Scalito Blend

Supreme Court Justice Nominee Samuel “Scalito Lite” Alito has a coffee blend named after him at some 125-year-old roastery in The Jerz.

[T.M. Ward Coffee Co.] sells a popular coffee called Alito Bold Justice, made and named for the federal judge, who has been a regular customer at the store near the federal courthouse since 1987.

The brew was concocted for Alito five years ago as a birthday present. But sales of the coffee have taken off since President Bush tapped the New Jersey native in November to fill a seat on the nation's highest court.

Calls and e-mails have come in from all over the country, including Texas (a red state) and California (a blue state). Alito bought 44 pounds of the blend — at $7.95 per pound — before Christmas, [Sales Clerk Vera] Barbosa said.

It’s a blend of Indo-Pacific coffees and some dark roasts. I don't know what the coffee origins of Ward's Italian and espresso roasts, but I would wager to say that they're probably from Latin America. And now that we have documentation that shows Scalito's views that skew conservative, I gotta ask: What does this special blend say about him? Mellow, earthy, and smooth yet ... burnt?

Lawrence Herrmann, a former U.S. attorney in Connecticut and self-described liberal Democrat, said the Alito blend is telling.

"It's a pretty strong roast, but he's a pretty strong guy. He has strong principles," said Herrmann, 70, who stopped by for a cup of Alito last week. "I think having a strong blend of coffee named for him is better than an herbal tea with hibiscus."

Herbal teas aren't really "teas," per se. They're what's called "tisanes," but that's a whole other blog entry. What if Scalito was a tea drinker instead? What would that say about him? Hmm...