Gourmet Coffee - A Brief History of Gourmet Coffee
We have all frequented those specialty coffee houses to have a cup of gourmet coffee. Yes it is higher in price than the average cup of regular coffee but have you ever taken a moment to contemplate why that expensive coffee is classified as gourmet coffee? We know that the high price tag has something to do with it but what else? Who coined the phrase "gourmet coffee" and why? Let’s take a look back.
Back in 1955 when a gentleman by the name of Alfred Peet moved from Amsterdam to America there was not a single cup of gourmet coffee to be found anywhere in the United States. This was occurring while people in Europe were enjoying the finest cups of coffee brewed from the best Arabica beans.
What was popular during this time in the United States was the big coffee companies where selling low grade coffee that was canned and sitting on the shelves of grocery supermarkets for months at a time.
Why would a simple man named Alfred Peet care so much about gourmet coffee? Reason being is that he was the son of a coffee trader so he was well aware of what a high quality, gourmet cup of coffee was supposed to look and taste like.
In 1966 Mr. Peet opened a small gourmet coffee store on Vine Street in Berkeley, California. What he did there that was so different and had not been seen prior was he sold coffee made from his dark roasted coffee beans. The big companies at this time were selling coffee from medium roasted beans. The longer you roast coffee beans the more moisture you lose so if you are intending to sell by weight as the big companies were doing you would lose money by selling dark roasted coffee beans. Mr. Peet knew that the dark roasted beans would produce a stronger, richer cup of coffee which would keep his customers returning for more of his gourmet coffee.
While Peet's served the needs of all the gourmet coffee drinkers in southern California and still does, three of his customers came up with a similar idea of opening up a store in Seattle, Washington.
Ziv Siegal, Gerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker opened the very first Starbucks store in 1971. The store was based in Pike's Market on the Seattle waterfront. Until they purchased their first fire roaster, they purchased all their beans from Alfred Peet.
Starbucks was successful right from its inception. It tapped into people's desire for a great cup of gourmet coffee. Starbucks boasts over 8,000 locations worldwide today. Thanks to the addition of Howard Schulz as CEO and chairman in 1982, this Starbucks chairman has had the same vision of success as the company's original founders.
Gourmet coffee is big business, actually huge business and it seems to have no limits in its growth. New coffee flavors and coffee drinks are being introduced it seems almost on a daily basis. Yet if we remember the history that brought us to this point we may just enjoy that expensive cup of coffee just a wee bit more.