He’s still going to have to grind.
Cash-strapped former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has reason to perk up about his new coffee line — but it’s a tall order to think it will rescue him from his mountain of debt, java experts told The Post.
Giuliani announced the launch of Rudy Coffee in June as he faced the prospect of being at least $148 million in hock and his legal troubles brewed.
To put Giuliani’s beans to the test, The Post assembled a pair of the city’s most revered tasters who consult for the Intercontinental Exchange, and invited them to sample the brew Thursday in its Midtown offices.
After a two-hour sniff and slurp session, Steven Culten, a five-decade coffee merchant and grader, concluded: “Can it be an ongoing source of revenue for him? I think it will be challenging.”
Culten was joined by fellow merchant and grader Glenn Garnes to sample the trio of $29.99 bags, which contained light and dark roasts as well as decaffeinated beans.
Still, the freshly brewed joe, made from organic 100% Arabica beans from Honduras, was not as disastrous as the ex-mayor’s dye job.
“They’re good quality, but I just don’t view them as exemplar as specialty coffee,” Culten said.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about these coffees.”
Garnes dinged the lighter “Morning” blend for having a “little twinge of bite, a little burnt note,” but Culten praised a slightly cooled-down cup for notes of acidity and “a little fruitiness.”
The “Bold” brew, which boasts “Fighting for Justice” on the bag, was reviewed as a “bold, more straightforward kind of coffee” by Garnes.
The decaf beans were “balanced” but ultimately “very neutral in flavor,” Culten said.
“He’s not selling garbage,” concluded Garnes, adding that he felt the price tag was appropriate for what he declared is a “good commercial coffee.”
Giuliani, who was disbarred in New York last week, inked a contract in April with his roaster, Miami-based Burke Brands, guaranteeing 80% of the net profits from each sale of Rudy Coffee, or about $5 per 2-pound bag, will go to the product’s namesake, bankruptcy court records show.
The coffee industry, however, is an ultra-competitive, “very crowded” space, particularly when it comes to celebrity-branded products, the experts noted.
“All they need to do is look at the plethora of celebrity coffees and what’s there and what’s not there, and who has exited, like Snoop [Dogg],” Culten said.
In December, a jury slapped Giuliani with a $148 million judgment for defaming two former Georgia election workers he accused of committing voter fraud during the 2020 election.
A week later, “America’s Mayor” filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in White Plains federal bankruptcy court.
On Friday, federal bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane tossed out his case, citing Giuliani’s failure to be transparent about his assets and that the dismissal would be in the best interest of his creditors.
The ruling means Giuliani is not protected from creditors who want to go after his assets to potentially recoup their debts.
Giuliani did not respond to a request for comment.
