March 21--In the eternal quest to make coffee ever easier to ingest, few coffee companies have been as innovative as La Colombe. First came cold-brewed coffee available on tap, followed by a draft latte, which combines cold-pressed espresso with pressurized milk. The latter is remarkably smooth and thick, looking less like a coffee drink and more like a big, fat glass of frothy Guinness.
And soon you won't even need to go to your local outlet of La Colombe to drink one, as the Philadelphia-based coffee roaster plans to release a canned draft latte -- more complicated than it sounds, since creating the right texture for the frothed milk required a "patented pressurization process," according to La Colombe (though a note on the label claims that a patent is pending).
So, how's the can stack up to what's available at the store? It was hard to detect much difference. Both had the same super-smooth texture. The only real difference is that the canned version has added sugar, while the draft latte in the store doesn't. The sweetness helps balance the drink somewhat, so this is not an altogether bad thing.
If you're feeling extra motivated after drinking one, note that each draft latte can contains the same amount of caffeine as 1 1/2 cups of regular coffee.
The draft latte cans will hopefully be available at Chicago-area La Colombe stores within a few weeks.
