FOR THE LOVE OF PEET’S

Peet’s Coffee & Tea Gives Away 20 Million Coffee Beans in 30 Days
“Why I Love Peet’s” Contest to Award Year’s Supply of Coffee To Up To 240 Passionate Winners

EMERYVILLE, Calif. – March 10, 2008 – Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc., (NASDAQ: PEET), the premier specialty coffee and tea company in the U.S.,  today announced the launch of the “Why I Love Peet’s” contest that will give a voice to Peet’s loyal customers, and share as many as 20 million of its hand-roasted coffee beans with contest winners.   

The “Why I Love Peet’s” contest is part of the company’s Founder’s Day activities honoring Alfred Peet, known as the grandfather of specialty coffee, who started Peet’s Coffee & Tea in 1966 with his distinctive style of hand crafted, deep roasted coffee. Forty-two years later, Mr. Peet’s roasting style and uncompromising commitment to freshness remain the hallmarks of the Peet’s brand. 

“Every day, we receive letters from our customers around the world expressing their deep connection to Peet’s and their great pride in sharing their love of Peet’s with others,” said Chris Lansing, Chief Marketing Officer, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. “It is through this sharing of Peet’s that we have also been fortunate to introduce new customers to our distinctive coffees and teas and is the foundation by which we have built our very loyal customer following for the last 42 years.   This contest is a fun way to celebrate with our customers and enable them to share their personal Peet’s stories with the greater Peet’s community.”

To enter, customers should visit Peet’s website at www.peets.com/contest between March 10 and April 6 to share their stories about why they love Peet’s with up to five friends or family members.  Each week during the contest, 10 winners will be selected based on the originality, creativity and persuasiveness of their stories.  The winners and up to five friends will win free coffee beans for a year: a comparative tasting of Peet’s coffee bean selections with two pounds of beans delivered to each winner and up to five friends each month for 12 months.

Peet’s routinely receives stories from its loyal and passionate customers about their love for Peet’s and their desire to share Peet’s coffee with others, including the following examples:

• “I will always have your coffee in my home and it will always be my number one choice to drink and to share with others.” From a customer who has been enjoying the same aroma, taste and feeling of Peet’s for more than 20 years, from California to Okinawa to Dubai.

• “From the moment I walked in to Peet’s, I knew that this was the coffee shop for me – caring, wonderful service and the best coffee I ever sipped. . . I live [on the East Coast] now and my coffee shipment keeps me connected with my Peet’s family. I turn others onto it all the time.”  A customer describes his discovery of Peet’s quality and his journey to Peetnik status.

• “A WHOLE SHELF FILLED WITH PEET’S…I thought, this can’t be real…Well, once again my life has been made whole all because of the coffee gods at Peet’s.  Thanks Peet’s, you perfect coffee roasting people you.”  Feedback from a trucker who used to have to buy his Peet’s 10 bags at a time on his California stops and can now buy it at his grocery store in Columbus, OH.

Specific rules and guidelines for the “Why I Love Peet’s” contest are available in detail on the Peet’s website.

Comments

[Rich]

I have been a Peets fan for 30+ years beginning in Oakland. Now that I am full time resident in SoCal desert, I have asked for the past 6-years for a local Peets - yes I buy the beans in local stores but that is much like getting my Peets fix at SFO... Please, please consider coming to SoCal desert. I buy at the local grocery but I prefer buying at least 3-pounds with each bay area or LA trip just to have my Peets. My first preference remains, hoping and asking for a SoCal opening. Again, I repeat, please consider opening in the SoCal desert.

[Mike R]

The El Cerrito Peets is by far the best Coffee shop in the bay area. The staff there are Team oriented. and they treat their customers like family. if there is a problem, they all will work together to resolve the problem so that we leave happy. I am a dedicated customer now.

[Mike R]

not sure if peets or starbucks is better? take the taste test.

buy a small cup of peets and a small cup of starbucks. teast them side by side. peets is by far the best. BUT WAIT!!!! let the cups both cool down. yes, let the coffee get cold.

now take the lids off. and smell the coffee. peets still smells like coffee. but what happened to starbucks? it smells like an old pair of dirty socks? why is this?

They over roast thier beans. peets does not. thus we have a clear winner. and until someone beats out peets. i will be a loyal customer to the el cerrito albany pinole berkeley fruitvale emeryville stores.

[Victoria]

Talking with my walking partner just the other morning, as we entered Peet's, Millbrae, I was commenting on how much I appreciate the staff at this location. I'm impressed with how they always welcome me/us, especially the manager. She truly cares about her customers & staff both. The other Peet's I used to go to didn't have that same feel-I don't know if there was a manager around!? I wanted to let someone know what a great job is being done at the Millbrae Peet's!

[NOELLE]

Just wanted to comment how wonderful the manager and staff are at Peet's in Millbrae. It's a great way to start each day - never had the smiles and friendly service at Starbucks - and Peet's coffee beats Starbucks by leaps and bounds. I'm hooked on the wonderful manager and staff and their incredible coffee. Bye Bye Starbucks.

[Bill Hagen]

How entering and losing the Love Peet's contest has made me try other coffees, or "Notes From Undergrounds."
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My problem is that you valued heart and warmth over arid cleverness. And I thought Berkeley was the home of postmodern!

I wanted to enter a third time, so distraught was I. I desperately wanted to be a three-time loser, a stereotype. Why? Out of spite.

So, worse, I'm such a loser I forgot to enter. Now if I could only induce a toothache, I could enjoy the sound of my own moaning.

This is the downside of such contests. Meanwhile, I'll try to develop more heart.

My wife certainly hopes I will: one week she told me I didn't win because the judges seemed to prefer dorky to witty. I told her that maybe she should submit something. Unfortunately, she understands subtext.

I'll try to develop heart.