La Colombe: the best café in New York

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or years, savoring a good coffee in New York has been close to mission impossible. However, New Yorkers cannot walk without clinging onto a recyclable cup of their favorite drink. It’s 9:30 in the morning and in an imposing corner in New York’s Soho, near our favorite Street, Bond Street, we bump into an “atelier” of a café, with its doors always wide open: this is La Colombe. With its different whites and chromium platings, the owners Todd Carmichael and Jean Philippe Iberti roast and try daily the coffees they will offer their customers. And although the place is far from the typical Buenos Aires local café, La Colombe’s owners took inspiration from Tortoni to set up this café whose espresso is served following strict patterns of its blends.

Considered by many critics as the place serving the best coffee in town, La Colombe is not renowned for its lavish decoration because its main focus is on its raison d’etre: coffee. Most certainly, one must queue to get hold of one of its widely acclaimed espressos or lattes. But the number of people waiting outside is not a problem: its baristas, renowned for their efficiency and good service, can serve impeccable, soft and delicious coffees at breakneck speed.

With an exceptionally flavored coffee of many-nuanced aromas, the absolute star of the bar is the imposing bottle with pressure lid, a bottled celebration in the style of ancient German brews, which keeps the secret golden elixir: Colombe Pure Black Coffee. Steeped for 16 hours in stainless steel wine tanks, free from oxygen, this coffee is cold pressed and filtered twice. “100 per cent real”. It’s made without additives or preservatives, like a good Gran Reserva wine. Best enjoyed, ice-cold.

Its owners have succeeded from their outset in 1994. Today, La Colombe, with over 30 franchises, is based on the main US cities.

Coffee-addict? Believe me, La Colombe is your ultimate place.

Featured image: La Colombe in New York. Photo by Utsuro Bune, Flickr.