La Colombe was founded by Todd Carmichael and JP Iberti in 1994, with its first location near Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. In 2015, Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya purchased a share of the company. Ulukaya bought out private equity firm Goode Partners to gain his stake, and helped the company raise $28.5 million to help fund plans for expansion. La Colombe was one of several small-scale coffee roasters that either received large investments or were acquired outright in 2015. The company continues to expand with cafes in cities with existing locations, such as Washington, D.C., as well as in new cities, including Boston, Pittsburgh, San Diego and Los Angeles. As of 2019, La Colombe owns and operates 30 cafes, all in the US.
Products and collaborations
Products
In 2016, the company began offering a canned version of the Draft Latte, a cold-pressed espresso and frothed milk latte first offered on tap in their cafes. The beverages are available for purchase at select retailers throughout the United States, as well as at all La Colombe cafes. Draft Lattes are produced at La Colombe's manufacturing facility in Norton Shores, Michigan. The cans for the latte were designed by La Colombe CEO Todd Carmichael, and produced by Philadelphia-based Crown Holdings. The Draft Latte is produced in multiple flavors in addition to the coffee-forward Original and Triple, including Vanilla, Mocha. Dairy-free options include oatmilk, oatmilk caramel, oatmilk vanilla, Coconut, and Coconut Mocha. Seasonal flavors such as Peppermint Mocha, Pumpkin Spice, and Honeysuckle were also available. Other products include Different Drum, a coffee-infused rum, produced on a micro-distillery located in its Fishtown, Philadelphia, cafe, and a line of La Colombe single-origin and blended roasted coffees, which are available for purchase in retail stores or via the company's website. The company also produces a line of ready-to-drink Cold Brew available at grocery stores in larger bottles, as well as cold brew concentrate.
In 2013, La Colombe worked with the Clinton Foundation to found the Haiti Coffee Academy. The organization aims to improve coffee growers’ livelihoods in Haiti through training programs for smallholder farmers, a demonstration farm and nursery, and efforts to strengthen the supply chain for both local and export markets for Haitian coffee.
Other collaborations
La Colombe collaborated with Yards Brewing Company, another Philadelphia-area company, in 2016 to produce a coffee stout to be served in local Shake Shack branches. The company collaborated in 2016 with the Icelandic brewer Einstök and again with Yards on Snorri's Awakening, a coffee pale ale.
