Coffee Cravings

I love coffee. During the dozen or so years I worked in morning radio, I depended on it for survival, often times being forced to drink whatever swill was in the break room.

Then one day, my morning show co-host began roasting his own beans. That opened up a whole new world for me, drinking coffee from freshly roasted and ground beans. Even though I'm not on radio anymore, thank goodness I can still get that great coffee from my former partner and owner of Bennett's Fresh Roast.

That being said, I was recently sent some samples of some non-traditional coffee to review for some projects I was working on, including New Mexico Pinon Coffee.

Pinon Facebook Photo

A family owned business in Albuquerque, roasting beans for more than 20 years. You might be thinking "I didn't know coffee beans were grown in New Mexico." They're not. This coffee is make from a combination of roasted piñon nuts (grown in the local dessert) with Arabica coffee beans.

The regular blend smells a bit sweet. I kept checking the bag to see if it was flavored but it's not. The coffee is mild with low acidity while the pine nuts add a pleasant, nutty flavor.

The Biscochito is named after the New Mexico State Cookie. It has hints of sugar, cinnamon and anise. I'm not typically a fan of flavored coffee but this a nice accompaniment to sweet scones.

I was especially interested in trying Javazen, a blend of ground coffee, loose teas and super foods such as acai and goji berries. Coming in three flavors with different intentions it works in traditional brewers but it tasted best to me in a French press.

The Javazen blends are Balance (mild, my favorite), Boost (strong in flavor and caffeine) and Relax (smooth and slightly fruity). If you like the flavor of tea you will enjoy this.

I prefer the flavors to be separate. I did, however, enjoy Javazen in a new gadget that speeds the process of properly preparing iced coffee. The HyperChiller makes it possible to have a good iced brew much faster than traditional methods and without diluting the flavors.

It literally cools freshly brewed coffee in one minute, bringing the temperature to a level that when poured over ice, doesn't melt immediately. Iced coffee lovers will understand why this is important.

Cheers to you next cup-o-joe.