Sales of coffee blend named after Alito are steaming

NEWARK, N.J. — When it comes to the brew of choice for Samuel A. Alito Jr., the jury is in. And it likes caffeine.

When Alito was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court in November, reporters and customers flocked to a Broad Street coffee store that sells a potent blend named after the judge.

Two months later, sales of “Judge Alito’s Bold Justice” are still going strong.

“We’ve been selling a lot more ever since he got nominated,” said Vera Barbosa, a clerk at T.M. Ward Coffee Co. who has been serving as the blend’s unofficial spokeswoman ever since Alito’s nomination put their small storefront on the map.

“When he was nominated, all hell broke loose,” she told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Monday’s newspapers.

A mix of Papua New Guinea, Celebs Kalossi, Java, Italian Roast and espresso, the store blended the brew as a birthday gift for Alito about five years ago. A West Caldwell resident, the federal appellate court judge and former federal prosecutor has an office in Newark.

“It’s a pretty strong roast, but he’s a pretty strong guy,” said Lawrence M. Herrmann, a former U.S. attorney in Connecticut who visited the store for a cup of Alito blend last week. “I think having a strong blend of coffee named for him is better than an herbal tea with hibiscus.”

Alito likes it as well. He bought 44 pounds of the $7.95-a-pound blend just before Christmas, Barbosa said.

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Information from: The Star-Ledger, http://www.nj.com/starledger