Household names like Tom Hanks, Rudy Giuliani and the Weeknd are betting big on brew. Here’s what we thought of seven celebrity coffee brands.
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Priya Krishna does not drink coffee regularly, but spent an afternoon with her co-workers tasting seven celebrity-backed coffee companies.
What do Tom Hanks, Sofia Vergara, Emma Chamberlain and Rudy Giuliani have in common? Not much. Except they all hawk coffee now.
For decades, celebrities have lent their names and likenesses to a wide range of food products, including cereal and whipped cream shots, in the hopes of expanding their relevance outside their chosen field and making some extra cash in the process. The age of social media and influencers has only amplified this trend.
At the moment, it’s all about beverages: tequila, canned mocktails and now coffee, with entertainers like the YouTuber Emma Chamberlain and the musician Mick Fleetwood getting into the business of beans. Why coffee? It’s a daily habit that people obsess over. There’s a reason so many celebrities are photographed on their coffee runs: An iced latte can make a moneyed actor living in a Beverly Hills mansion seem relatable. Just look at Ben Affleck!
Rudolph W. Giuliani, on the other hand, was likely not on your 2024 celebrity coffee bingo card. And yet, amid filing for bankruptcy and juggling multiple felony charges, the former mayor of New York City announced his own line of coffee in May. But is Mr. Giuliani’s coffee — or any celebrity coffee companies — any good, or is it all branding and no substance?
To put them to the test, we purchased medium blends (or the closest we could find to one) from the coffee brands of seven celebrities of different professions and generations. We brewed a pot of coffee from each and invited a few of our coffee-loving editors — Natasha Janardan, Genevieve Ko and Tanya Sichynsky — to evaluate them for aroma, taste and package design. Some were undrinkable, others tasted like gas-station coffee and one was pretty incredible.
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