Alfred H. Peet was born on this day in 1920.
He was born in the Netherlands where his father was ran a small coffee roaster. Alfred grew up to master the arts of both coffee and tea. But it is coffee that matters in this telling.
He emigrated to America where he was appalled at the state of coffee in this country.
And, of course, he was right. It was awful. Awful. Soon he’d started his own roaster in Berkeley, and gradually the business included a coffee bar.
It was a revelation. And it was a revolution.
Among his mentees were Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl, who would go on to found Starbucks. As a footnote to that footnote, they began by using his beans.
Historians of coffee call Alfred Peet quite simply the “Dutchman who taught Americans how to drink coffee.” And I proudly claim to be his disciple, at least in so far as being introduced to real coffee at his Berkeley shop in the early 1970s. Something for which I remain ever grateful.
While he died in 2007, Peet’s legacy lives on in pretty much every decent cup of coffee we drink here in America.
So, Mr Peet, here’s a toast to you.
Thanks!
