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Date: 31 Aug 2007 11:30:49
From: y_p_w
Subject: Alfred Peet passed away
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http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BA3RRT78V.DTL
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Date: 15 Sep 2007 09:50:44
From:
Subject: Re: Alfred Peet passed away
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> If it weren't for him and his influence, chances are today your cup
> may be a cup of Nescafe or Maxwell House.
I have the highest respect for both Mark and Alfred Peet, but wow,
that's a lot to put on the shoulders of one person (I didn't realize
at first that there are two hedges in Mark's statement). There are a
whole lot of factors that created the specialty coffee movement, and
IMHO it's good to look at them while also granting due importance to
the role individuals play.
Of course, it's only natural to pull out all the rhetorical stops when
praising a beloved person, especially after their passing.
Mike Miller
Webmaster, http://www.milwaukeespecialtycoffee.typepad.com
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Date: 12 Sep 2007 06:40:54
From: CoffeeKid
Subject: Hurrah for Richard! (was Re: Alfred Peet passed away)
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I said it in email to you, but it bears repeating here - great to see
you participating again, and to hear you're doing well Richard! Even
if it is for a sad occasion (Peet's passing).
Also loved the article in the current issue of Imbibe - great job!
Mark
On Sep 4, 8:41 pm, Richard Reynolds <espress...@earthlink.net > wrote:
> I happened by the Vine Street Peet's a few years ago and saw this old
> guy behind the counter not doing much. I figured he had to be Alfred
> Peet, so I went up and introduced myself. We talked coffee for a
> while, then I discovered he was a fan of the Berkeley Symphony, where
> I play French horn.
>
> >From then on I would write him a note each year, asking for a donation
>
> to the BSO and enclosing my latest coffee articles and he would always
> give the Symphony a nice donation.
>
> A couple years after I met him he called me at my office and began
> holding forth. Unfortunately I was really busy at the time, couldn't
> quite get where he was going, and had to cut it short. It seemed as if
> he had an issue with the way coffees are described these days--using
> language similar to that used to describe wine. I tried to call him
> back, but we never connected, and I've always regretted that I never
> figured out exactly what he was trying to say.
>
> Alfred Peet--coffee lover and music lover. A man after my own heart.
>
> --Richard
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Date: 08 Sep 2007 00:53:19
From: Ron
Subject: Re: Alfred Peet passed away
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And Cramer recommended the stock after reading the obit, by the way:
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/04/a-cramer-coffee-pairs-trade-peets-peet-versus-starbucks-sbu/
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Date: 06 Sep 2007 13:39:06
From: Steve Ackman
Subject: Re: Alfred Peet passed away
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In <1188585049.233427.223080@i38g2000prf.googlegroups.com >, on Fri, 31
Aug 2007 11:30:49 -0700, y_p_w, y_p_w@hotmail.com wrote:
> http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BA3RRT78V.DTL
Also the 31 Aug entry at
http://royalcoffeenews.blogspot.com/
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Date: 04 Sep 2007 20:41:41
From: Richard Reynolds
Subject: Re: Alfred Peet passed away
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I happened by the Vine Street Peet's a few years ago and saw this old
guy behind the counter not doing much. I figured he had to be Alfred
Peet, so I went up and introduced myself. We talked coffee for a
while, then I discovered he was a fan of the Berkeley Symphony, where
I play French horn.
>From then on I would write him a note each year, asking for a donation
to the BSO and enclosing my latest coffee articles and he would always
give the Symphony a nice donation.
A couple years after I met him he called me at my office and began
holding forth. Unfortunately I was really busy at the time, couldn't
quite get where he was going, and had to cut it short. It seemed as if
he had an issue with the way coffees are described these days--using
language similar to that used to describe wine. I tried to call him
back, but we never connected, and I've always regretted that I never
figured out exactly what he was trying to say.
Alfred Peet--coffee lover and music lover. A man after my own heart.
--Richard
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Date: 02 Sep 2007 14:06:55
From: Kyle
Subject: Re: Alfred Peet passed away
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On Aug 31, 3:23 pm, Marshall <mrf...@ihatespamearthlink.net > wrote:
> On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 11:30:49 -0700, y_p_w <y_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BA3RRT78V.DTL
>
> For those who do not know who Alfred Peet was or only know him through
> the Peet's Coffee chain, I want to add that he was the godfather of
> the modern artisan coffee movement.
>
> His little coffee, tea and spice shop, which opened in Berkeley in
> 1966, was not only the direct fountainhead of Peets Coffee and
> Starbucks, but the inspiration for countless coffee pioneers since
> then. He will be missed.
Yeah, Peet's inspired George Howell, of the Coffee Connection and
Terroir, to get into the coffee business. I love the original Peet's
store. It's where I bought my first real espresso machine.
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Date: 02 Sep 2007 06:38:13
From:
Subject: Re: Alfred Peet passed away
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We are diminished by the news of the passing of a pioneer contributor
to the rebirth of good coffee on this continent. I will miss Al Peet,
a friend supporter and ally from the early years of coffee's
reemergence as a quality based beverage.
