Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

He Taught Starbucks How to Make Coffee

Alfred Peet, America's coffee king, dies at 87

By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 2, 2007 2:45 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Dutchman who gave America an early jolt of caffeine culture died Friday at his home in Oregon, the Los Angeles Times reports. Before there was Starbucks, Alfred Peet opened Peet’s Coffee & Tea in 1966, distinguishing his coffee with high-quality beans and pioneering a roasting system that Starbucks would later adopt with the entrepreneur's help.

Peet picked up the coffee trade in Holland by working at his family’s roasting plant before World War II. After jobs in London and Indonesia, he moved to Berkeley and opened a small shop that became home to students and ’60s radicals. It also attracted the future founders of Starbucks, who would end up buying it. Peet, whose cause of death was not released, was 87.

  (Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc.)
  (Lance Iversen - Sfc)
 Tea, Inc., John Storey)
Tea, Inc., John Storey)   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

More Newser Stories

Starbucks' New Frontier: India

Starbucks Bans Blonde Jokes

Starbucks Raising Prices

Good, Cheap Coffee Going Bye-Bye

Starbucks Scraps Hidden Fee After State Fine


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne