Week 5 Winning Stories (April 7 - 13)

Winning Story:
Remember Rod Stewart's "You're in my heart" Song?

I don't recall what year it was
When I first walked into a Peets.
I ordered a cup of coffee
I received an unbelievable treat

Working my way through the different roasts
The obsession continued to grow
I must really confess right here
My Peets' addiction has begun to show

It's now a daily habit of mine
Which my husband has had to accept
Lost hours in the morning
As I linger at the tables
Catching up with my fellow Peetniks

You're in my heart, You're in my soul,
The coffee aroma seeps into my clothes
I'll drink you daily as I get old
You're not a lover, but you've become a friend
You're in my soul

My appreciation for you is cultivated
My loyalty to you immense
You are Fair trade and global
A respite from too many calls mobile
Connoisseurs know you're the best

You are coffee, scones and tea,
A source of delights for me
Putting smiles on the faces
Of many people in many places
But Peet's what else can you possibly be?

Winner #2: Kristin Pladson

Winning Story:
Seven years ago, I found myself traveling to San Francisco for one of my first business trips. In my 24-year-old mind, this westward expedition signified my transition into adulthood. I was, officially, a “businesswoman.”
Following an uneventful flight and an overpriced room service breakfast, I walked with barely concealed enthusiasm the two blocks to my company’s San Francisco office. Only recently inducted into the business travelers’ club, I stopped at the first coffee shop along my route. With some trepidation, I stepped into line and my eyes raced across the foreign language of the menu.
“May I help you?” a smiling man asked from behind a series of coffee grinders. I hadn’t yet made it to the register so I was unprepared for his inquiry. I stared at him with a blank look that must have betrayed my coffee-naivety.
Assessing the situation, the silver-haired man revised his question. “Is this your first time at Peet’s?”
“It is,” I sighed with more than obvious relief at his friendliness. “I have no idea where to begin.”
At this, “Cal” broke into a wide grin. “Now that’s the easy question. It’s when to end that’s the hard one.”
He walked me through a few basics, assessed my coffee preferences (which were few and muddily articulated), and directed me towards a quirkily-named coffee, “Major Dickason’s.”
In a few short minutes, I had a steaming cup of coffee in hand and was stepping out the door to continue my journey to work. Despite my delight inside the Peet’s store, I had come to understand coffee as a necessity to be endured rather than a luxury to be savored. And so it was from sheer habit that I had braced myself for the disappointment of the thin, tinny Lutheran church basement coffee of my early years or the bitter sludge I had so often sampled from the cafes at home.
“What is this?” I blurted after the first liquid morsels hit my tongue. “This…this is good!”
I realized then that I was still standing in front of the wide window of Peet’s and as I peered back into the buzzing store front, Cal gave me a wave and mouthed, “See you tomorrow!”

*****

Four days later, the novelty of business travel had worn off and I was exhausted by the long hours, hotel sheets, and late business dinners. But I hadn’t yet missed a morning at Peet’s. By Cal’s description, I had become a “transient regular” and was expected to be back when I returned to San Francisco the next month.
On my last morning, I left my hotel with heavy steps, dragging my carry-on luggage behind me.
“My last day, Cal,” I whined. “I don’t know how I’m going to live without Peet’s tomorrow morning. It’s just not fair!”
“You have a coffee maker, don’t you?” he asked.
“Yeah, but it’s still in the box. I haven’t had much luck getting myself to drink the canned grocery store muck.”
He smiled at me in a way I remember my dad smiling when I had worried about the fish getting cold in our frozen lake. “Just take a little bit of Peet’s home with you. I can grind you some beans right now so they’ll be ready to go tomorrow morning. What do you think?”
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of that! Of course, I’ll take some home! In fact, I think I’ll buy three pounds. My dad and brother both love coffee and I know they’d love Peet’s.”

*****

Seven hours later, I was hurtling eastward with three pounds of Peet’s on board. Little did I know that these few small bags would have such a profound impact. After presenting my dad and brother with their samples of Major Dickason’s, they too became Peet’s converts. For seven years, our families have been savoring the flavors of Peet’s in the cold of Minnesota winters and sweltering heat of our snowy winters. Sure, we have coffee shops that are closer and even a few that are locally based. It would be easy to hop by and pick up a pound or two. But it would be much, much harder to say goodbye to waking up each morning to a steaming mug of Peet’s.

As Cal said those many years ago, it’s easy to begin but so much harder to even thinking about ending something so good.

Winner #3: Athena Kaldani

Winning Story:
I discovered Peet's purely by accident on a night out with the girls.We had been walking around Berkeley trying to catch up with all the new music that was hitting the scene when we stopped at a local cafe to rest our heels and clear our heads before driving home. I truely believe that Peet's was my first high and I'm pretty sure I flew home that night.That was 13yrs. ago...and I've been an convert ever since. Peet's has seen me through late night college exams, my pregnancy(yes I drank one cup a day) and several mommie playdates. I even converted all my hard core,'Seattle Best,' mommy friends when I lived in Olympia. I now live in Florida and can't wait to convert all these Floridians that Starbucks has struck blind...PFF (Peet's Follower Forever)

Winner #4: Joan Segall

Winning Story:
I was a Midwest Maxwell House girl until I moved to California in 1980. With the westward move came a host of new experiences, including Peet’s Coffee. And after my first cup of Peet’s coffee (I think it was Major Dickason’s Blend), there was no going back. (To Ohio). Or to Maxwell House.

Coffee is a way to wake-up.
Peet’s is a way to welcome the day.
Coffee is a morning drink.
Peet’s is a taste to behold.
Coffee is a black and white film.
Peet’s is that classic movie, in Technicolor.
Coffee is a need.
Peet’s is a passion.
Coffee is a stick figure.
Peet’s is a full-bodied beauty.


To wake up to the aroma of Peet's is to wake up a happy girl.
To drink a cup of Peet’s is to be happier still.

Winner #5: William R Corwin

Winning Story:
My story begins at the Company I worked for in Silicon Valley. They had Peets coffee in the lunch room. My choice was the French Roast. Years later I was asked to transfer to Oregon, and I agreed if I could get Peets up there. It was set in stone, and there was 10#of French Roast setting in my new office when I got there. The Lunch room in Oregon had pump pots with labels on them. All except one. I put a bandaid on that pot and filled it with french roast. Compared to the other coffees it was rich and robust, so I put up a sign "watch out for the bandaid Coffee". I soon went from needing 10# quarter to 15# a quarter, and productivity went up 20%. During the Hayday it went to 10# a month. A couple years later, during some tight times, the CEO was reviewing the budget and saw this $1500 a year on coffee for Oregon. He tried to cut it out, but HR brought out that stone. It never happened. Long live Peets French Roast.

Winner #6: Diane Geller

Winning Story:
We had been without Peet’s for nearly a week. It was a dark and stormy night. Well, not really. It just felt like it. Truth be told, it was a bright and sunny day – but we were dark and stormy. We were on the 5th day of touring colleges. The hotel-provided-coffee was swill. Our driver was late and there was no time to stop for coffee before our 10 AM tour appointment. Not that it mattered since we had googled Peet’s locations and were dismayed to know that there was not one store within 100 miles of us.

Stephanie was having Peet’s withdrawal – during the course of the last 5 days she had offered us all sorts of bribes and begged for just one cup of Peet’s. One night we even picked a restaurant because it was called Pete’s – wrong spelling -- but as close as we were getting to the real Peet’s. We tried, unsuccessfully, to make the best of our Peetless life.

