Peet's Coffee is buying Stumptown, in a West Coast coffee mixed marriage


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The overlap between fans of Peet's Coffee & Tea, the Berkeley coffee stalwart known for its dark-roast blends, and Stumptown Coffee Roasters, the Portland upstart that made lightly roasted single-origin beans fashionable, is probably not huge (though larger than the overlap between Peet's and Dunkin Donuts partisans, surely). Starbucks, the Seattle coffee juggernaut, reacted to Stumptown and its light-roast peers by developing a "blonde roast" line. On Tuesday, Peet's announced it is simply buying Stumptown, for an undisclosed amount.
Stumptown and Peet's both say customers won't really notice any difference — you won't find Stumptown beans in Peet's stores or vice versa. But if Stumptown fans are concerned that their favorite roaster is selling out to a corporate giant like Peet's, well, that's only partly true: Peet's is majority owned by a secretive German family and its investment company in Luxembourg, JAB Holdings Co., that also has a majority stake in Caribou Coffee. The upside for Stumptown drinkers is that the coffee — and especially its bottled cold brew, which is what drew Peet's attention — will probably become available in more markets. The downside: If you want to drink local, well, that Starbucks on the corner at least sends its money to Seattle.
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Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.
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