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Luckily, we don’t have to go far to get our daily caffeine fix. Grocery stores offer a substantial selection of gourmet coffee roasts, and there are coffee shops on seemingly every street corner. This is, in large part, thanks to Alfred Peet.

Peet’s Coffee & Tea’s official company history explains what led Peet, a Dutch immigrant, to open his first store:

Shocked by what the U.S. called coffee, Mr. Peet opened the first Peet’s Coffee & Tea store on April 1, 1966. His style of coffee was unlike anything Americans had ever tasted before – small batches, fresh beans, superior quality, and a dark roast produced a coffee that was rich and complex.

This would spark a revolution in the coffee industry that “inspired a new generation of coffee entrepreneurs, including the founders of Starbucks,” according to the company’s history.

Peet’s now boasts more than 200 retail stores and is available in grocery stores nationwide.