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Peets.com

by Lura Lee

This site review is from February 2001.

Name: Peets.com
URL: www.peets.com
Coffee Genre: Online Store and General Coffee Information

Peets.com

About The Site

Peets Coffee and Tea is a really professional yet laid-back website. They have a lot of information packed into this website, but the navigation doesn't suffer. The left side navigation is brass tacks business stuff. You can request a catalog, get service, learn about how to order coffee for your business, locate the nearest store and/or perform a product search. The top navigation goes much deeper. The user should be aware of the impressive selection of coffee and tea, products, and gift packages that can be accessed and purchased through the Peet's website.

I especially like the Coffee Selector and Tea Tasting Guide offered on the site. By using these interactive forms, the novice and aspiring aficionado can identify styles of coffee or tea that are compatible with his/her lifestyle. It's a nice touch that proves that Peet's commitment to coffee education, excellence and customer service also extends to the website.

Keep an eye on the recent Peet's news by going to the About Us pages, where they post their press releases. I was surprised that they didn't post more about the fact that they recently had their Initial Public Offering (IPO). Their decision to go public was one of the biggest coffee news stories of the last year. The stock opened in January 2001 around $8 a share.

Peet's Roasting Tour

Take a Tour

Peets.com has integrated two tours into the website: The Freshness Tour and The Roasting Tour. Both were designed using Macromedia's Flash Player. With warm sienna photographs and an informative, playful tone the tours are a real treat.

Critique

Unfortunately, the Peet's website downplays the importance of Alfred Peet. In the "Our History" section of the site, Mr. Peet only warrants a 3-sentence mention. But one can hardly imagine what coffee in America would have been like today without Alfred Peet. As Mark Pendergast noted in his book Uncommon Grounds, "Alfred Peet inspired a generation of coffee idealists." (p. 292) Did you know that Mr. Peet nurtured Starbucks during that company's infancy? I think that Peets.com should do more to showcase the importance of their famous founder and the mark that he left upon the coffee industry.

Summary

Just like their coffee, the Peets.com website is deep roasted. There's a lot of information about coffee and an easy interface for online ordering. INeedCoffee.com is proud to award Peets.com with the February 2001 Site of the Month Award.