By Danya Henninger
“La Colombe is probably the most-recognized name in Philly coffee. Started 18 years ago, Todd Carmichael and Jean Philippe Iberti’s company now supplies beans to restaurants across the country and has cafes in four cities around the world, with more on the way (details here). Though Todd was off visiting farms and filming for the Travel Channel’s Dangerous Grounds, we were able to catch up with JP after he returned from a trip to Haiti for a fun Coffee Week conversation.
Zagat: Finish the sentence. The secret to La Colombe’s success is…
JP Iberti: It’s cool, but I really don’t know how it happened. We’re successful maybe because we’ve been doing it for so long, that’s why. We haven’t changed course. We still own 95% of the company.
Zagat: My favorite way to brew coffee is…
JPI: At home I use Chemex. I love the simplicity of it. I used to have a big metal stovetop pot, I liked that for the same reason. It’s easy, it’s like cowboy coffee. At the cafe, I drink espresso.”
