La Colombe Coffee Roasters opened its first café in Philadelphia in 1994, with a micro roaster in the back and, by its own account, a plan “to introduce café culture to America”. The name is French for the dove. A full roastery followed in the city in 1995, supplying restaurants and hotels, and every batch is still roasted in Philadelphia. The first New York café opened in 2007 and Pure Black cold brew followed in 2009. The Draft Latte, a latte poured on tap, was introduced in the cafés in 2015. A canning plant in Michigan followed between 2016 and 2017, and the canned Draft Latte went to retailers nationwide. In 2023 La Colombe joined forces with Chobani. There are now 29 cafés in Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr, New York, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, San Diego, Chicago, Washington DC and Austin.

Corsica and Nizza have been its “cornerstone roasts” for more than thirty years: Corsica is the dark house blend and Nizza, a medium roast, is the coffee behind every espresso in the cafés. The rest of the range runs from All Dark through the organic Deep Bleu and Rouge blends to single origins from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, the last from Finca Santa Cruz in Chiapas, a family farm with three Cup of Excellence Mexico titles. Decaf comes two ways, the dark Monte Carlo and a medium roast Honduras Luna Azul. Limited micro-roasts of single origins are offered to a mailing list when the roasting team has them.

The café menu covers espresso drinks, drip and pour-over with a single origin on the bar, cold brew, Draft Latte and oat Draft Latte on tap, matcha, teas and seasonal specials. In Philadelphia the cafés are at Rittenhouse Square, by City Hall on Dilworth Plaza, on Independence Mall and in Fishtown, with a fifth in Bryn Mawr, outside the city. The illustrator Art Spikol, who has lived above the Rittenhouse Square café for more than twenty years, draws its visitors from the window every morning. The Fishtown café hosts coffee workshop classes. La Colombe also supplies restaurants, hotels, offices and universities with coffee, training and technical support.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: La Colombe Coffee Roasters