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Oil is there because the internal temperature of the bean got too hot during roasting. But you can believe whatever of Starbucks' propaganda you want.

Yeah, I believe that's true and usually stop my roast right as the oiliness begins.

But my target for roasting perfection is Peet's French Roast - it's the best bean I've ever had. Now, I haven't bought it from them in 3-4 years, but at least it used to be dark and pretty oily but definitely not burned and made the perfect cup of black coffee.

I still don't know exactly how they do/did that without it ending up as Charbucks.

Trivia: did you know Peet split off from the Charbucks gang back in the early days, when Charbucks was growing beyond a handful of stores? He hated their mass-roasting methods to keep up with the need to grow with cheap ingredients, and formed Peet's coffee, staying in the Bay Area until fairly recently and resisting the Charbucks decline in quality due to mass expansion.

Pretty much the same plan that In-n-Out used.

I think their dark-roasts taste better than *$$ because they are fresher when you get the beans. They seem to get a fresh supply daily, and don't leave the stuff sitting around for weeks.

My target roast is basically a City Roast. I've found that I tend to like the lighter roast more. But again, I'm using it for drip, not espresso.

Hank..Your characterization of Peet's history is, apparently, a figment of your imagination.

READ THIS IF YOU CAN

Known as the "grandfather of specialty coffee," Peet's Coffee & Tea has been a Berkeley institution since we started more than thirty-five years ago.

Alfred Peet opened the first Peet's store in 1966 - with a roasting machine on the premises - at the corner of Walnut and Vine in Berkeley, a few blocks from the University of California. Mr. Peet grew up in the family's coffee and tea business in Alkmaar, Holland. After World War II, Peet worked in the tea trade in Indonesia. At age thirty-five, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and later opened his shop, roasting coffee in the distinctive style he learned from his family.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Peet's Coffee & Tea was a pioneer among other food purveyors in Berkeley's "gourmet ghetto" - a collection of European style shops and restaurants that later included the Cheese Board and Chez Panisse - whose emphasis on artisan, fresh foods spawned an American revolution.

Today, we continue to maintain the traditional values of hard work and attention to detail that are essential to creating coffees of distinction. Our Vine Street store still attracts a large, loyal following, including many who remind us they have been customers since the store opened. Our roasting facility is in Emeryville, just a few miles from our original location.