Villanova was our 9th college in five days. The campus tour guide was a pleasant enough young man (although he certainly didn’t act like he had had any Peet’s recently). He talked about his wonderful college experience, showed us the Whispering Arch, mentioned his dorms and his great professors and the beautiful campus and his awesome friends and on and on and on. We whispered that wonderful would be Peet’s. Great would be Peet’s. Beautiful would be Peet’s. Awesome would be Peet’s. I downed a nutrition bar to distract me from the missing coffee bar.

And then our guide walked us in to see the library. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a café. And then Gail saw the café. We nudged each other trying to decide if we could duck in and grab a cup of coffee. IN THE LIBRARY! We weren’t hallucinating -- there really WAS a café right there in the library. And then we saw The Girl. She was carrying a
“to go”cup with Peet’s logo on the sleeve. I stared in awe and Gail tackled her. Well, not really tackled her -- maybe she just scared her when she shrieked “IS THAT A PEET’S???!! I certainly don’t know her name – and in fact, I can’t even tell you what The Girl looked like. But I’ll always remember her hand on the cup, how we startled her with our screams, and the awesome bliss on Stephanie’s face when the barrista handed her the long dreamed about Peet’s.

We abandoned the tour immediately and headed straight into the café. No one cared if we were drinking Major Dickason or Ethiopian Fancy or Arabian Mocha Java. We only cared that it was Peet’s. With our Peet’s coffee and latte’s in hand, the campus looked much more beautiful. I’m not sure where the tour group went next; I doubt they even missed us. But we’ll have the photo of the three of us in front of the library to remind us how much we love Peet’s.

I love you Peet’s because you’re wonderful and great and beautiful and awesome. And because you are there when I need you.

Winner #7: Daniel Curran

Winning Story:
"The Metaphysics of Peet's

Care
Comfort
Consistant
Community
Collegial
Classic
Coffee


This is what I love about Peet's, in chiastic poetic form. This best expresses my P4P ("Passion for Peet's), ...placing community as the apex of "Why I Love Peet's".

Yours Very Truly, Daniel Curran

"Chiastic structure (also called chiastic pattern or ring structure) is a literary structure used in the Torah, the Bible, as well as in other works. Concepts or ideas are placed in a special symmetric order or pattern in a chiastic structure to emphasize them.

For example, suppose that the first topic in a text is labeled by A, the second topic is labeled by B and the third topic is labeled by C. If the topics in the text appear in the order ABC…CBA so that the first concept that comes up is also the last, the second is the second to last, and so on, the text is said to have a chiastic structure. -From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"

Winner #8: Allyse L. Hall

Winning Story:
To the reading committee of Peets Coffee Incorporated.

YOU MUST HAVE BEEN BLIND....Well not blind but busy pouring your favorite blends of Peets: Fair Trade, Sumatra, Major Dickinsons or maybe even French Roast. My question is how do you all decide who wins?

I've been looking for a particular Peets fan to win and I'm completely amazed that she hasn't....why? because she is the biggest, bestest, most devoted fan of Peets coffee known to man and woman and all creatures in between. I mean she loved Peets way before Oprah!

Her sister and I kept checking the contest page every week because we were sure that Micah L. Moore would appear…we were disheartened. I'd like to remind you of why those of us here on the East Coast know why Micah totally deserves free coffee (even if you decide not to give it to the five friends).
Here are but a few of her reasons for loving Peets


The oily appearance of Peet's coffee beans excites her.
Its flavor actually calms her.
Peet's coffee is ALWAYS the highlight of mher day.
Peet's coffee is delicious even when it cools off.
Peet's keeps her apprised of limited availability coffee procuring opportunities.
Buying coffee or tea from Peet's is like buying wine from a wine connoisseur.
She also loves the fact that her coffee is roasted just before it is shipped, so that it is always fresh when she receives it.

