Peet’s Coffee & Tea

We really enjoy this place. Nice people, good music. Hope the closure really is only temporary …

These guys are awesome! They ground up 3 cases of whole bean that I ordered accidentally. Totally saved me. Justin and the girl barista (sorry, I didn’t catch your name) were extremely friendly, nice and welcoming, not only to me, but also to every single person that walked in the door. Who is this cheery at 7am on a Saturday? Somebody give these 2 a raise! Thanks again =)

So I’ve seen some mixed reviews on here for a while, and I have to say they’re all pretty much outdated.
Peets on Capitol Hill is one of the best places to go for coffee. The baristas are nicer than any coffeeshop I’ve ever been to. Especially that guy with the beard, try to go when he’s there, usually in the mornings and afternoons. As long as you know how strong the drink is that you want, and that you’re clear on what you want, you won’t get anything you don’t want. As far as the internet goes, it’s still the same, but there’s other places to go to for that until Peets has enough money to pay for unlimited internet, you have to remember it’s a small chain from Berkeley, California. Oh, and there’s no reason to complain about the bathroom there either. They share them with King’s Teriyaki, and I’m amazed it’s not dirtier than it is. All in all, this coffeeshop is worth taking a trip if you’re not in the mood to deal with the Seattle hipster vibe. Plus, when’s the last time you drank coffee while listening to baroque and classical music?

One lazy winter… While everyone got dicks I was craving for café food. It was during the film shoot for Kill Bill scene in the old Hollywood building for Sun.
I wanted oatmeal but the lady shut down her water… ROAR! So I just got some cheese and veggie dough shit. Forgot the name. The displayed looked so moist, shiny, and creative to the perfection.
I took that one hungry starving mouth of mine to the bun.
IT TASTED LIKE DRY STALE CRACKAS. LIKE SERIOUSLY? THIS IS RIDONKULOUS.
So I after that I went to dicks.
+ it is pricey.
WakO.

As far as corporate coffee goes, Peet’s is one of the better options for sure. I come to this particular location periodically, almost always when I don’t have time or feel too lazy to brew at home, and need to grab a cup and go. There is almost always a street parking spot right in front, and a minimal line at the counter around the time I’m headed to work.
Convenience aside, I think their drip is consistently pretty damn good, which I definitely can’t say about other larger, chains in the neighborhood.
The staff here is just the right mix of friendly and fast. One of the things I dislike about some of the independent neighborhood spots is the loooooong wait while the baristas have their morning chat with the regulars. This doesn’t happen here, which is just fine with me because I ain’t here for community.
Nothing special but it works when you need a place to grab a decent cup of coffee, quickly.

Eh, it ain’t terrible. Pro-​tip: don’t eat their coffee cake unless you’re a lightweight boxer trying to move up a class, because it has more than 600 calories. What the hell is it made of? Maybe it’s just butter wrapped in dough. I don’t know. I hate mega-​coffee chains but whatever, you get what you pay for.

The daily coffee I got was pretty heavily burnt and undrinkable. The complementary 1h internet session is completely useless, as you get disconnected every 15 seconds and even then you can barely open a single site on time. Completely useless.
At least the locale was clean and welcoming.
If you want good coffee, stay away. Victrola is right next door. Even Starbucks would be a better choice. If you want Internet, then you won’t get it here.

Decently priced coffee from a big CA chain. Not quite Vivace or Vita but hey, they have a Unilocal Deal for $ 1 off a drink. Pretty reasonable.

Sure, there are tons of coffee shops in Seattle, and yes, I go to quite a few. That being said, I still LOVE this place. I live pretty close so I’m there quite often, usually early in the mornings before work. I’ve always gotten greeted almost as soon as I walk through the door even. It never take more than a couple minutes to get my order taken and have my coffee in hand. It’s not usually that busy, maybe given the time of morning and location, but I’ve never once had a bad experience in all of my visits there. I know I’ll be back… probably first thing tomorrow morning in fact.

My Star level is kinda irrelevant on this one. The experience is just so UP and Down at this location. And let’s face it providing working solutions to counter the voodoo of the Darkside is really under-​rated.
I love Peet’s coffee when I am in a certain mood, so 5 stars for that. This location is very useful (and in fact this coffee shop may single handedly prevent people from going postal across the street, especially since the old Vivaci is long gone and is a dig site with construction fences bar one from running across the street to the park. I digress.)
However theeeee layout of this very teensy Pete’s is very uncomfortable. It has no flow. as they say. Any 7 – 11 magazine aisle tends to encouraging hanging out more than this coffee shop replete with tables and chairs. The back ½ seems alright but the layout of the front half of the store just has weird vibes. The vibes on some occasions can permeate into the coffee, the barista’s and other patrons attitudes. I have overheard the most bizarre conversations here (among strangers). It truly can be like entering the Twighlight zone. Which might be a good thing for some. but I generally prefer a different vibe. Maybe they can hire a design consultant or a voodoo doctor specifically for this space?

