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He opened the first Peet's Coffee & Tea in 1966 on a rundown street in Berkeley. He mentored the founders of Starbucks letting them work in his store. And even though he sold the coffee business in 1979, Peet's Coffee & Tea still serves their high quality roasts for many addicted coffee lovers.
Peet died yesterday in his home in Ashland, Oregon of cancer. He was considered a connoisseur of gourmet coffee: "Peet was known for using high-quality beans and a roasting method that produces a distinctively deep flavor," reported Reuters.
There are total of 151 stores, most of them in Northern California. In the Los Angeles area there are about 23 Peet's Coffee & Tea stores.
Photo by Graffiti by Numbers via Flickr