when I was a teen but now I realize how much better the Freddos are as they are made from scratch. At Starbucks, the baristas cannot pull espresso shots as their machines are all automated, at Peets our baristas do all the work and are experts.

And what can I say about the tea? The aromatic excellent-tasting tea…We have all the regular teas such as Earl Grey with Lavender, or with Bergamot, English, Scottinsh, and Irish Breakfast, but we also boast special rare teas such as Jasmine Downy Pearls, Ancient Trees Pu-errh, and the upcoming Golden Monkey (not out yet, but I already got to taste). Golden Monkey is a specialty rare black tea made with malt and honey, a surprisingly different taste! We are always striving to become better and continually and enthusiastically educate our customers. I am always giving them free coffee and tea tastings or free coffee beans to try at home. It’s always about our customers and delivering the freshest product we can find.

To those who said we would not exist if it wasn’t for Starbucks, you’re IDIOTS who know NOTHING about Peets or Starbucks history. It’s actually the opposite. Our founder, Alfred Peet was an immigrant who was very dissappointed with American coffee and decided to use his family’s roasting techniques and secrets to begin a business that produced only the best coffee. Started in Berkely just a few blocks away from the college, he founded Peets. The two Starbucks founders became apprentices of an unselfish Alfred Peet who gladly taught them what he knew because he wanted people to taste good coffee. They then began Starbucks in Seattle and had an argument. One was still concerned about making coffee of the highest quality, the other saw market shares bursting and sought to make it the huge corporation it now is. The one concerned about quality split and went down to Peets to become a business partner with Alfred Peet. Our founder passed away this past August, leaving one of the original Starbucks owner as the major owner of Peets and so our quality standards continue. STARBUCKS DOES NOT OWN PEETS.

Keep enjoying good coffee. At the end of the day, I guess there is room for anyone who wants to sell coffee because there will always be people willing to drink it. It’s subjective, like most things.

thanks for the chance to share.

At Peet’s our coffee is delivered to our stores within 24 hours of roasting and sold or roasted within a week. Our green coffee is also the absolute best available on the market. We’ve been in the business longer than anyone else, so we have the longest relationships with the growers. We were the first company to sign an actual contract with a grower promising to purchase their coffee for 4 years. No one, I repeat, NO ONE has better coffee than us. And I’ll take the pepsi-funking-challenge on that.

Also, any good roast master will tell you that coffee should degas for about 24 hours post-roast before brewing.