I'm writing this with equal parts heartbreak and caffeine withdrawal…read more
I've been a devoted Peet's customer since my freshman year in Berkeley--back when discovering your deep, dark roast felt like being let in on a delicious secret. From that very first cup, I was hooked. Bold, rich, unapologetically intense--everything coffee should be. Frankly, Starbucks could NEVER compete, and I wore that opinion like a badge of honor for nearly 40 years.
Over those decades, Peet's wasn't just my coffee--it was part of my routine, my work life in San Francisco, and even my social fabric. I brought Peet's into corporate meetings, events, and countless mornings that required both caffeine and hope. The consistency was unmatched, and the people--your people--were just as special. Longtime staff who remembered names, orders, and somehow made a coffee chain feel like a neighborhood staple.
Then life took me north to the Pacific Northwest--specifically Oregon and Washington--where, let's be honest, "medium roast" reigns supreme (a phrase that still confuses me spiritually). Finding Peet's locations here felt like spotting an old friend in a crowd. And at first, it was! The quality, the AMAZING staff, the experience--it all held up.
But lately... what happened?
Somewhere along the line--perhaps around the time of the Keurig Dr Pepper acquisition--things changed. And not in a "new seasonal menu" kind of way. The coffee doesn't hit the same. The magic feels diluted. Even the staff, once the soul of the brand, seem less engaged--like they, too, are wondering where the old Peet's went. I feel for my friends!!!
It pains me to say this, but the experience now feels... ordinary. And Peet's was never supposed to be ordinary.
I can't help but imagine Alfred Peet looking down and thinking, "This is not what I had in mind."
So here I am, a customer of nearly four decades, asking--no, begging--you to remember what made Peet's special. The commitment to quality. The restraint in growth. The PRIDE in the product. The people.
Because right now, I'm doing something I never thought I would: exploring other options. And while nothing quite replaces what Peet's used to be, some are getting dangerously close.
