8 La Colombe Cold Brew Flavors Ranked
There will always be a demand for freshly brewed hot coffee but the market for cold brew coffees has exploded in recent years. Launched in 1994, the La Colombe coffee brand has set an industry standard, with more than a dozen cold brew coffee drinks, including lattes and nitro in flavors like mocha, vanilla, and salted caramel. And since there are so many choices, our decision to sample a good number of them was a no-brainer. We settled on eight, with selections from the different categories mentioned above.
La Colombe translates to "the dove" in French and the European-style coffee first appeared in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood almost 30 years ago. There are now more than 30 La Colombe cafes in the United States. Caffeine fans stop in to order fresh cold brews on tap, drip coffees, espresso, teas, and hot chocolate. The food offerings at these cafes vary by location.
You can buy bulk coffee and other goods at the brand's cafes and online. The brand's canned coffee selections are sold in various sizes, such as 4-packs, 12-packs, and by the gallon. La Colombe Nitro Cold Brew with Lemon was launched in 2020 and was recently reintroduced. The timing couldn't be better because these coffee drinks are perfect for the warm weather — particularly a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Each can is one 9-ounce serving, and they all taste best chilled –- ice cubes are optional. Read on to see how we ranked eight La Colombe Cold Brew flavors.
8. La Colombe Nitro Cold Brew With Lemon
Instead of having any kind of milk, La Colombe Nitro Cold Brew with Lemon is made with Sicilian lemon juice. When you pop open a can of La Colombe Nitro Cold Brew with Lemon it smells much more like coffee than the others we tried and that's not a bad thing. But strangely enough, it tastes like strongly-flavored lemon iced tea with some coffee mixed into it.
This might be more refreshing on a hot day, but our reviewers couldn't get used to the odd flavor combination. It's made with coffee, Sicilian lemon juice, and cane sugar, and that's pretty much it. On the bright side, it has no fat and only 10 grams of sodium. La Colombe does add 13 grams of sugar and that makes sense because lemons are sour. And btw, nitro doesn't mean that there's more caffeine -– this is mild with just 100 milligrams. Brewers infuse the coffee with nitrogen to add flavor and create smoother textures. So if you're looking for a more intense caffeine drink, try the brand's Nitro Extra Bold Cold Brew, which has 210 milligrams of caffeine to get your wheels rolling.
7. La Colombe Mocha Latte
Okay, so La Colombe Mocha Latte actually had depth, but way too much of it. It has a dark brown color and was as thick as Bailey's Irish Cream. The chocolate taste pretty much drowned out any coffee flavor, though we detected a teeny bit in the aftertaste. Don't get us wrong because we love chocolate but this drink seemed, well, fudgy.
This rich coffee drink seems more like a heavy dessert so it can't be described as smooth or refreshing. We added ice cubes and that helped to dilute it a bit. It has 120 milligrams of caffeine; we thought it would have more because of the mocha but it didn't. The fat content is just 3.5 grams, and there are 22 grams of carbs. The amount of sugar is unsurprisingly higher at 18 grams, 11 of which are added.
La Colombe Mocha Latte is made with reduced-fat milk, coffee, cane sugar, and alkalized cocoa. When cocoa is alkalized, it becomes less acidic. This mocha coffee drink didn't taste acidic or bitter, but it was just a bit too dense.
6. La Colombe Oatmilk Double Latte
La Colombe Oatmilk Double Latte was also kind of meh because, even though it was frothy and silky, it just seemed to be missing something. This coffee drink's main ingredient is oat milk, followed by coffee, chicory root fiber, can sugar, canola oil, and acacia. It has 120 milligrams of caffeine, equal to about 1-1/2 cups of regular java.
This oat milk double latte was also a bit lacking in flavor and we detected a tiny bit of salt in the aftertaste. It contains 100 grams of sodium — all of La Colombe's canned coffees seem to have this — but we think the lack of other flavors in this drink brought the salty notes to the forefront. It also has 4.5 grams of fat, 11 grams of sugar (10 are added), and 20 grams of carbs. For this coffee drink, the review is simple: The vanilla and mocha oat milk brews simply had more depth than this one, which is why it ranked lower on our list.