Donald Schoenholt
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Date: 02 Sep 2007 09:27:56
From: CoffeeKid
Subject: Re: Alfred Peet passed away
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>From the article I posted on CG last night:
It is with great sadness that I report the passing of a true legend in
the world of specialty coffee - indeed, if any one person garners the
title "Father of Specialty Coffee", it would be this man. On
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007, Alfred Peet passed away.
Alfred Peet started his coffee roastery in 1966, in Berkeley,
California. The concept of "specialty coffee" was almost completely
unknown in the US at the time (and the term itself hadn't even been
coined yet), what with all the major national brands moving to more
and more generic coffee styles, and the brewing method of choice for
most Americans being the percolator, for its convenience and ease of
use.
The Dutch-born Peet grew up in a family immersed in the business of
coffee, and he emigrated to the United States in the 1950s where he
continued the family trade, working in coffee for major national
chains. As the 1950s and early 1960s progressed, Peet became more and
more disenchanted with the state of "generic" low grade coffee used by
most roasters at the time, and the lowering of the quality of coffee
for the home, and made a move in the mid 1960s to go into business for
himself. Memories of the better quality central American coffees his
Dad used to source and roast back in Holland were still vivid in his
mind, so he started sourcing his own quality coffees, and helped to
start a revolution - bringing back the word quality, and even
"culinary" to coffee. He, along with people like Erna Knutsen (the
Mother of Specialty Coffee, still with us, and the originator of the
term "specialty coffee"), fostered in a true renaissance time for
coffee.
Peet's influence is far and wide. George Howell, arguably the father
of specialty coffee on the Eastern US side, discovered great coffee at
Peet's Berkeley shop. The founders of Starbucks fell in love with
Peet's coffee and roastery and got to know Alfred personally. Once
they moved back to Seattle after attending UC Berkeley, they opened up
their small roastery in Pike Place market, introducing specialty
coffee to the Seattle area in 1971.
I count myself as being very, very fortunate to have met Alfred Peet
on a few occasions. He was opinionated, cantankerous and ornery, (he
even admits all of these himself) and absolutely sharp as a tack,
right through his 80s. He always had a monster palate, maintained a
deep love and passion for coffee, and I felt extremely lucky, both at
those times and today that I got a chance to meet him, and on one
occasion I got to personally thank him personally for what he's done
for coffee.
Much of our love and joy at true culinary coffee today can trace its
heritage tree back to Alfred Peet. If you're sitting back today,
enjoying a great cup of single origin press pot coffee, or pulling a
delicious blend off your espresso machine, raise a cup to Alfred Peet.
If it weren't for him and his influence, chances are today your cup
may be a cup of Nescafe or Maxwell House.
I'm also hoping to get some quoted reactions from some who knew Alfred
Peet very well.
Mark
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Date: 04 Sep 2007 12:25:28
From: daveb
Subject: Re: Alfred Peet passed away
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A sad loss. We are all in his debt.
Dave
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Date: 31 Aug 2007 20:56:02
From: Doug Cadmus
Subject: Re: Alfred Peet passed away
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On Aug 31, 3:23 pm, Marshall <mrf...@ihatespamearthlink.net > wrote:
> On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 11:30:49 -0700, y_p_w <y_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BA3RRT78V.DTL
>
> For those who do not know who Alfred Peet was or only know him through
> the Peet's Coffee chain, I want to add that he was the godfather of
> the modern artisan coffee movement.
His shop at Walnut and Vine in Berkeley not only introduced his
signature roasting style -- dark, very dark, but with origin
character, still -- but also what's come to be known as the American
coffee house, replete with artsy-types and eccentrics, writers and
musicians and free-thinkers of all stripes. He was the font not only
of Starbucks coffee, but Starbucks' original coffee house.
Peet's has set up a page where memories of his life and his passing
can be read and contributed, at http://peets.typepad.com/alfredpeet/.
Godspeed, Mr. Peet.
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Date: 31 Aug 2007 13:40:16
From: y_p_w
Subject: Re: Alfred Peet passed away
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On Aug 31, 11:30 am, y_p_w <y_...@hotmail.com > wrote:
> http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BA3RRT78V.DTL
http://peets.typepad.com/?cm_re=hp-_-feature4-_-Image
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Date: 31 Aug 2007 12:23:17
From: Marshall
Subject: Re: Alfred Peet passed away
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On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 11:30:49 -0700, y_p_w <y_p_w@hotmail.com > wrote:
>http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BA3RRT78V.DTL
For those who do not know who Alfred Peet was or only know him through
the Peet's Coffee chain, I want to add that he was the godfather of
the modern artisan coffee movement.
His little coffee, tea and spice shop, which opened in Berkeley in
1966, was not only the direct fountainhead of Peets Coffee and
Starbucks, but the inspiration for countless coffee pioneers since
then. He will be missed.
Marshall
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