Barista Training and Barista Certification Testing

Hands-On Barista Training and Barista Certification Testing
return to Coffee Fest Las Vegas

Coffee Fest has joined forces with popular three-day specialty coffee business seminar presenters, Kent Holloway, David J. Morris, Greg Hartlein and Tommy Thwaites to create America's first national and soon to be international, professional barista certification and training program. Both the I.A.S.C. Hands on Barista Training workshops and the I.A.S.C. Barista Certification testing are sponsored by Nuova Simonelli and Torani Syrups.

Students must register early, as classes will are small (four students per training station, with six stations per session) to ensure the highest level of one-on-one instruction and hands-on training. Each four and one half hour workshop cost $289 per person.

Coffee Fest Las Vegas 2006
Las Vegas Convention Center
July 9-11, 2006

For schedule and more information: CoffeeFest.com

Specialty Coffee Convention Facts

Charlotte.com
Leigh Dyer

The Specialty Coffee Association of America is expected to draw 8,000 attendees, making it among the higher-attended conventions the group has ever held. The association says it should keep pace with the crowds in Boston in 2003 and San Francisco in 2000 and top Atlanta's 2004 crowd by about 800.

It probably won't top the more than 10,000 last year who went to Seattle, the hot spot for specialty coffee, but organizers are still impressed by the attendance in Charlotte, said association spokesman Mike Ferguson. "The Southeast has become one of the hottest spots in the country for coffee," he said.

The association estimates that attendees will spend $8 million to $11 million on hotel room, restaurant bills and other expenses.

One event is open to the public: Monday, six expert coffeemakers will compete in a barista contest from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Charlotte Convention Center's main floor.

Coke said brewing Starbucks challenge

TONY WONG
BUSINESS REPORTER

Coca-Cola North America is attempting to get a lucrative piece of the coffee drinker's market by launching a new retail store in Toronto in what could be seen as a challenge to Starbucks Corp.

With pop consumption declining in North America, the beverage giant is looking at ways to expand its offerings, and is on the verge of opening a large retail-oriented store in Toronto as part of a test market, real estate sources say. And the bottler seems to be going after the upscale Starbucks customer.

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Peet's Coffee & Tea Celebrates 40 Years of Craftsmanship

Company Marks Milestone Anniversary With Month-Long Coffee & Tea Celebration

EMERYVILLE, Calif., April 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEET), a specialty coffee roaster and marketer, today announced the launch of its 40th Anniversary Celebration in its 113 company-owned stores and nationwide home delivery service at www.peets.com. Since its founding, Peet's has remained steadfast in its unyielding commitment to handcrafted quality and freshness in every cup. Over four decades, Peet's has artfully crafted unique blends that deliver the rich, complex distinctive taste upon which Peet's reputation has been built. Throughout April, Peet's will host a month-long series of in-store events and workshops that invite customers to taste the culmination of 40 years of blending craft in its Anniversary Blend coffee and Anniversary Breakfast Blend tea.

Share in the Peet's Tradition

During the month of April, the company invites customers to visit Peet's neighborhood stores and www.peets.com to join in Peet's 40th anniversary celebration. Each week, the company will feature it's most memorable Signature Blends through in-store tastings, home brewing workshops, lectures and complimentary beans and beverages. Customers new and old alike will discover what is behind Peet's unprecedented devotion to quality and what has spawned such an extraordinarily loyal customer following.

At the center of Peet's 40th Anniversary Celebration is its Anniversary Blend coffee and Anniversary Breakfast Blend tea. In honor of this milestone celebration, the company set out to create two classic Peet's offerings by putting forty years of expertise, long-standing relationships and inspiration together into two signature blends that only Peet's can deliver.

Customers can also celebrate Peet's 40th Anniversary with commemorative, limited edition merchandise and sampler gifts. Additional information regarding Peet's 40th Anniversary Celebration, in-store events, Anniversary Blend coffee, Anniversary Breakfast Blend tea and Peet's commemorative merchandise is available online at www.peets.com, or by calling 1-800-999-2132.

