For most Americans, coffee in a can is the realm of the Starbucks Doubleshot popped open on a road trip, filled with lots of sugar, milk, energy supplements and plenty of other additives. But specialty roasters and restaurant groups in Chicago are increasingly entering the fray. They largely brew their coffee black, listing coffee and water as the sole ingredients. Cans are a portable way to highlight the quality of their product and get it into the hands of more customers.
The Tribune Dining Team tested six local specialty canned coffee offerings to see how they stacked up against each other.
We selected a range of options: a national brand that launched a can rebrand in Chicago (La Colombe’s cold brew coffee), a national brand with roots and a roastery in Chicago (Intelligentsia’s cold coffee), an expanding local brand (Dark Matter’s cold coffee in Chocolate City and Vanilla Suburbs nitro), a newer local player from a hospitality group (Beatrix Cold Brew, which debuted a can line December 2023) and an artisanal small batch variant (Kyoto Black cold brew, with beans from local roasterie Metropolis).
Beatrix and La Colombe make traditional cold brew, while Intelligentsia and Dark Matter make “cold coffee,” brewed hot and immediately chilled down. Kyoto Black, as its name suggests, specializes in Kyoto-style, which is a specialty drip cold-brew technique. Each results in a different flavor profile.
A nitro cold brew from Dark Matter was also included — panelists noticed the foam when poured into a cup. Some of the cans, like Dark Matter, were concentrates meant to be served with ice or water. However, none were too strong to drink undiluted, according to the panelists.
For the most part, canned coffee felt competitive to coffee ordered from cafes. Panelists enjoyed the visual designs of the cans and the ease of drinking on-the-go. However, they weren’t sure if they would pay extra for cans when they could brew their own coffee or purchase from a cafe.
How we tested
The labels were covered, though Kyoto Black was the only one in a bottle.
There were several rounds of testing. The first test was black, poured from an anonymized can into a paper cup. We observed the color, smell and taste. We wrote our notes and reactions and ranked them out of five stars.
The second test was “doctored” — every panelist was allowed to prepare a cup to their liking with additional oat milk and sugar.
And finally, once the cans were revealed, panelists sampled directly from the packaged product to note any differences. While there were some murmurings about the idea that metal could affect taste, panelists agreed there was no discernible difference between the paper cup or the can tests.
The panelists
Four Tribune staffers, including one outside of the food team. None were regular canned coffee drinkers and each had a different regular coffee order, including Dunkin’s vanilla lattes, specialty pour-overs, Nespresso pods and cold brew.
The Winner: Kyoto Black’s Cold Brew ($5)
The artisanal small-batch coffee was unanimously selected as a top pick. Panelists noted its aroma and clarity and that it was very “drinkable.” For a portable drink, panelists appreciated a neutral and versatile flavor that is still high quality and not boring. Speaking to its versatility, some preferred it black and others preferred it with milk.
Runner-up: Dark Matter Chocolate City ($4)
Many panelists described this as having a stronger flavor than others that was still pleasantly balanced. One said it “felt like a treat” with milk. Three panelists rated it as their runner-up or tied with Kyoto Black.
The other drinks
Intelligentsia’s Cold Coffee ($4) was described as having a thin or weak texture and tea-like flavor. While it was improved with milk, responses overall were muted.
Beatrix’s Cold Brew ($4) had the highest variance. Three panelists said they would not have finished it due to its “funk,” but one panelist chose it tied for number one with Kyoto Black.
La Colombe’s Cold Brew ($3) was in the middle, suited to a broad audience. The aroma was pleasant and the coffee had a nutty flavor, likely due to the chicory added to the updated 2024 recipe. La Colombe is known for their milk-based draft lattes and many panelists said they would prefer to drink it with oat milk.
Dark Matter’s Vanilla Suburbs ($5) had the widest variance of qualities. When served black, many panelists found the aftertaste and acidity were overpowering. However, it had some of the strongest textural and aromatic strengths. Oat milk significantly improved its rating for many, but panelists overall preferred Dark Matter’s Chocolate Suburbs version.
Outside of the taste test, Big Shoulders ($35 for eight cans), Metric ($6) and Metropolis ($3.50) cold brew cans were also sampled. All three compared favorably, with Metric having light specialty notes suited to drinking black while Metropolis and Big Shoulders appeal to a broader audience with chocolatey or beerish flavors that would do well with mix-ins.
Note: Intelligentsia and Metric have cans produced by Snapchill that are currently in a voluntary recall.
