There are coffee purist who insist that any departure from the straight unadulterated inky brew is a sin to be punished in the afterlife. I’m not one of those. I think that coffee marries well withe flavors of chocolate and nuts. I will grant that there are certain situations, such as after heavy meals or with sweet desserts, when nothing by ethyl will suffice.

The piñon tree is a species of pine tree native to the American Southwest. It is the official state tree of New Mexico. The nuts from the tree are similar to the pine nuts used in Italian cuisine. Enterprising New Mexicans have blended them with coffee to produce a novel variation on the coffee theme. I brewed some up for in-depth analysis, incidentally coincidental with break time.

I could not taste a distinctive pine nut flavor. It tastes to me like coffee. However, there is something going on there. The coffee has a smooth finish that could have fooled me into believing it was a blend of coffees or a special variety of coffee. It was not like a double expresso cut with rocket fuel. It was civilized.

I wouldn’t be surprised if taste buds with more expertise could pick up nut flavors. All I can say is that is sure tasted good.

I found my pound of piñon coffee at Trader Joe’s, the specialty food market chain. It’s sold on-line directly by the New Mexico Piñon Coffee Company. They also sell Texas Piñon and Colorado Piñon varieties. I suggest tasting it with some friends. Thoughtfully roll a sip in your mouth and declare, “They say that’s New Mexico, but it sure tastes like Colorado.”