Peet’s Coffee & Tea

Great place to get a cup of coffe with a pastry in Bethesda. Good prices and very relaxed scene, and all the workers were nice.

I love Peets coffee and I’m glad they opened a place in Downtown Bethesda. People keep on saying it’s understaffed but I have never encountered faster service in a coffee shop than here soooo I have no idea what ya’ll are talking about. Even the Peets in Wellesley, MA is slow compared to the one here in Bethesda. I would say though, that the seating is limited because many people want to work on their laptops and have meetings in the small coffee shop, so be prepared to not get a spot. Other than that, the staff is wonderful; they are all so nice and attentive.
If you’ve never gotten Peets, you should. It’s not for the fainthearted though. I find Peets’ espresso very strong, much stronger than Starbucks/​Caribou/​Dunkin for some reason. My fav drink is Dirty Chai Latte — go get it!

A mess every time. I don’t order complicated drinks. In fact, I take them right off the menu. But every time I go, my order is some how a mess. Either there is syrup or hot coffee dripping over the side (which really isn’t a big deal), or if they add whip cream to my drink, there is never any room to place the lid without coffee and whip cream flowing over the sides. Today was the last straw. I ordered a Hot Cocoa — how can that get messed up. Well, it did. I waited patiently for my chocolate drink when they called out a hot mocha. Not what I ordered so I asked «is this supposed to be mine?» They were shocked when I said its wrong and ordered a hot chocolate. They did remake it, but the barista who messed this up is the one who always makes my drinks a mess, or serves me the wrong drink more than half of the time. I mean, if cocoa and mocha are so close to each other, don’t label both drinks as «hot cocoa» and «café mocha».
What’s even worse about this is that I asked «so was I overcharged for the drink» and I could not get a straight answer. Come to find out, I was over charged. But according to this mess of a barista, I wasn’t. Granted it’s not by too much, it’s the fact I was overcharged and then the barista played it off like I wasn’t overcharged and a coffee drink is the same price of a drink with just chocolate sauce.
It’s okay Peets, you can keep the change you over charged me. Consider it a going away present — I won’t be going back there.

This place has decent coffee, fresh pastries and friendly service. Definitely one of my go to places on a weekly basis.

My preferred place to grab coffee or tea when not drinking the offerings of my office. The staff has always been extremely kind and helpful, especially the store manager. Just need some coupons/​rewards type program to make my visits more frequent.
Favorites are the Masala Chai and the Black Tie.

Slowest service EVER. Do not come here if you’re in a hurry to get to the office. The employees operate with zero sense of urgency. Plus it’s overpriced– $ 5 for a a reheated english muffin breakfast sandwich?! C’mon! It has far fewer customers than the nearby Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts and yet it’ll take you longer to get out of there. AVOID.

Let me begin with how much I love Peet’s Coffee and been wanting to stop by here for a while now. My experience was nothing less than perfect (even though it was just for coffee). Ordered their house coffee to establish a benchmark, and it was probably the best store bought drip coffee I’ve had in a chain business. That said, the service didn’t stand out, but for coffee to taste the way you want just like at home its a win for sure. I’d give it a 5 star rating but I was hoping to see some a variety of breakfast sandwiches but couldn’t find them in the self serve line. Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right spot.
All in all I’d definitely would come back.

Coffee JAVIVA beats Starbucks frappucino anyday. HANDS DOWN!!!
The light version of javiva is made with natural sweetner of monk fruit compared to the artificial sweeteners used by Starbucks.
It’s addictively delicious and healthier than other coffee drinks

Lots of patio and interior seating, a block from the Metro. Sometimes the Starbucks line is too long and you can’t hold out on your fix until you reach a DC location with consistent talent behind the counter. No toaster yet, so plan to warm your pastries at your destination.
After a dozen orders of the same drink from this location, don’t try to convince me that you «went light» on the half & half just to skew my drink redo towards the same standard that’s been set. Just own up when attempt #1 looks many shades lighter than the ads photographed by corporate, because otherwise you overcompensate by going too light on dairy for attempt #2. They have a lot of training turnover, so I recommend taking a sip before you return to the office in case someone doubled up on sugar or dairy by accident. Black Tie or pumpkin chai with chouquettes, but bearded barista or bust. This location’s already at two strikes with me for undrinkable mistakes.

I ordered a $ 5 coffee and they completely ignored my request to not have whipped cream. I looked at the barista and said I asked not to have any whipped cream and add a shot of expresso. She just looked at me and didn’t offer to fix it. I stood there puzzled why she didn’t do anything about it. I ended up just taking it and leaving. I guess that’s my fault for not going to Starbucks.

I used to patronize the Caribou that occupied this location, but I haven’t been here much since the company that owns both Peet’s and Caribou decided to close most of the Caribou locations and replace them with Peet’s. But I’ve been to one of the other ex-​Caribou locations, in Silver Spring, and yesterday I was here, and taking both into account here are my observations.
They made the seating rather less crowded than it was as a Caribou. It is more open, and this may be comfortable for more people. The choice of beverages is about the same as Caribou’s was and Starbucks is, but I like the greater variety of teas (and the nice list that they have so you do not have to try to read the labels of the containers on the back shelf!) The fact that they have a pitcher of watered sugar for sweetening will help if you are drinking iced tea (in which sugar doesn’t dissolve very quickly), and they have a nice selection of pastries, different from the ones Starbucks has and Caribou had.
My wife was disappointed that they have NO food items other than pastries; all I wanted was a pastry anyway so that was no problem for me.
The tea seems to be high quality, better than you got at Starbucks before they started serving Teavana’s tea.

