[blueerica]

Actually, Peet's development has more to do with the long-standing beliefs of those who started the company. They didn't want to go global. Starbucks was a first with that, and has used incredible marketing skills, much to their credit.

In fact, there is a lot that coffee drinkers have Starbucks to thank for. After all, had it not been for Starbucks, gourmet coffee wouldn't even be on the map. It would be relegated to a handful of small shops in random places around the world.

By the same token Starbucks has lot to thank Peet's for, as it was Alfred Peet who inspired the idea to take the coffee to another level. Jerry Baldwin, one of the founders of Starbucks was trained by Peet in the art of roasting coffee.

While my experiences with Starbucks have only been from a consumer standpoint, it seems as though Starbucks doesn't actually enforce and quality controls - and that has nothing to do with Peet's, or any coffee company for that matter. If Starbucks did enforce quality control, drinks would be consistently of at least one quality, not varying so wildly from barista to barista.

I could go on a Dietrich's tangent as well. The company changed and went downhill as it became increasingly corporate, lending itself to the very spotty quality one finds in Dietrich's. They used to have some of the finest coffee in the Southland, and now - you don't know what you're getting when you walk into one of their stores. In fact, it got to the point that Martin Dietrich left and started up a new coffee business, Keane - which, by the way, makes the best coffee ever and has the most knowledgeable staff on the planet.