There’s a certain irony that fans of Peet’s and Starbucks get so worked up about the merits of their favorite chain – when Starbucks was founded in 1971, they bought their coffee beans from Alfred Peet, who had taught them the business.
Our readers say that the student has surpassed the master, as Starbucks has won the laurel this year. Certainly Starbucks has taken coffee marketing to a new level, creating and branding drinks that are much more than ground roasted beans and hot water, and there’s no question that they are the innovation machine of the industry. One might almost think the guys in those product design meetings are wired on caffeine… no, that couldn’t happen…
Locations: everywhere.
Runner-up: Peet’s, everywhere else.
