I tried every vegan item at Peet's Coffee and found that the chain makes plant-based eating an affordable breeze

Wed, 04/12/2023 - 06:01

Tech Insider

• Vegan food items at mainstream coffee chains can be hard to find, even in 2023.
• Writer Anna Keeve tried every vegan item at Peet's Coffee, where she remembers buying plant-based food years ago.
• Her top picks include the Everything Plant-Based Sandwich and a Matcha Latte with oat milk.

A mainstream coffee chain with vegan pastries — or any food for that matter — is still very hard to come by. So I was intrigued when I discovered how vegan-friendly Peet's Coffee is and went on a tasting jaunt to try all their plant-based offerings.

Peet's has several dedicated vegan items, like the vegan Peanut Butter Cookie. I remember in 2011 discovering it at a Peet's Coffee in San Diego … long before "plant-based" or "vegan" was in the lexicon of most brands.

It remains a sweet vegan staple on the menu: soft and chewy on the inside, crisped around the edges — and large enough to split in half and share.

Vegan pastry offerings do vary by location, but you may come across the Chocolate Brownie and the Morning Glory Muffin.

My favorite amongst the plant-based pastries was the Blueberry Oat Bran Muffin, which had the perfect amount of sweetness, a good blueberry ratio, and doesn't taste overly "healthy" as some bran muffins do.

Scones are polarizing; you're either team scone or scorn the scone. (Sorry, I scorn them.) I still gave the vegan Iced Lemon Poppyseed Scone a try, and I can see the appeal.

I also tried the Everything Plant-Based Sandwich that launched in 2021. It's a familiar morning classic, only vegan.

Between a thin toasted "Everything Bagel" sits a Beyond Breakfast Sausage, JUST Egg Folded — which is made from mung beans, but you'd never know — and Violife-brand vegan cheddar, which adds a delicious layer of flavor.

Peet's coffee itself is smooth, rich and full-bodied. It's one of the few coffees I can enjoy black … although a little soy milk with foam on top takes the slight bitterness bit off. It's the preferred way to consume!

The company says the popularity of plant-based milk continues to grow, with 21 percent of all Peet's beverages sold with non-dairy milk. Of the total milk used at Peet's, more than 34 percent is non-dairy.

Opting for alt milks — soy, almond, oat — in your drink can typically set you back an extra 80 cents, but during April, for Earth Month, there's no up-charge for non-dairy milks.

Last year, Peet's introduced plant-based Brown Sugar Jelly, which adds a boba-inspired mouth feel.

You can add Brown Sugar Jelly (a 75-cent up-charge) to any iced coffee or tea. At first this sounded like a gross, overly sweet add-on.

But I was pleasantly surprised. Despite "sugar" in the name, it's not very sweet at all. Munching on the little jellies was quite pleasant.

There are many new-age fancy drinks at Peet's Coffee, but sometimes the OG, the Pumpkin Spice Latte (with soy milk), does the trick.

Besides the taste of nostalgia, it's a sweet treat with just a subtle hint of cinnamon.

Even with the add-ons, the prices were affordable overall. Here was my final receipt for the trip.

My ultimate verdict: Peet's makes plant-based eating and drinking a satisfying breeze.

I'll be back for my top two favorite items soon: the Everything Plant-Based Sandwich and a Matcha Latte with oat milk.

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Retail, Nordic, Food, Fast Food, Food INSIDER, Vegan, vegan diet, Vegan foods, vegan food, Peet's Coffee, Peet's Brewed Coffee, Coffee Shops, BI-freelancer, contributor 2023, Business News Contributor, Features

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I tried every vegan item at Peet's Coffee and found that the chain makes plant-…