Ranking Every La Colombe Drink from Best to Worst

If you’re a Penn student, you’ve probably heard of La Colombe. If you haven’t it’s the brightly colored coffee in a can sold at Wawa, Van Pelt’s basement and Whole Foods. While sold throughout the northeast, the brand is originally from Philly, and since coming to Penn I’ve become slightly obsessed. I’m a little ashamed to say since in learning in quarantine you can subscribe to have cans delivered to your house, it’s a rare day where I don’t drink at least a can. Anyway, after trying all the La Colombe canned coffees available, here’s how I’d rank them:


1. Mocha Draft Lattes:

Always my go to, I have at least one every day. It’s essentially caffeinated chocolate milk and tastes so good in a can or over ice.

2. Pumpkin Spice Draft Latte:

This seasonal special was the first pumpkin spice flavored beverage I’d ever tried. I’d always been suspicious of the flavor–something about it just felt wrong–but I trusted La Colombe to pull through. The pumpkin flavoring was subtle but definitely present, the overall effect was what I’d imagine as fall in a can.

3. Triple Shot:

Since too much caffeine makes me jittery, I try to avoid it, but I will say the flavoring is perfect. And for people whose coffee intake is upwards of 5 cups a day or more, it’s perfect!

4. Caramel Draft Latte:

I’m always a little wary of caramel lattes because I find the ones at Starbucks to be overly sweet, but I actually loved this. The caramel isn’t overpowering, but it sweetens the drink perfectly and the flavor blends well. I wouldn’t drink it every day, but I find it a fun way to shake up my caffeine intake.

5. Cold Brew:

I really only drink cold brew during finals or if I have a rough midterm week, but I think the flavoring of this isn’t overly harsh. If you add a little Oatly oat milk, it’s actually quite yummy.

6. Peppermint Mocha Draft Latte:

I have to say, I liked this, but I was expecting something a little more like the ghirardelli peppermint bark squares. This is more like a minty coffee, which I enjoy but definitely regret ordering a twelve pack before I’d even tried one. It definitely would not be my go-to daily drink.

7. Oatmilk Draft Latte:

I have friends who love this drink. I’m just picky about oat milk because I think nothing can top Oatly (if you don’t know what that is, please try it, it’s life changing). Any other oat milk just tastes wrong to me, and I never end up finishing one of these.

8. Oat Milk Caramel Latte:

Again, I think if I liked the oat milk La Colombe uses, this would much higher up on my list.

9. Double Shot:

Absolutely nothing wrong with this drink, it has the classic La Colombe, smooth yet frothy latte blend inside, but I’ve never felt the need to drink a double shot over a triple or flavored latte.

10. Colombian Cold Brew:

I personally find this a little overly harsh in terms of straight coffee flavoring. That being said, if you’re more into actual coffee blends than I am, this may be much more exciting for you.

11. Vanilla Draft Latte:

Way too sweet, to the point where it’s kind of hard to finish. Also something about vanilla coffee is really unappealing to me.

12. Nitro Cold Brew Lemonade:

I love lemonade and I love a sweetened cold brew but something about this is just wrong. I genuinely couldn’t have more than five sips, and neither could any of my roommates. If you’re into weird pairings this may be the drink for you!


Cover Image from Wikimedia Commons

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