Black, Medium Roast by La Colombe — ENGINEERED

Munch or Dump rates Black, Medium Roast by La Colombe by La Colombe ENGINEERED — score 30/90.

At heart this is coffee and water, which is a great start. But it is buffered with a pair of industrial phosphate salts and dosed with nitrogen for the canned-draft mouthfeel, which is more lab bench than kitchen. A plain brewed cup at home is the cleaner move.

Why this verdict

• Two stacked phosphate salts (trisodium phosphate + disodium phosphate) act as industrial pH buffers, not something you would ever add to coffee at home
• Chicory root fiber is added to bulk up body and mouthfeel rather than for flavor from the bean
• Nitrogen is dosed purely for the cascading nitro-draft texture, a manufacturing effect not an ingredient you taste
• The base of coffee and water is genuinely clean, so the concern is the additive layer, not the coffee itself

Ingredients (6)

• coffee (safe) — Plain instant coffee. Source of caffeine and antioxidants; fine in moderation.
• Water (safe) — Used as a basic ingredient in bread.
• chicory root fiber (moderate) — Added inulin fiber; boosts the fiber number but can cause bloating/gas in sensitive guts.
• trisodium phosphate (caution) — Industrial phosphate used as a processing aid; frequent high phosphate intake is a cardiovascular and kidney concern.
• Disodium phosphate (caution) — Industrial phosphate buffer; regular high phosphate intake is a cardiovascular and kidney concern.
• NITROGEN (safe) — Used to infuse drinks in nitro-style beverages, adding texture.

Healthier alternatives

• Kirkland Signature Cold Brew Coffee (100% Colombian)
• Good & Gather Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate
• Cold Brew Coffee
• Wegmans The Buzz Cold Brew Coffee, Unsweetened
• Classic Roast Ground Coffee