Peet's Coffee

Peet’s Coffee has always been one of those “destination” shops for me. It’s a stand-alone building, not tucked into a strip mall or planted on a busy downtown street. Nobody just stumbles in here — you actually have to plan your visit. Back in high school, I came here all the time. It was the next town over, which meant I avoided running into classmates but still only had to drive about 15 minutes. A win-win.

On this trip, I ordered their Horchata Cold Brew Oat Latte — though I’m not entirely convinced it qualifies as a latte. Technically, a latte is espresso + milk, and cold brew doesn’t have the same concentrated base. According to Peet’s website, it’s actually “cinnamon sugar and creamy oat milk blended together and topped with Peet’s original cold brew.” So basically, it’s more like Starbucks’ Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew than a latte.

Labeling aside, it was delicious. The cold foam sweetness really takes over, so instead of strong coffee flavor, it ends up tasting more like coffee ice cream. Personally, I think all horchata lattes taste like pancakes with syrup on a Saturday morning, and this one delivered that exact vibe. My sister is obsessed with horchata lattes (her favorite is at My Half of the Sky), so I try others whenever I can to see if we can find more she’ll love. This one? She’d absolutely chug.

The shop itself has tons of seating. Most tables are two-seaters with bistro chairs — not my favorite for comfort, but definitely efficient for squeezing people in. My go-to spot is their bench seating with a table, which hits that perfect comfort and utility balance. There’s also a small lounge area with armchairs and a “leave a book, take a book” section, which I love for the community feel.

Lighting here is solid: plenty of big windows for natural light, but balanced with soft yellow lamps for a cozier, moody touch. The music was noticeable but not distracting — loud enough to catch, though none of the songs were familiar. Good vibes, just not playlist-worthy enough for me to ask Siri what was playing.

And the best part? I had a Peet’s gift card already loaded on my app, so this round was on the house.

My order:

• Horchata CBOL ($6.65)

My rating:

• Coffee: 4

• Activity: 4

• Music: 3

• Vibes: 5

• Overall = 4