Would you believe that it was 45 years ago that Alfred Peet began roasting coffee in Berkeley, which forever cemented our love affair for a dark, strong brew made with fresh-roasted beans?
Now, each year, Peet’s commemorates the anniversary of the founding of the company by releasing an anniversary blend each of coffee and tea. No two years are alike, either, as each celebratory blend is made with that season’s new crop of the best and most interesting coffees to ensure especially bold and bright flavors.
This year’s Anniversary Blend Coffee features Costa Rican, Burundi and Antiqua Guatemala beans. The Burundi lend a black cherry-like note to this lively coffee with subtle sweetness.
The Anniversary Breakfast Blend Tea features four micro-lots from China: Keemun Mao Feng, Yunnan Golden Snow, Golden Congou and Imperial Red. The tea blend, with its rich and malty flavor, is substantial enough to stand up to milk and sugar, if you like to sip it the British way.
The Anniversary tea and coffee are available for a limited time only — until about May 24 or until supplies last. The coffee is $15.99 per pound at Peet’s locations; and $8.99 to $10.99 for a 12-ounce bag in stores such as Safeway and Andronico’s.
The tea, $14.95 for a four-ounce tin, is available at Peet’s locations and on the Peet’s Web site.
Contest: Now, five Food Gal readers will get a chance to try both the Peet’s Anniversary Blend coffee and tea. Each will receive a one-pound bag of coffee plus a tin of the tea.
Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST May 7. Winners will be announced May 9.
How to win?
Tell me which anniversary (of any kind) that was especially memorable or that you look forward to most in the future. Best five answers win.
Here’s my own answer:
“I most look forward to my 10th wedding anniversary in 2013 because my husband and I vow to celebrate it in Canada, the country where we spent our honeymoon. We haven’t been back to our neighbor to the North since right after our wedding, when we explored most of Alberta province. Among the highlights were walking on an actual glacier, waking up to fresh snow ringing lovely Lake Louise, sipping a lot of fine icewine and staying in an actual chateau turret that had been transformed into a posh hotel room. Can’t wait to see what new memories the next trip there brings.”
Winners of the Previous Contest: In last week’s Food Gal contest, I asked you to tell me which of six celeb chefs you’d most want to cook you a meal. Four lucky readers will win an official Pebble Beach Food & Wine apron signed by all six of those chefs: Daniel Boulud, Michael Chiarello, Dean Fearing, Christopher Kostow, Masaharu Morimoto and Michael Symon, who are all part of the Lexus Culinary Masters team.
Congrats to the winners:
1) Gene Skala, who wrote, “The chef that I would most like to cook for me would be Michael Chiarello. I know he came from a farm background as myself and cooks from his family experiences, Rustic Italian. He uses very fresh ingredients and may I say I love his food. I have been to Bottega many times. May I recommend the polenta under glass, what a treat…oh yeah and the skirt steak…”
2) Devany Vickery-Davidson, who wrote, “That would be one of the most difficult choices I would ever have to make. Each of these chefs is one of my favorites. However, for me it would be Dean Fearing. When I was a young mother and wife in the 1980’s, my culinary journey began. I was living in Fort Worth, Texas at the time, not exactly the culinary epicenter of the world. On my 5th wedding anniversary my husband took me to the Mansion on Turtle Creek for dinner. I was forever changed and challenged. The meal was not only exquisitely prepared by Chef Fearing, it introduced me to new methods of preparation and beautiful presentation. He came out to the table and talked to us for a while and I was doubly impressed by him then, a busy chef willing to take the time to come out and see how we had enjoyed his food. After that I returned to the restaurant again and again. I sent multiple people there and still send them to Fearing’s. He is one of my culinary heroes and someone I will always credit with inspiring me in my career with food. Now that I live in Hawaii, my mainland food excursions are few and far between. But I will never forget the first time I realized what a huge food world there is out there and how a Chef can change it for so many people. I am sure many chefs have no idea of how they may have changed lives of their diners, simply by introducing them to things that are new and beautifully executed. Dean Fearing did that for me.”
3) Faleen, who wrote, “This would be a fabulous prize for anyone, however I would love to win it for my son who really enjoys cooking. The person I would select to cook the meal would be Masaharu Morimoto. MY son has major food allergies and ulcerative colitis making it rather difficult at times to eat out without fear of ending up in the ER. He absolutely loves Japanese cuisine because of its taste, its simplicity as well as the clean distinction of the different ingredients. Masaharu Morimoto would be the best of the best. Thank you for considering my entry.”
4) Lori, who wrote, “I’d pick Morimoto and then I’d beg him to make me tofu in dashi with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and fresh grated ginger or lotus sauteed in a little oil with soy sauce. So simple, so hard to get right in my own kitchen. After living in Japan these are the dishes I miss the most and I’m sure Morimoto-san can make these in his sleep.”
Another Coffee Worth Discovering: Aleta Wondo From Ethiopia