Peet's at Stop & Shop

[FabulousFoodBabe]

I just got an email from Peet's that says its coffee will soon be carried in Stop & Shop. I love love LOVE Peet's and have it shipped every month. I just can't see it being of good quality while being distributed through Stop & Shop. It makes me glad on one hand; if we run out I can grab some at the story. But then it makes me sad -- I feel like it's the beginning of the end for such a wonderful product.

Any thoughts, anyone?

[Dave the Cook]

I've been getting Peet's at Fresh Market here in Atlanta for the past year. Comparing it to Peet's excellent mail-order system, the only differences have been in package size (Peet's will ship in pounds; the retail packaging is 12 or 13 ounces) and selection. I prefer the Garuda, but have often had to settle for Major Dickason. Regardless, the quality of the coffee (ground or whole bean) has been tops.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

I've been getting Peet's at Fresh Market here in Atlanta for the past year. Comparing it to Peet's excellent mail-order system, the only differences have been in package size (Peet's will ship in pounds; the retail packaging is 12 or 13 ounces) and selection. I prefer the Garuda, but have often had to settle for Major Dickason. Regardless, the quality of the coffee (ground or whole bean) has been tops.

←

thank you SO much for this! Since posting, I had some reassurances (from a "company type" who is also a personal friend, but still ...) who assured me that they have distribution system and sales force in place than what I'd assumed, and that the product turns in something like 3 weeks, max.

So hearing that you are happy with it as well makes me feel good about it. It'll be interesting to see what kind of pricing it has up our way.

Now to find a Stop & Shop ...

[gfron1]

I carry Peet's in my store, so two additional comments. First, Peet's is very protective of how their coffee is distributed and has high expectations for freshness. That said, my local Albertson's regularly has 'past date' coffee on its shelves, which I partly attribute to the fact that Peet's has confusing dating label. So watch your freshness (you can find a code interpreter on their website). Second, they no longer provide whole bean decaf products. I've never been told why, but they stopped a couple of months ago.

[dougw]

I just don't trust buying coffee from a supermarket. There's no roast date on the bags, ans even though I like Peet's, it doesn't matter how good the coffee once was if it's over two weeks old by the time it arrives on the shelves.

I highly recommend checking out Intelligentsit and Metropolis in Chicago, Stumptown in Portland, and the amazing Vivace in Seattle.

[gfron1]

I intended to post this along time ago...

Here is the code for deciphering Peet's freshness:

If the number is 31552308, then that means

3 is the machine that roasted it

-

155 is the Julian date (day of the year) of roasting

-

23 is the pull code week - pull product one week prior, so here you would pull in the 22nd week of the year

-

08 is the pull year

So just to make sure we can all read our Peet's bags. If your coffee has the following code - it was supposed to be pulled yesterday:

32405207 (Roasted on 10/1, pulled on 12/31)

[Darren72]

I just don't trust buying coffee from a supermarket. There's no roast date on the bags, ans even though I like Peet's, it doesn't matter how good the coffee once was if it's over two weeks old by the time it arrives on the shelves.

This depends on the store and the coffee they carry.

Sealed coffee bags with plastic one-way valves that let out CO2, but don't let air in, can can keep coffee beans reasonably fresh for 2-3 months. If a bag has a "use by" date on it, you can safely guess that the roast date was 2-3 months earlier. Sure, these beans won't be as fresh as buying beans that were recently roasted.

I usually buy Intelligentsia directly from the store in Chicago. But my recollection is that they stopping printing "roasted on" dates on the bags they sell in grocery stores.

[dougw]

2-3 month old coffee doesn't do it for me. It's barely passable for drip or french roast, but espresso? Nope. It just won't taste good.