(THAT's WAY IMPORTANT TO THOSE OF US WHO LIVE ON THE OPPOSITE COAST)

Whenever she travels, Peet's coffee is with her.
If possible, she will choose a hotel based on whether or not they serve Peet's coffee.
She has Peet's coffee shipped to expatriates in other countries.
When she visits friends' homes as an overnight guest, she brings Peet's coffee under the guise of a gift, so that she can have it when she wakes up in the morning.
Once when they had a power failure in their neighborhood, she drove to another part of town with her grinder and coffee pot, sat on the curb and used an outlet on the outside of a strip mall to make Peet's coffee.

SHE IS BEYOND A PEETNIK.

She started a bebo page devoted completely to Alfred Peets,
she takes pictures of friends discovering Peets being sold out here on the East Coas
She proudly does not purchase coffee from Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts not as any sort of boycott, but because Peets is just better
When you say “ Want to stop and get coffee a bewildered look comes over her face…and she says…while holding up her trusty thermos or glass ball jar…”Thanks, I’ve got my own.
And sad to say the only time she is willing to share is when she can give you your own bag...not 1/2 a bag.
After a certain time of day she will only offer her only sister tea before she'll brew a pot of "The Black Gold"

Everyone who comes to the house has now begun to order Peets and I think this must number over 30.

She even feeds left over Peets (which is often) to her plants.

Micah was excited when Peets decided to partner with Au Bon Pain...in the city...at least we could order it there...but it wasn't the same, and Peets recognized this also and being true to their mission that all coffee must be served fresh...thus no more Au Bon Pain! So our love affair with driving to the city, 1 hour away as opposed to flying to Berkley and walking into Peets were dashed to pieces.

Micah needs free coffee for a year while she works dilligently on transforming her old New Jersey community and the one she lives in now. At her upcoming meeting with her book publisher she will undoubtly serve Peets and I know that the project and book will come together as if by magic. I can see the dedication page now..."I thank all the members of my family, my husband Alan, Major Dickenson, my daughter Ashley, Sumatra, my only son Denali, French Roast, Fair Trade oh and Mom.

So...please send her a winning message as soon as possible. We all make mistakes...well we overlook but if you were looking for a true Peetnik...you found her!

Winner #9: Chantelle Vollmer

Winning Story:
The Damsel in Withdrawal: A true story

Once upon a time in a land called Clark there lived in the village of Vancouver a princess who loved coffee. Her favorite pastime was to go on coffee tours across the land visiting the unique shops and bars and tasting their fine roasts and rich brews.

One day, when the princess was still very young, a rich and powerful coffee merchant named Sir Bucks moved into the land of Clark. There had never before been such a uniform variety of coffee choices and the people were quickly hypnotized. Sir Bucks soon controlled the coffee trade in the land of Clark and came to own all of the coffee shops in the region. His motto was “some like it hot; some like it cold; some like it in the pot nine days old”. Soon, the people of Clark forgot what coffee is supposed to taste like.

“I do like it hot,” said the princess one day after a particularly bitter cuppa, “and I do like it cold. But I’m tired of it tasting like it’s nine days old! The people of Clark no longer remember that beans from different regions require different roasting techniques. Where have the highly trained roasters who monitor air temperature and humidity and make adjustments for desired results gone to? And what happened to the artisan Baristas who can produce exquisite hand-crafted beverages without the use of push-button technology? I must find out where they have been hiding.”