I admit peets might not be vivace or victrola, but its right next to my bus stop, so i won’t miss my bus.
But– I’ve never bothered to write a review on my phone before and I only am because of the amazing staff this morning. They were cheery, friendly, and made my morning better.
Thanks friendly peets staff! I will likely come get a morning treat from you in the future.
[finally posting] So since I wrote the draft immediately, I’ve been back 3 – 4 more times. Unfortunately, the experience hasn’t been repeated. I really need to figure out when that one Barista works. (would’ve been five stars if it were like the first time, everytime…)

There are two types of coffee providers: one is where you enjoy a cup of coffee and spend some time there, the other is where you get your coffee and get on with your day.
Peet’s is the ‘get it and get out’ type of place.
+ It opens at 5:30am on weekdays: just early enough to get some coffee and start the day at 6am. Unfortunately I have to do this on a regular basis, so it’s nice to have a coffeeshop assist in the waking-​up process.
+ There is classical music playing instead of the typical coffeeshop XM satellite radio station or the all-​too-​common hipster barista’s iPod playlist. This only matters because I’m not yet awake enough to tolerate annoying music when I go here, and while the classical tunes are not my favorite, they are definitely not annoying.
+ It is very conveniently located one block from the intersection of Denny & Broadway.
+ Their Mocha cappuccino is very good. Not too sweet.
+ Friendly and professional baristas.
— Sterile environment. Not a very welcoming or comfortable place for me to chill out with a beverage and wifi.

Well it’s Tuesday and I have a big paper due first thing in the morning for my on-​line class at WSU (go COUGS!!! THRASH ‘EM) … In the words of 90’s dance-​pop band No Mercy, «Where do you go, my lovely!», well, me I like to go to Peet’s, they can’t be beat. The barista’s give real fast service, there’s usually no line, they even offered to make my drink before I even ordered it, how did they know what I want??? They all have glasses and tattoos, major plus in my book, i love that look.
My regular order is Black and White Mocha, it’s a mocha with half white chocolate, the taste is like hot cocoa with a burnt flavor, you’re gonna slurp that baby like there’s no tomorrow. I’ve had a Pastry from here before too. It was warm, moist, tender. Cha cha cha!!!
The clientele here, the guy at the table next to me was there when I got there and was there when I left, and he sat with his head down for over 3 hours and never made any noise. Weird dude!!! A coupla guys were talking about Politics extra loud so everyone could hear there opinions, must be pretentious Seattle Central students in there 1^st year Poly-​Sci class. Another dude was talking to the employees about his ’92 Mazda that he just bought and it only had 92,000 miles on it. He bought the car from an Old Lady, and apparently she didn’t drive it too much. I didn’t get to see the Mazda, but according to the guy, it had an original cassette deck, all-​leather interior, and some sort of sun roof, but it doesn’t open, it’s just a glass top. However, it didn’t seem like the barista cared too much so the guy didn’t tip her. fair enough
It’s easy to do my homework there but i swear they only have 1 outlet. How can they only have one outlet, Hello, It’s the 90s!!! Get with the times, Battery Power doesn’t last forever and my final is a little more important then your Coffee, dudes.
Overall I am happy to make this Place a regular Hang-​Out and a great homework spot for us student bodies. Give the hot barista a wink for me, cha cha cha!!!

I can’t love this place, but I can’t hate it either.
The bad:
My first espresso here was so freakin’ nasty. Often it is that way. And often, the staff are just bitchy.
The good:
This Peet’s is right around the corner from school and open way early for unG-​dly morning o-​chem study sessions. Sometimes the espresso is good. Sometimes the staff are super-​nice! It all depends on the alignment of the planets.
Also, the, um, «urban» Broadway flair is in full effect here. Bums hang out here on cold mornings. And once there was a dog yapping loudly in the back room … WTF?

Peet’s feels like the starbucks for a more sophisticated group. The coffee was pretty good and the people were pretty nice butthe whole thing felt like the shop was being pulled two ways. One wanting to be the chillax coffee shop of Cap. Hill and the other trying to catch back up with SBucks. Stop in if you don’t know where else to go but there are much better shops all around here.

Every time I go to this place, the baristas/​staff don’t ever seem to want to be there or are so pre-​occupied gossiping with each other. There’s no sense of urgency, they don’t seem to care about their customers. There are too many coffee shops on Broadway, let alone Seattle, for them to not focus on repeat customers.
It’s too bad that I will never return because I really wanted to give them a chance.

So, every time Ive come in, ive always gotten a reeeaaaaalllllyy good cup of coffee. Like, just as good as what WAS served @ Vivace before it closed down. This place is always spotless, or damn near close to it, and yes, while the pastries may be lacking a bit, the only time I ever bought them was when I had night classes and was hungry, but didnt have any cash for a Deluxe and two frie from Richards (dicks for the ones not hip to the nicknaming jazz) down the street. The people in the morning are cool, pretty quick, and usually happy.