5. La Colombe Oatmilk Vanilla Latte
La Colombe Oatmilk Vanilla Latte was average on all counts. We tasted the vanilla but hardly any coffee flavor came through at all; there wasn't even a coffee aftertaste. It was smooth and would be refreshing on a hot day, but the consistency was bordering on watery, especially compared to the lattes made with cow milk. It contains, in order: oat milk, coffee, chicory root fiber, cane sugar, canola oil, and vanilla extract
This vanilla latte has 120 grams of natural caffeine, 4.5 grams of fat, and 11 grams of added sugar. Its carb content is a bit higher than the other brews at 22 grams. Since La Colombe Oatmilk Vanilla Latte is dairy free, it's a good choice for people who can't tolerate regular milk. La Colombe claims that all of its coffee drinks are lactose-free though, even the ones that have regular milk. They also contain lactase enzyme, which removes the lactose from the milk. But if you prefer oat milk for health reasons or the taste, stick with the mocha unless you don't like the taste of chocolate -– it has the same amount of sugar and 4 more carbs.
4. La Colombe Double Latte
Ranking at No. 4, La Colombe Double Latte is also a light tan color with a good amount of froth when poured into a glass. Like all the coffees in this ranking, it truly tastes like a draft coffee. It has just the right amount of milk that doesn't overwhelm the taste or consistency. This coffee drink is very refreshing, and each serving contains 120 milligrams of caffeine.
This is a good choice for anyone seeking a lighter option. It has just 2.5 grams of fat and 10 grams of sugar; 3 of those are added. La Colombe Double Latte has 14 grams of carbs, too. We rated this fourth because it gives you a good amount of caffeine and the coffee taste still comes through. It's a good go-to canned latte that had a pleasant, flavor, slight kick, and frothiness that make you feel like you're in a cafe.
3. La Colombe Triple Latte
Although you might think that the name triple latte means more milk, it doesn't. Triple latte coffee drinks, such as this one, have three shots of espresso rather than extra milk. And that's why we liked it. The coffee taste was stronger, yet it was still good and creamy. Some of our reviewers preferred it with a few ice cubes because it diluted the stronger flavor. It wasn't too sugary either.
The 175 milligrams of caffeine was a bit much for a few of us who weren't used to the kick. One person commented that La Colombe Triple Latte could even be used as an energy drink but this isn't the company's most caffeinated beverage, as you'll soon find out.
This silky-smooth Triple Latte is made with reduced-fat milk, cane sugar, and chicory root fiber. The latter adds a bit of toasted nuttiness to the flavor profile, with a hint of burnt sugar. This drink also has rosemary extract but we didn't taste that. La Colombe Triple Latte contains three grams of fat, 15 carbs, 115 milligrams of sodium, and 4 grams of added sugar. The total amount of sugar per serving here is 11 grams.
2. La Colombe Oatmlk Mocha Latte
We were pleasantly impressed by La Colombe Oatmilk Mocha Latte because oat milk is often more watery than regular milk. We were expecting that, but it got off to a strong start with a rich brown color and a tempting chocolate aroma. This drink received accolades for not being watery, although the consistency can't compare to the thickness of regular or almond milk. The chocolate flavor wasn't overpowering, though it certainly overshadowed the mild coffee taste. Still, the mocha taste made us forget about the fact that it contained oat milk in the first place.
Oat milk is unsurprisingly the first ingredient here, followed by coffee, cane sugar, and defatted cocoa powder. It also contains canola oil, which is often added to oat milk to thicken it. This No. 2 choice has more caffeine, coming in at 125 milligrams -– that's likely from the cocoa powder. It has twice the amount of carbs as La Colombe Vanilla Latte, coming in at 28 grams. La Colombe Oatmilk Mocha Latte also has 11 grams of added sugar.
1. La Colombe Vanilla Latte
Like all latte coffee, La Colombe Vanilla Latte contains espresso. To be exact, it has two shots of it, which comes to 115 milligrams of natural caffeine; an average 8-ounce cup of plain coffee has 95. And since this vanilla latte has one more ounce of coffee in the can, the amount of caffeine per serving is about the same.
The real vanilla flavor is just right, without any bitterness. We liked the consistency, too, because it was frothy and creamy but not overly so. This drink has a light tan color with a crave-worthy, refreshing smoothness. But if you're looking for a strong coffee flavor, this isn't that kind of drink. The first ingredient is reduced-fat milk, followed by coffee. It also contains cane sugar and natural flavors.
This drink only has 3 grams of fat, 105 milligrams of sodium, 14 grams of carbs, and 12 grams of sugar including 4 added grams. All of La Colombe's canned coffees also contain acacia, a natural ingredient used to stabilize the foam.
The most common ratio of espresso to milk in a latte is 1:2 and the company definitely got it right. La Colombe Vanilla Latte earned the top spot here because it had the best balance of coffee and creaminess. We still felt like we were drinking coffee because it smelled like coffee and had a corresponding aftertaste, even though it was made with plenty of milk. It wasn't overly sweet, either, and tasted even better with a sprinkle of cinnamon.