With that the princess set out in search the lost artisan Roasters and Baristas. After several weeks she arrived in the foothills of the Volcano in the northern territory. It was there that she discovered an obscure coffee shop she had never seen before. When she entered the servants stared at her furtively, one scurried behind the count to take her order; the others silently went back to work.
“Hello,” said the princess, “is it a slow day?”
“No.” whispered the servant at the counter, “it’s always this slow. No one knows we’re here. You see, when the people of the land forgot what coffee is supposed to taste like we retreated to the hills of the Volcano where we could continue our craft in secret.”
“So you are one of the long lost artisan Roasters?” the princess exclaimed.
“I am an artisan Barista, but look; we have paid dearly for our craft. You see,” the servant lowered his voice even more, “we are prisoners of Madam Java.”
“Madam Java?” the princes also kept her voice down.
“Yes, and she is very suspicious of strangers. You had better order and be gone quickly.”
“Well, in that case I’ll take a double espresso over ice to go” the princess said.
All the servants stopped and turned to stare, their eyes wide with alarmed.
“I am sorry,” the servant at the counter whispered, “we can not make that.”
“But you are one of the artisan Baristas, you can make anything” the princess insisted.
“You do not understand, we can not make it for you” the servant’s voice quaked with fear.
“You mean to tell me that you can not brew two shots of espresso over some ice and hand it to me?” the princess’s voice rose in irritation. “Fine, pull two shots of espresso in a cup and give me a second cup with ice in it and I’ll make it myself.”
“I can not do that either…it’s, it’s the rule” the servant tried to explain but the princess remained perplexed.
Just then the ground began to shake and the lights grew dim.
“Did someone order two shots over ice?” a low voice asked from around the corner.
“Lady Java!” the servant exclaimed, “No! No one ordered anything!”
“Enough!” roared Lady Java, “Who was it! I demand to know!”
“I ordered it” the princess said.
“How dare you, you ignorant fool!” Lady Java’s nostrils flared and sparks flew from her eyes. “How dare you trespass on my domain and order two shots over ice! Don’t you know that if you pour espresso over ice it breaks the crema? Isn’t it enough that you people contaminate it with gooey syrups and scalded milk? Now you want broken crema too? Well you shall not have it! You shall never drink espresso again! You are banished from this coffee shop and doomed to suffer caffeine withdrawal forever!”

As the servants scattered to their hiding places the princess made her way back to her castle. By the time she arrived it had been many days since her last cup of coffee and she fell into a caffeine coma. One day, as everyone was despairing that the princess may die, Prince Peet from the land of Berkley arrived in Clark with an army of artisan Baristas laden with pounds of coffee beans freshly roasted by artisan Roasters who know how to combine beans in the appropriate blended proportions to bring out their most flavorful and distinctive characteristics. Prince Peet had heard of the princess’s plight and came to save her from her caffeine withdrawal. He revived her with a strong Arabian Mocha Sunani and offered her two free pounds of coffee for a year and they lived happily ever after.

The End

Winner #10: Tsegaye Bekele

Winning Story:
I am Éthiopian and coffee runs in my blood. When I first came to this country 35 years ago, there wasn't any real coffee to be found. I was surprised how bad the coffee was and how Americans drank basically flavored hot water. Then I discovered Peet's in Berkeley. Finally, I found coffee that had that rich flavor and delicious aroma. I felt like I was home at last. Even though I was living in Marin, I used to take the trip across the Bay just to get a good cup of Peet's coffee in Berkely (15 miles).

Since then I have only drank Peet's. Luckily I live a few doors down from your Miill Valley shop. Two years ago, when you had a promotion of Ethiopian Supernatural, I met a woman in front of Peet's. She was a Peet's addict herself with Finnish blood. I came to find out that they drink tons of strong coffee since they are young. She was never satisfied with the coffee in America until she found Peet's. We started talking and two years later, we have founded our own NGO called Common River in a coffee-growing region of Ethiopia. We are working to increase the coffee farmers livelihood to build a more self-reliant community and to support their own development efforts. We have built a one-room schoolhouse, planted 650 trees and have plans to build an orphanage, health clinic and library. We work with E Cafe Foundation to start a Coffee Learning Center and Tasting Lab in my hometown. It was that fateful day in front of Peet's that I met my partner to create a life-time dream to return to my roots and help develop the town that raised me. The woman I met shared this common vision, and certainly a taste for good bean, only which Peet's offers us in this country! It was certainly a supernatural experience and we are forever grateful to Peet's for bringing us together. Would Peet's be interested in our farmers top-quality black gold? It would definitely reach Peet's high standard of excellence and also gives back to the coffee farming community.