Coffee buyers at the Berkeley, CA-based Peet’s “sample coffees from the world’s finest growing regions and select the best lots.” The company states that “participating globally and locally is an important part of Peet’s philosophy” and “we strive to be part of the communities where our coffee is grown,” with partnerships with organizations promoting sustainable development.

Peet’s stores are located in cities around the U.S. Peet’s coffee is also sold in supermarkets such as Whole Foods. The company says that its coffees “are made purely of Arabica beans…. The Arabica species is indigenous to Ethiopia, but has been successfully transplanted to the rest of Africa, Latin America and Asia.”

In 1999, the company refused to sell fair-trade coffee because it was not up to Peet's quality standards, buyer and roastmaster Jim Reynolds explained in an article. But the company has since changed its mind. Today, it offers fair trade beans, but does not offer fair trade brewed coffee, although customers have demanded it.

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