More than your average cup: Nerve, at former McAllen service station, tunes up its coffee clientele

The Apple Pie Latte is apple flavored syrup and buttercrust cold foam with a double espresso served over ice and garnished with a dried apple slice. (Francisco E. Jimenez | The Monitor)

McALLEN — It is not easy making the transition from vacation mode back into work mode, but that is the situation I find myself in as I type this.

The feeling of switching my work email to “do no disturb” was oddly therapeutic. The flood of emails after I turned it off Monday morning made me want to go back to therapy.

Any ounce of optimism and rejuvenation has dissipated quicker than a Rio Grande Valley cold front, and I am slowly starting to feel my regular apathy and general numbness to the unbearable weight of existence, which means I am back and ready to work.

I also happen to be at Nerve Coffee, which is definitely helping to make the transition more bearable.

During our much needed and all too short vacation, my girlfriend and I visited a distillery that specialized in an array of spirits. I had to try the moonshine sampler, which included nearly a dozen different flavors.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the apple moonshine. I’ve found myself telling my friends about it in the same way Rick Sanchez talks about McDonald’s discontinued Szechuan sauce.

With the apple nectar still fresh in my mind, I decided to try the Apple Pie Latte, one of Nerve Coffee’s seasonal beverages. I also ordered a cold brew served to my usual preference with a splash of whole milk and some vanilla syrup.

The coffee shop was surprisingly — or maybe not so surprisingly to the regulars — full. Finding a place to sit was a challenge, but I did manage to find a single chair with a small side table near the restrooms. Despite the less than stellar seating situation, the entire experience was great.

I overheard one of the baristas tell a customer that the building was originally built as a service station. If you look at the architecture, it’s easy to make out the era. Nerve Coffee has maintained the old building’s original charm with its rounded wall large windows, which serve as a constant distraction to a certain reporter who just can’t help but stare at the dark clouds and rain droplets running down to the ground.

Nerve Coffee is located at 200 N. Main St. in McAllen, in a building that originally served as a service station. (Francisco E. Jimenez | The Monitor)

They have also done a nice job of getting into the holiday spirit with some Christmas decorations throughout the shop, but I’m just not feeling it yet.

I’ve seen plenty of talk about seasonal depression as a result of daylight saving time, but nobody ever talks about the psychological damage of having to hear Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas” while grocery shopping at H-E-B when the weather outside is a frightful 87-degrees in November.

Have a doomy gloomy Christmas, Burl.

Despite the lingering urge to scream “​​Bah humbug!” to the next person who inconveniences me, I am not a Scrooge. I’m just tired. It’s been a long year. As the late great Merle Haggard once sang, “If we make it through December, everything’s gonna be alright, I know.”

Places like Nerve Coffee are also a pleasant reminder that there are good things worth appreciating, even if it’s just a simple cup of coffee. And Nerve Coffee is serving up more than your average cup.

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The cold brew, left, was brewed with 956 Blend coffee beans which are roasted at Edinburg’s Grind Coffee Co. The Apple Pie Latte is apple flavored syrup and buttercrust cold foam with a double espresso served over ice and garnished with a dried apple slice. (Francisco E. Jimenez | The Monitor)

Nerve Coffee is located at 200 N. Main St. in McAllen, in a building that originally served as a service station. It has maintained the old building’s original charm with its rounded wall large windows. (Francisco E. Jimenez | The Monitor)

Nerve Coffee is located at 200 N. Main St. in McAllen, in a building that originally served as a service station. (Francisco E. Jimenez | The Monitor)

The Apple Pie Latte is apple flavored syrup and buttercrust cold foam with a double espresso served over ice and garnished with a dried apple slice. (Francisco E. Jimenez | The Monitor)

Nerve Coffee is located at 200 N. Main St. in McAllen, in a building that originally served as a service station. (Francisco E. Jimenez | The Monitor)

The Apple Pie Latte is apple flavored syrup and buttercrust cold foam with a double espresso served over ice and garnished with a dried apple slice. The drink is ridiculously good and well balanced. The depth from the espresso’s roasty flavor is carried by the subtle sweetness of the apple syrup. The buttercrust cold foam adds a creamy warmness to the iced drink that ties it together nicely.

The cold brew was brewed with 956 Blend coffee beans which are roasted at Edinburg’s Grind Coffee Co., and it was delicious. The Madagascar vanilla syrup added sweetness without taking away from the coffee’s complex flavor profile of chocolate and berry.

It was my first visit to the shop, and it definitely won’t be my last. If you haven’t given Nerve Coffee a try, now is as good a time as ever. You won’t be disappointed, even if you sit next to the bathrooms.

Nerve Coffee is located at 200 N. Main St. in McAllen. They are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

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