Let me start with… I’m not a coffee snob, I’m just a regular coffee addict. I don’t have to drink fancy coffee drinks all the time. A regular drip from a Ma and Pa mini mart sometimes would do the trick for me. But I can tell if a café is bad if they have bad drip coffee. Does the employees drink their own coffee? So damn gross.
It was a nice Saturday morning, sun shining and birds chirping. I decided to get a cup of coffee and take a walk around Carl Anderson park. I got my coffee at Peet’s, added my splash of half & half and started to walk towards the park. Sat down on the bench and took a sip of my coffee.
:spit-​cough-​spit:
WTF! It tasted like dirt, seriously it does. I can tell cause I tried dirt when I was a kid and Peet’s coffee tasted like dirt. I could have walked back and created some drama, like maybe throwing my drink down in the middle of their floor. But I’ve been there, been a Barista and all. I know sometimes shit happens and someone might have put an extra scoop of ground coffee or whatnots in the pot. So I just sadly threw away my cup and walked my sad ass home.
But the people that work there is nice so I gave it another chance. Ordered an iced coffee. Again, it was disgusting. So one more try… ordered a latte… still gross. 3 strikes and you’re out!
I was going to give it a one star but the employees are nice and they get a two star for that.

Did no one tell these people?
Seeing a Peets Coffee on this corner is kind of like seeing an acquaintance with spinach in their teeth or their underwear peeking out. You feel like you ought to tell them, but you don’t think that *you* should be the one to have to do it. Doesn’t this Peets have friends???
Ok, if your friends aren’t going to tell you, I will: You are surrounded by coffee shops that are wayyyy better than you. This wasn’t a good choice. This isn’t a good location. We’ve got Vivace across the street, Victrola up and down the hill, a Café Vita, and two brand spanking new Stumptowns. Who in their right mind is going to go to Peets?
I guess the hill somehow supports 3 Starbucks, so what do I know about corporate real estate.

So, I was standing on the corner of Broadway and Denny this morning (off-​duty) and was trying to decide whether to go to Peets or Vivace to get some coffee to help me wake up after a long night of watching TV. Then, I thought, perhaps nobody has reviewed this new Peets yet! And because I have a problem and feel like my life will be that more much valid if I have another «First to Review» star — I ran into Peets, ordered my coffee, ran home (ok, I walked quickly because we all know it’s impossible to run with coffee) and here I am! Yes! First to review, bitches! Bwahahaha.
Note to self: Do not cackle with coffee in your mouth.
Anyway, I am so happy that this space is being used for something worthwhile. After the last African import store closed down, I swore I’d do something violent if another import store, exactly like it, opened up just like it had been for the past year or so. «We’re going out of business» they’d say one week and the next week they’d have a «Grand Re-​Opening». Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against African imports. In fact, I try to support local businesses! I even went there to buy some pillow cases for the «Shisha Room» my old roommate and I were planning on making. We found some pillow cases that would have been perfect… only they were $ 40 each and this was during one of their going out of business/​liquidation/​grand re-​opening sales. Needless to say, we gave up on the Shisha Room and made a Music Room instead (which pretty much just consisted of a wall decorated with magazine cut-​outs of hot band dudes and a few tickets stubs).
But, I digress. Back to the coffee…
Compared to all of the other «chain» coffee shops (this includes you, Stumptown) this is probably my favorite — and not only because it’s the closest coffee shop to my house. I walked in and it was very spacious and welcoming. They were playing some classical music rather than those God-​awful Starbucks tunes. The gals working at the counter were really nice and friendly and actually engaged in conversation. (Crazy, right!?) Plus, the coffee was actually good and didn’t taste like burning. They even use quality products like Scharffen Berger chocolate, too. The drip is brewed every 30 minutes (or less) and for you lactose intolerant/​hippies, they offer soy to go in it, as well as half and half, non-​fat and whole milk. Along with the honey they even have simple syrup! But, I think this is for the tea drinkers. Well, if I were you, I wouldn’t put it in my coffee. The line goes much quicker than at neighboring Vivace (but don’t worry you’re STILL my favorite) and is a great place to go whether you want to grab it and run home for some silly reason or you want to sit and relax and not have to listen to some loud and/​or crappy music. They even have tables and chairs outside so you can admire the newest tag on the side of the post office.
Since Vivace is next door and their coffee IS the best (IMHO), I don’t see myself coming here that often — well, until Vivace moves (bastards). But, I can totally see it being one of those places to go when I don’t feel like waiting in line for 15 minutes to get a decent cup of joe.
Oh and just a note: Their «medium» coffee is HUGE. Excuse me, while I go pee for the THIRD time.