PEET Peets Coffee & Tea, Inc. (MM)

Colorado Residents Have Greater Access to Company's Distinctive, Handcrafted Coffee Offerings EMERYVILLE, Calif., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEET), a specialty coffee roaster and marketer, today announced the availability of its fresh, deep-roasted whole bean coffee within King Soopers supermarkets, a division of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR). A selection of Peet's signature whole bean and ground coffees for home and office enjoyment will be featured within 120 King Soopers supermarkets throughout Colorado to service the growing demand for the company's distinctive, handcrafted coffees. "Peet's first Colorado store opened in Cherry Creek in 2003, and since that time has built a strong, loyal customer base," said Patrick O'Dea, president and chief executive officer, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. "We see our new partnership with King Soopers as another opportunity to make Peet's more accessible to a wider audience of consumers who appreciate artisan specialty food items, and we will go to great lengths to ensure that our customers enjoy our distinctive, deep-roasted coffees at their peak of freshness and flavor." To meet its ongoing commitment to provide customers coffees of uncompromising quality and superior freshness, Peet's delivers to grocery stores nationwide through its own Direct Store Delivery (DSD) network. Peet's has made a significant investment in DSD resources to carefully manage the freshness of its coffee and pledges to its customers that the coffee they buy from Peet's will always be fresh. Unlike other specialty coffee roasters, the company retains dedicated and trained DSD "Peetniks" to work directly with grocery partners to manage their orders and personally deliver and rotate freshly roasted Peet's coffee into each account ensuring its coffee is enjoyed at the peak of freshness and flavor. Peet's will be offering four signature coffees in 12-ounce bags including: -- Peet's French Roast -- the darkest roast with intense smoky flavors -- Peet's House Blend -- a medium-bodied blend of coffees from Latin America -- Decaf House Blend -- a lively, flavorful blend -- Major Dickason's Blend(R) -- a rich, full-bodied coffee that is complex and smooth ABOUT PEET'S COFFEE & TEA, INC. Founded in Berkeley, Calif. in 1966, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. is a specialty coffee roaster and marketer of fresh, deep-roasted whole bean coffee for home and office enjoyment. Peet's fresh-roasted coffee, hand-selected tea and related items are sold in several distribution channels including specialty grocery and gourmet food stores, online and mail order, office and restaurant accounts and company-owned stores throughout the U.S. Peet's is committed to strategically growing its business and to maintaining a unique culture and focus on customer satisfaction. For information about Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc., visit http://www.peets.com/ or call 1-800-999-2132. Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. shares are traded under the symbol PEET. ABOUT KROGER Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger is one of the nation's largest retail grocery chains. At the end of fiscal 2003, the Company operated (either directly or through its subsidiaries) 2,532 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 32 states under two dozen banners including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, King Soopers, Smith's, Fry's, Fry's Marketplace, Dillons, QFC and City Market. Kroger also operated (either directly, through its subsidiaries or franchise agreements) 802 convenience stores, 440 fine jewelry stores, 466 supermarket fuel centers and 42 food processing plants. For more information about Kroger, please visit our web site at http://www.kroger.com/. This press release contains statements that are not based on historical fact and are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management, including financial and operational information and current competitive conditions. As a result, these statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements depending on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, risks arising from accounting adjustments; the Company's ability to implement its business strategy, attract and retain customers, and obtain and expand its market presence in new geographic regions; the availability and cost of high quality Arabica coffee beans; consumers' tastes and preferences; and competition in its market as well as other risk factors as described more fully in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 2, 2005. These factors may not be exhaustive. The Company operates in a continually changing business environment, and new risks emerge from time to time. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. DATASOURCE: Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. CONTACT: Kelly Krueger of Weber Shandwick, +1-415-248-3415, or , for Peet's; or Vicky Bradford of King Soopers, +1-303-778-3377, or Web site: http://www.kroger.com/ Web site: http://www.peets.com/

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