Peet’s Coffee & Tea Introduces Alta de Dota Single Origin Special Roast

Exclusive Coffee Offering Showcases How Quality Coffee Thrives with Sustainable Coffee Growing Practices

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Peet’s Coffee & Tea unveils Alta de Dota Single Origin Special Roast for a limited time in retail locations and online at www.peets.com. Available for $14.95 per pound from Sept. 1 through Oct. 31, 2010, Alta de Dota originates from Coope Dota, a coffee cooperative in Costa Rica known for its sustainability practices.

“Alta de Dota has a citric quality and deep, fruity undertones, which is a result of leaving a quantity of the coffee cherries on the tree until purple ripe”

The unique qualities and taste for which Alta de Dota is known are attributed to the elevation and micro-climate of the Dota Valley combined with the care taken in picking and milling the coffee.

“Alta de Dota has a citric quality and deep, fruity undertones, which is a result of leaving a quantity of the coffee cherries on the tree until purple ripe,” said Doug Welsh, roastmaster and lead coffee buyer, Peet’s Coffee & Tea.

The production and care of the beans in Peet’s Alta de Dota also tells a story of how the quest for high-quality coffee can help drive positive cycles of sustainable practices in a coffee-growing community. Coope Dota’s 50 years of success has delivered economic success to Costa Rica’s Dota Valley while preserving the land and resources for future generations through sustainability practices that include:

• Clean Power – Converting European grain driers into bean driers, so that they burn coffee by-products (skin and parchment) instead of wood from local forests.
• Power Generation – Adding macadamia shells into the driers to create additional electricity that can be used in other areas of the mill. Also, using coffee cherry pulp creates create ethanol and fertilizer.
• Air Quality – Modifying coffee dryer afterburners so that they have zero emissions, which has led the Costa Rican government to reset emissions standards for the rest of the country.
• Water Conservation – Recycling water before being treated and returned to streams, clean. Using less than a quarter of the water allowed by the government for coffee production, this is again leading officials to revise standards.
• Recycling – Recycling for mill to minimize impact, which led to creation of a recycling center for the local community.

SPECIAL TASTING EVENTS

Three special events on the West Coast invite coffee lovers into a conversation with Peet’s roastmaster and the visionary leader of the Coope Dota cooperative, along with a tasting of Alta de Dota.

Following are the dates and times of these events:

• Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010, at 6 p.m. Peet’s Coffee & Tea in Portland’s Pearl District at 1114 Northwest Couch Street [phone]

• Wednesday, Sept, 8, 2010, at 7 p.m. Peet’s Coffee & Tea in Studio City at 12215 Ventura Boulevard [phone]
• Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010, at 6 p.m. Peet’s Coffee & Tea, San Francisco’s Ferry Building Marketplace, located along the Embarcadero at the foot of Market Street [phone]

Alta de Dota is just one example of Peet’s limited edition offerings and is only part of their sustainability story. Other sustainability practices include green roasting, involvement with Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), focused philanthropy and green certified offerings. More information about Peet’s other special coffee offerings is online at http://www.peets.com/shop/coffee_special.asp. Further information about Peet’s sustainability programs is available online at http://www.peets.com/sustainable.

ABOUT PEET’S COFFEE & TEA, INC.

Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc., (PEET), is the premier specialty coffee and tea company in the United States. Peet's buys the highest quality beans in the world, artisan roasts every bean by hand to order, and delivers all of its coffee quickly for superior freshness no matter where it is sold. Founded in 1966 in Berkeley, Calif. by Alfred Peet, who is widely recognized as the grandfather of specialty coffee in the U.S., Peet's has a rapidly growing, passionate customer following that seeks out Peet's coffees wherever they go. Peet's is committed to strategically growing its business through many channels without compromising the extraordinary quality of its coffee. For more information about Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. visit www.peets.com.