Review: La Colombe Pure Black Coffee
(2016) With the days heating up in the Northern Hemisphere, it can be difficult to reach for a hot beverage after a hard day at the office (in the saddle). It’s time to fill up the refrigerator with some cold brown bottles in anticipation for instant recovery upon stowing the bike gear. A Philadelphia- based company has riders covered for just such a situation.
It would give visitors a false impression to hand them brown glass bottles after a ride. Some would find it too soon to guzzle a craft beer, but upon inspecting the gear, it would be revealed that the bottle is actually cold pressed coffee. Recently we reviewed Peloton Cold Brew Coffee, packaged in nearby West Chester. We decided to add to the musette bag by trying out La Colombe’s Pure Black Coffee after a warm ride.
La Colombe currently has six locations in Philadelphia: Fishtown, Port Richmond, Independence Mall, Dillworth Plaza, Rittenhouse Square, and a newly opened location in Bryn Mawr. They tout themselves as the measuring stick for craft coffee. It is advised to avoid ordering menu items from a leading coffee company when venturing into La Colombe. However, since some don’t find the locations easy to access, La Colombe has bottled their coffee and shipped it to retailers for purchase. It also may have aspirations to take over the world.
La Colombe's Pure Black is almost as formal as the tuxedo cycling jersey.
Today I uncapped a bottle of their Pure Black Cold Pressed Coffee. The serving choice for today’s cold pressed coffee was simply over ice. Some suggestions are straight from the bottle or even combined with whole milk.
The cold pressed coffee definitely hit the spot. It is apparent from the start that it has been filtered twice. The flavor is smooth and transports well. It doesn’t overwhelm the taste buds; it’s more of an even doling. The word that continued to swirl was ‘subtle.’ There were hints of cocoa much like the label suggested. As I always do when having coffee, I followed it up with chocolate milk to enhance both drinks.
Considering the bottle is strangely 1.5 servings, this bottle contains 330 mg of caffeine total.
The interesting tidbit about La Colombe’s Pure Black Coffee is that the bottle’s serving size is 1.5 servings. According to the label there are 220 mg of caffeine in each serving. Consume the whole bottle and one is approaching 330 mg of rocket fuel. Got a Strava segment in the neighborhood you’d like to take down? Guzzle down some of this go-go juice and attack.
I’ve tried a couple of times using La Colombe’s cold pressed recipe. With the amount of coffee required, it may be a bargain considering their instructions asks for nearly a whole bag of coffee. At approximately four dollars per bottle at specialty stores, it may be worth the trade-off to not clear out the specialty whole beans at home for another attempt at cold brewed coffee.
