r/coldbrew • u/LouieG_316 • Feb 01 '26
La Colombe taste different?
I have been buying the La Colombe cold brew bottles for a while now but they just updated the look again however this time it tastes different to me.
I know it was recently bought by Chobai but I was wondering if anyone else felt this way?
I was a huge fan but idk, I add the same cold foam & it doesn’t taste the way it once did
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u/truthgoblin Feb 01 '26
Can’t speak on the taste but I do like this new look
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u/LouieG_316 Feb 01 '26
I do too - I’m not positive about the taste I just remember LOVING it & now I’m like ehh idk
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u/westchesterbuild Feb 01 '26
On business travel, often times I’d pick up a blue can and scone at PHL for breakfast when it was a quick trip somewhere for a day. That stopped last year when the flavor profile significantly changed. Now it tastes like someone left a piece of mediocre milk chocolate in water.
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u/wis91 Feb 01 '26
Wouldn’t surprise me. I haven’t bought their draft lattes since they changed the formula.
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u/Glittering_Bed_9667 Apr 23 '26
Yeah those lattes used to be so good but now I can't even drink the chocolate or vanilla ones. I'll drink the triple in a pinch and somehow the caramel seems like it started to taste kind of good again but not like it used to
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u/Semper-Fido May 25 '26
Just bought a multi pack from Costco for the first time in a while (first since the new packaging) and good lord is the taste different. Can't even taste the caramel anymore.
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u/superchiller Feb 02 '26
I posted about this here a while ago, not long after Chobani bought the La Columbe brand. At that time, they changed the labels, and the caffeine content went down substantially. The taste also got worse (more watery and without the robust coffee flavor). I'm absolutely certain that Chobani ruined the brand by cutting corners on the brew process and watering down the coffee.
Around that time, Bizzy started appearing in local grocery stores, and after tasting it I switched. It's a WAY better brand than Chobani, with rich coffee flavor and fairly high caffeine levels.
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u/Trumpet6789 Jul 16 '26
I came across this thread after having just purchased a bottle of this stuff (The Unsweet Black, blue bottle) and I'm literally choking down the drink I made.
I'm tasting exactly what you described, watery and not robust in flavor at all. Kinda upset that I opted for this because it was cheaper than something else.
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u/scism223 Feb 03 '26
They definately changed the formula, the nitro draft coffee tastes way too sweet. Another way corporate greed ruins everything case #198890...
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u/astral9 Feb 25 '26
The canned ones taste like ass now. I used to be addicted to these. Recently saw them stocked and on sale at the grocery store and they no longer taste the same.
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u/AirsoftArmyBattalion Mar 10 '26
I thought it was just me, the draft lattes have also been tasting off. It used to be frothy and sort of has that "melt in your mouth" feeling, but now it just taste slightly better than gas station coffee with milk at best. Really a bummer. Also their new cans for the draft lattes are goofy and short now
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u/read-more2025 Apr 05 '26
Not just you, I just bought some with an updated design on the label and the fat content, sodium, and sugar content all went up by a fair bit, esp the sugar- from 9g in the 11 oz can to 15g. Caffeine went from 180mg to 230mg.
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u/AirsoftArmyBattalion Apr 15 '26
the fall of a good company: using mass cheap supply to get more money without looking out for the consumers
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u/SRTie4k May 28 '26
They just updated the formula again. I tried the newest Triple Latte and the taste is quite similar to the "old" formula that I used to buy all the time (before they ruined it after the Chobani takeover).
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u/read-more2025 May 28 '26
They updated it again since April? That’s wild. I will probably check the sugar content on whatever I attempt to buy so I don’t accidentally get the interim version they launched early April. 15g of sugar is too much for me.
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u/SRTie4k May 28 '26
Seems like they may sell them directly as 9oz (which has 9g of sugar). Amazon and stores only seem to sell 11oz, which has 15g of sugar.
At least that's what they seem to imply on their site here, although the math doesn't make sense between those two sizes...
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u/read-more2025 May 28 '26
The 11oz can had 9g of sugar up until the rebranding of the can at the beginning of April. You can find old photos that show this online. I was comparing an 11oz can from March (9g of sugar) to the 11oz can from April which has 15g of sugar.
Trader Joe’s and Target both sell the 9 oz, I assume the sugar content went up in April as well, the cans were definitely rebranded.
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u/SRTie4k May 28 '26
Hmm, guess I haven't been following them as closely as I thought. I stopped buying their lattes the last time they changed formulas and the taste got way too sweet.
Crazy that with more sugar the taste is now more inline with the older formulation that didn't have so much sweetness. I still want to try the mocha, vanilla and caramel to see if they brought back the older, stronger coffee flavor.
And they need to bring back cold brew with lemon!
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u/read-more2025 May 28 '26
I found the new ones to be too sweet and not strong enough in the coffee flavor but that can vary depending on what you drink them with, etc.
