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La Colombe by Matt Kelchner
brews an empire in Philadelphia photos courtesy of La Colombe
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eeting up with someone in the city for coffee? Chances are you are drinking a cup of Joe courtesy of La Colombe Coffee Roasters, the locally based company that has been making waves in the coffee world for years now. Whether at one of their many café locations or a local shop proudly serving their favorite blend, La Colombe has made its presence well known.
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The same could be said about any of the other cities that are part of their expansion. Friends in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles share the same enjoyment. But what if you don’t live near one of their locations? Or better yet, what if you want to indulge yourself in the comfort of your own home? That’s where La Colombe’s Draft Latte comes in. Their revolutionary cold coffee beverage delivers the frothy texture of your favorite drink in the convenience of a chilled can. “The idea for the Draft Latte came in a singular moment when, after working in coffee for 30 years, I realized there were three ingredients to a latte – espresso, milk and vapor,” co-founder and CEO Todd Carmichael explains. “That third ingredient was the one we wanted to concentrate on. It was the ingredient missing from all other cold lattes. The rest was all pure invention.” We were able to catch up with the globe trekker and coffee con-
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noisseur about the breakthrough beverage (which is now the fastest growing ready-to-drink product in the country) as well as growing La Colombe in the City of Brotherly Love. The development of the Draft Latte went through many trials and errors before the perfect recipe was created. It also included numerous trips to places like whipped cream plants and ice cream factories for research. “I’ve always been able to tell the difference between a wall and a hurdle. Having said that, countless people told me it would be impossible,” Carmichael says. Without getting into too many details, it took some tinkering with nitrogen, nitrous oxide, milk and coffee until Carmichael was able to prove the doubters wrong. All the while using wholesome ingredients without any added sugar. Fast forward a few years to today and the Draft Latte can be found in places all over the country, from cafés and coffee shops to Whole Foods and Target. With a number of flavors like Vanilla and
| rowhome magazine | July / August / September 2017
Mocha drafts to go along with the original, La Colombe has already announced more are on the way. When asked how far he plans on taking his revolution of turning hot drinks into portable, cool ones, Carmichael simply responds, “How far? However far it takes to change the world.” Before La Colombe could conquer the can, they had to conquer the café. And before that, they had their sights set on the restaurant. In the very early years of La Colombe, Carmichael and fellow co-founder and current President JP Iberti wanted to give coffee a life of its own. Back then, bland, instant coffees reigned supreme and the two wanted to change that. “We wanted to give great coffee an identity.” To do so, they took an unexpected route to reach out to people outside of their homes. “We felt like starting at the table – the restaurant table – was a great place.” They did not want to settle for just any restaurants, though. At the time, the building blocks of Philadelphia’s now well-known and respected culinary scene were being stacked. “When JP and I first visited Philly at the end of 1993, there were a lot of things we noticed and realized the biggest one to us was that Philadelphia was on the verge of a restaurant revolution and we wanted to be a part of that.”
Getting into kitchens to help convince chefs like Georges Perrier and restaurateurs like Stephen Starr was no easy task. Not only did the gamble pay off, it also helped shape La Colombe. “This is where you really learn how to serve other people.” It was in these cutthroat cooking environments where Carmichael and Iberti gleaned many lessons that they would later incorporate in their own locations. “We opened our first café back in 1994,” Carmichael recounts. “From the beginning, we knew we wanted to change the world by making people happy with coffee, taking it one farm, one bean, one can and one home at a time.” After careful consideration, that location wound up being their current café just off Rittenhouse Square. To this day, Philadelphia remains an integral part of La Colombe. The company’s flagship location is situated in the heart of Fishtown. When new products like the Draft Latte are first introduced, they are done so in the greater metro area to help give it that unique characteristic of being a Philly brand. Don’t expect any of that to change any time soon either. “This city is home. It’s who we are and where we come from. In many ways, JP and I consider Philadelphia one of the founding partners and that sort of thing, you don’t leave behind.” prh gohomephilly.com