I love Peets coffee. I am from the Bay Area where Peets originated so there is also that hometown loyalty factor. The coffee is so much better than Starbucks aka Starburnts. I was so happy when shortly after I moved here Peets took over Caribou coffee. I usually buy my coffee in the grocery and brew it at home but it was a rainy Saturday, I ran out of coffee at home, and the complimentary coffee in my building’s lobby wasn’t going to do it for me. I headed to Peets to get out of the house and drink coffee in a coffee shop… something I haven’t done in a long time. I ordered the dark brew and a slice of lemon bread. I sat down to enjoy my mid afternoon treat and womp! The lemon bread was hard and stale! Ugh! I started to throw it away and chalk it up since I don’t like to make a fuss but I decided instead to see if I could exchange it for something else. The young man behind the counter reached for the other slice that was on the platter. I stopped him because I figured it was stake too. I then asked about a refund. He had to call his manager. She was very pleasant and accomodating. She sliced up a fresh loaf and it was 100 percent better. Not only did she give me a fresh slice which is all I wanted she also gave me a coupon for a free cup of coffee on my next visit. Way to go Peets!

I’m a Peet’s die hard. First from California. So glad to have a café who doesn’t brew those delicate beans at too high a temperature. That’s why Starbucks tastes horrible. I only put Peet’s in my home machine. The store is clean and the staff are friendly.

Really makes me miss Caribou. Lacks smoothness in their regular coffee.
Lackluster and overpriced.

I redeemed a coupon for a free Milk Chocolate Almond Mocha with the purchase any Artisan Baked Good, Simply Oatmeal, or Fresh Food item. I purchased an oatmeal. I’m concerned as to why someone who was sitting down with his headphones on is coming behind the counter wearing a scarf, coat and hat, taking my order and preparing my oatmeal? It took about five minutes for me to get my mocha, the server said she was training one of the workers.

Peet’s is located in Bethesda. The coffee is really good and the staff very friendly. You can also buy coffee by the pound. Their food selection is very similar to other coffee shops, but the three is because they don’t have a way of eating up the baked goods. We all know a warm croissant is so much yummier than a cold/​room temperature croissant.

It’s going to be hard to write the minimum number of words it takes to write a review when all you want to say is OMG this place is freaking awesome! I was wondering what a chai tea would taste like and the lady behind the counter steered me in a direction that made my head spin the chai tea or chai latte or whatever it was was so delicious I can’t wait to go back and have another one and another one. The problem is I’m very sensitive to caffeine but I am willing to sacrifice myself! I just wish this Pete’s had more seating room but I understand because the locale

Awesome new coffee shop… while I’m sad Caribou is no longer here, I’m happy that there is still a coffee/​tea place with little snacks and wifi. The space feels more open, with a few tables scattered here and there. I do wish there could be some comfy couches/​sofas/​single comfy chair (there are two of these). The staff is very friendly and very nice. I ordered a green tea latte and it came out tasting just fine. Right next to the metro. I’ll be back :)

BEST Peet’s in America. I can’t imagine anyone speaking of this high-​ceilinged, fancy, new and huge store in anything less than rapturous terms.
One very handsome man, early 50s I would guess, is over-​the-​top solicitous. I had a couple hours to kill and while the a/​c leaves you with frostbitten fingers, this is a gorgeous store.
I just had an iced tea (because I didn’t realize how cold it was going to get), while charging my iPhone and MacBook
I had an enjoyable and informative chat with a young woman, probably 30, from the area. I gave her my card and contact information and I’d love to keep in touch. She explained to me that Maryland people don’t go to Virginia and vice versa. She explained some of the social architecture and booming housing market to me. (I don’t get the point of Bethesda at all, now that you can’t get in there at all under a million and big new houses are 3 million).
The new construction boggles the mind. One-​bedrooms are going for 1 million (this of course is in a state-​of-​the-​art fancy high-​rise with every conceivable amenity) and there is another building underway which has a much-​photographed sign: «Starting in the several millions.»
Downtown Bethesda has better restaurants than you’d think as a LA/​NYC person. I’m not wild about the architecture, however. It’s kinda antiseptic and institutional.
But the area around the downtown is absolutely beautiful, just like some of the streets behind Wisconsin Ave in the 3000 block. The trees are tall, lush, and beautiful.
Bethesda is pretty. But if you can buy a house in Kalorama (Wyoming Avenue, say), or you could two years ago, for 2.3 million, why on earth would you pay 2.3 or 3 million in Bethesda?! It’s the burbs. It’s not a city, though now I’m told Bethesda is «its own thing.» I have had two people say this: while Bethesda used to be a DC suburb, now «it’s its own thing.»
(And the houses in Kalorama, 4 stories and late 1920s many of them, are infinitely nicer than anything you could built circa 2014 in Bethesda.)

They have very good customer service here. It’s a brand new place, so I plan to go back and see what else they have and then update this review. The coffee I had was different than either caribou or Starbucks, but nice and strong. It didn’t have a complex taste, but I’ve had Peet’s from the grocery stores before and it was really good.
I was disappointed the staff were different than the previous Caribou staff. I had a conversation with someone there before they closed it and they had been told by their corporate higher-​ups they’d still have a job after Peet’s training. I hope that’s true and feel pretty bad for them if that fell through.
The new staff are great and hard-​working, but the Caribou staff will be missed and I hope the best for them.