Starbucks vs. Peet’s

Starbucks

We’ve all heard that grumpy person snap and say, “Not until I have my coffee.” Drinking coffee has been a progressively growing fad since before the 15th century. Its caffeinated goodness is just what some people need to get through the day. According to a 2014 statistic from the National Coffee Association, 83 percent of adults drink coffee.

There are thousands, if not millions, of different coffee enriched drinks customized every day. From lattes to macchiatos, mochas and espressos, americanos and just straight black coffee, everyone drinks it differently.

With this growing list of drinks comes an ever growing list of coffee joints. Shops such as Peet’s, Coffee Bean, Dunkin Donuts, Tim Horton’s, and Starbucks all compete to sate the thirst of the crazy coffee consumers. Walnut Creek’s top two coffee shops are Peet’s and Starbucks, but which one is the best?

In my eyes, Starbucks is definitely the superior chain; the taste of the drinks and the character of the business is welcoming and warm. Starbucks even has a program called “Grounds for your Garden,” where some stores allow consumers to take leftover coffee grounds for composting. Additionally, they use 10% recycled material in all of their cups.

 Also, the taste of a Starbucks drink is almost entirely its own. I drink a Caramel Macchiato at least once a week and I’ve never been disappointed  with the taste. I love the taste of coffee, and the caramel macchiato has a lot of that. And yet, the caramel is very prominent in the drink and  balances out the bitterness nicely. And then, when I drank the Caramel Macchiato from Peet’s, the first thing I noticed was that I hardly tasted  any coffee, the drink tasted like caramel and milk with barely a shot of coffee.

 I had a similar experience with the White Mocha. The Starbucks White Mocha is a perfect balance of rich white chocolate and coffee with the  perfect amount of foam. White chocolate itself is very sweet and doesn’t need any added flavor, but I guess Peet’s didn’t get that memo because  when I drank the Peet’s White Chocolate Mocha, I was overwhelmed with richness. Their white chocolate overpowers the coffee, making me wish  there was such thing as anti-sugar packets.

Lastly, I tried Hot Chocolate from both Starbucks and Peet’s. Everyone loves the taste of a classic hot chocolate drink. It may remind some people of their childhood or winter.Both places house a very tasty, classic Hot Chocolate, but once again I think Starbucks made it better. The Hot Chocolate at Starbucks was rich enough that you tasted it with each sip, whereas at Peet’s I felt like I had to gulp it down to taste the richness.

I won’t deny that I enjoyed drinking all of these yummy concoctions, but Starbucks just took that extra step for their consumers. If you are looking for the perfect cup of coffee, I recommend you conduct these experiments yourself, for everyone has a different palate. But I have to warn you that coffee can be very expensive…

Peet’s

Their signature trademark is their latte macchiato’s, caramel frappuccinos, and random coffee themed drinks and items that have turned this  once coffee shop into an expensive superstore full of gifts and vacuumed sealed beans. Can I just have some good quality beans, please? If  someone claims they are a coffee drinker and goes to Starbucks every morning, chances are they do not know much about coffee and they are  more likely to get an espresso drink rather than a cup of coffee. Why? Because Starbucks is not known or praised for their coffee like they use to  be.

Order a medium, excuse me, I mean “grande” coffee, and the barista will look at you as if you just got out of the loony bin. Peet’s Coffee and Tea,  a corporate coffee shop just like Starbucks but nearly not as huge, has constantly and is still constantly putting its focus and efforts in selling high-quality coffee beans and teas to its customers, rather than focusing on the sales of espresso drinks and useless gifts to people who can even afford them. Quality is over quantity when it comes between Peet’s Coffee and Tea, and Starbucks Coffee is the other way around.

Perhaps this is why Starbucks fought so hard to acquire Peet’s coffee. The people who started Starbucks have been out of the running -for me at least- since 1987. Almost everything that Starbucks is today derives from both its founders’ vision and from Peet’s.

 Peet’s Coffee and Tea was established by Alfred Peet, an immigrant from Holland who worked for the tea business then moved to San  Francisco in 1955. He worked for coffee importers for nearly a decade. Alfred was not satisfied with the coffee he came across people  drinking and wanted to expose coffee drinkers to strong, better tasting, and higher in quality coffee.

 In 1966, he opened his first store in Berkeley, California after his family name and specialties, which was gourmet coffee and tea. The  European style dark roasted coffee beans and aroma that came with it became a trademark of Peet’s. In terms of coffee and staying true to  the founder views Peet’s has better drip coffee, but Starbucks has Clover — at least some do. The Peet’s team says that they don’t roast past  varietal like Starbucks does, but now Starbucks has so many roasts I don’t know. Peet’s does use actual espresso machines, not the auto ones  used at Starbucks.

 I generally prefer Peet’s over Starbucks and when possible, go out of my way to get to Peet’s. Starbucks is almost always closer and of course  they have many more locations, including one in Safeway. I’ve got a few Starbucks gift cards so I’ll use them up and then go back to Peet’s,  where I receive great customer service and coffee that is actually coffee and not just creamer. Starbucks is simply too much sugar and cream  with not enough actual coffee for me.