Peet's 2006 Anniversary Blend Coffee

Two coffees produced exclusively for Peet's -- one from Kenya and one from Costa Rica -- are at the heart of this year's Anniversary Blend coffee, and when paired with coffees from the rich soils of Indonesia, reveal a cup replete with fresh, new crop flavors, sumptuous body, elegant balance and subtle flowery aromatics. "The coffees we found were so extraordinary, it seems almost as if this year's Anniversary Blend inspired itself," said Doug Welsh, vice president, coffee, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. "Anniversary Blend reflects the care with which we have always approached our blending craft and we are proud to bring this tradition to life in what we believe is a truly memorable coffee to mark our fortieth year."

Peet's 2006 Anniversary Breakfast Blend Tea

The foundation of this year's Anniversary Breakfast Blend tea is a rare Nilgiri Estate black tea produced exclusively for Peet's that is blended with a China Congou and two other black teas to create a bright, fragrant cup with sweet malted cocoa notes, and a lingering aroma. "As with any of our tea blends we have the freedom to create dynamic new cup character with special lot teas that only Peet's has access to due in large part to the relationships with growers and suppliers we have nurtured during the last forty years," said Eliot Jordan, director of tea, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. "This year's Anniversary Breakfast Blend tea highlights exceptional teas that together deliver a bright, complex and vibrant cup for our customers to savor."

ABOUT PEET'S COFFEE & TEA, INC.

Founded in Berkeley, Calif. in 1966, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. is a specialty coffee roaster and marketer of fresh, deep-roasted whole bean coffee for home and office enjoyment. Peet's fresh-roasted coffee, hand-selected tea and related items are sold in several distribution channels including specialty grocery and gourmet food stores, online and mail order, office and restaurant accounts and company-owned stores throughout the United States. Peet's is committed to strategically growing its business and to maintaining a unique culture and focus on customer satisfaction. For information about Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc., visit www.peets.com or call 1-800-999-2132. Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. shares are traded under the symbol PEET.

This press release contains statements that are not based on historical fact and are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management, including financial and operational information and current competitive conditions. As a result, these statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements depending on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, risks arising from accounting adjustments; the Company's ability to implement its business strategy, attract and retain customers, and obtain and expand its market presence in new geographic regions; the availability and cost of high quality Arabica coffee beans; consumers' tastes and preferences; and competition in its market as well as other risk factors as described more fully in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2006. These factors may not be exhaustive. The Company operates in a continually changing business environment, and new risks emerge from time to time. Any forward- looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.

Source: Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc.

CONTACT: Jennifer Strasburg of Weber Shandwick, +1-415-248-3436, or jstrasburg@webershandwick.com, for Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc.

Web site: www.peets.com/

Aussies know their beans, says coffee grower

Ian Gerard
April 03, 2006

YOU can almost hear the Italians spluttering into their espressos.

Australia's largest coffee grower says Australians are the world's most sophisticated coffee drinkers and would turn their noses up at the inferior blends served in Rome's cafes.

"Australians lead the world in the population's understanding of coffee," Queensland grower Ian MacLaughlin said.

"There is no doubt we drink a better coffee even though they developed espressos ... but I would say Australians would have more espresso machines per head of population."

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Coffee cups made for green bins

New product is biodegradable

By CLARE MELLOR Business Reporter

"Can you roll up the rim?"

Suzanne Spencer gets that question from a lot from consumers when she tells them about a new biodegradable coffee cup she is marketing.

"That’s the most popular question about them . . . I’m not kidding," says the former Halifax public relations consultant, who has a home business, Centsable Gift and Services Inc., in Sydney.

And yes, the rim could roll up for promotional contests if Tim Hortons wanted to ditch its paper cup for this certified biodegradable one, which decomposes within 50 days.

Standard paper coffee cups have a plastic or polyethylene coating to retain heat, which hinders their decomposition. But cups being sold by Green Shift in Toronto use a certified biodegradable resin coating made of vegetables, said Jennifer Wright, Green Shift’s president.

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