OK, I'll have to experience blue Alps for myself. I was unimpressed with black Alps recently, not so much for the feel, as for the poor lifespan and what seems like a fiddly, unreliable design. Leaf springs getting bent out of shape slightly with long term use, and so on.
I've tried Monterey Alps clones, which feel nice, but I can't comment on how they would stand up to years of heavy typing.