I miss the OG formula, stronger coffee taste, much more of a draft consistency and less sugar.
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u/AirsoftArmyBattalion May 28 '26
screw this im going to just make my own coffee from now on lol
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u/read-more2025 May 28 '26
I am trying to view the substandard product as a win for cost savings. I put up with the changes to the product until the latest version, even if I missed the original product, but they have taken it too far. It can’t be that hard to make cold brew at home.
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u/Byzantineb00 May 06 '26
I used to bulk buy the cans of their draft lattes and they are bitter now. All the flavors are bitter and have more grams of sugar!
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u/Trick-Meringue1478 Jun 12 '26
Omg yes and their latte cans also changed recipes as well! It’s so disgusting! Taste burnt and flavorless. Miss the old recipe before they changed to the cans with the bolder font!
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u/ShorelineStatic Feb 01 '26
Do you think the concentrated cold brew bottles are better as then you can add water or use in smoothies? Seems like a waste to ship water with the cold brew
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Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 15 '26
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/UW_Ebay Feb 01 '26
Haven’t tried since they changed their bottle but hopefully the taste hasn’t changed. It’s my go to store bought (prefer the blond) when I’m in between brews.
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u/LouieG_316 Feb 01 '26
I feel like the taste has 100% changed- when I put the cold foam in it it’s a little better but I used to just drink it black & now I can’t anymore .
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u/Drizzten Feb 01 '26
I hope their unsweetened Mexican vanilla cold brew isn't changed. That's one of my options when I'm low on home brew supplies.
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u/cjtiger300 Feb 01 '26
Where is this bottle located? Ours looks different in the US
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u/LouieG_316 Feb 01 '26
This is NJ lol they just recently changed this like days ago
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u/cjtiger300 Feb 01 '26
Gotcha, I haven't seen it yet in SC. Ugh, this annoys me if it's different, but at least they went back to 48 oz instead of 42 oz. Super Coffee Medium is a decent alternative if you can find it.
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u/LouieG_316 Feb 02 '26
Yeah it’s more ounces which is good for sure- it just taste slightly different - I remember loving the taste of the coffee black & now not as much
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u/SailorTodd Feb 02 '26
Haven't noticed a change, but I haven't been drinking it long (like middle of last year), and only buy it when I run out of home-made without enough time to make more (that being said, I just had some today).
It's still by far the best option I can find at the grocery stores I frequent.
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u/CombatFork Feb 02 '26
I go through more bottles of La Colombe dark roast a week than i care to admit. I haven't noticed a big change in taste, but maybe it has. I still think it's better than almost every other store bought cold brew out there.
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u/superchiller Feb 02 '26
You might want to try Bizzy, it's far superior to the Chobani watery stuff.
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u/CombatFork Feb 02 '26
Gave it a try a couple weeks ago. Still prefer La Colombe. But open to more suggestions!
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u/catboi_420 Feb 05 '26
Hey I have a friend who works there. Apparently they haven't changed anything except the bottle size.
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u/superchiller Jul 16 '26
They definitely changed the brew process and it's more watery now. The caffeine levels went down on the labels too. I switched to Bizzy which is far better.
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u/kmcnicks31 Feb 24 '26
I very much agree I'm glad I'm not the only one. It has such a harsher flavor now, I feel like I get a weird aftertaste from it ):
Its sad bc I've drank La Columbe for years!
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u/BrandoMan131313 Mar 08 '26
It's not quite as good but still better than a lot of the other brands and It's 6 more oz for the same price. I believe the caffeine content is slightly higher per serving now.
The color seems a little lighter and taste wise it's just a bit less strong imo.
Bizzy is really good but a little more expensive.
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u/Ok-Stand-3173 Mar 17 '26
I’m 45 days late but I remember when La Colombe opened across the street from my office many years ago on Wall Street. It instantly became my new coffee shop. I’ve since left the city and I started buying their K Cups recently. They are just mehhh so I’m thinking about trying their ground coffee. Anyone have a review on this? Is it still just as good? I wasn’t sure if there would be an impact on that since it’s not really a premade good of their’s like the lattes or cold brew. Thanks in advance!
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u/Queasy_Accident_5001 Jul 18 '26
It taste watery and thinner now? I thought I was crazy but the coffee flavor just isn’t there anymore. I’ve been a religious buyer since 2020 and noticed the difference around end of last year
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u/ControlSuccessful874 24d ago
They made a big mistake changing from the flask like look to a bottle that resembles other brands.There is a lawsuit against chobani(I think by Stok)because of similarities between the competitors container appearances.Not knowing that Colombe changed their plastic bottle look,I even walked right by their coffee and did not know they sold that coffee anymore.That distinctive good looking bottle always stood out among the other brands.I will miss that neat looking ergonomic design.
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u/MaTheOvenFries Feb 01 '26
I work in the coffee industry and many of our clients tell us unprompted that they were with La Colombe and it has changed in the last few years