La Colombe’s canned draft latte is infused with nitrous oxide for a signature silky texture.
Todd Carmichael, cofounder of the growing Philadelphia-based craft-coffee authority La Colombe, had a beef with iced lattes: He couldn’t stand the watered-down beverage that results from cooling steamed milk over ice. So last year, he invented a draft latte system for his cafés. Cold milk is infused with nitrous oxide (producing a silky microfoam), mixed with cold-pressed espresso, and poured from a keg. When sales at one of his Philadelphia outposts jumped 17.5% the week the draft latte was introduced, Carmichael began to think about how to take the drink from his cafés to store shelves.
