Move over pumpkin spice latte, there’s a fall pick-me-up drink that is better — and feels like you are treating yourself to a cocktail.
Instead of a PSL, try Spiller Park Coffee’s PSWLU (Pear Sage We Love You). This drink offers autumnal flavors, sweetness, spice, complexity, balance, a kick and a refreshing fizz.
After all, we’re still in pear season, and Spiller Park owner Dale Donchey said that he is “without a doubt, a pear-over-apples kind of guy.“
The pear sage espresso tonic, as it also is known, was envisioned as a fall elixir — refreshing and restorative. It balances sweet, savory and bitter flavors to make one complex cocktail.
Yes, I called it a cocktail, not a mocktail. It’s too delicious and sophisticated for that latter term. Sophisticated? Yes. It’s much like the moment at a fancy café when ordering an espresso for the first time. The espresso arrives on a tray in an elf-sized demitasse cup with a tiny spoon and a sidecar of seltzer. Spiller Park just rolls the experience into a glass.
The thirst quencher begins with pear puree — made from “the softest, sweetest pears,” Donchey said. It also incorporates a fairly strong, house-made sage syrup, with a touch of lemon juice. This lovely pear medley then is added to a glass and iced.
Much of the flavor in this drink relies on the quality of the espresso. Spiller Park uses Intelligentsia’s Black Cat Classic. “By itself, it carries a bright cherry, cashew and dark chocolate note,” Donchey said. It adds a depth to the PSWLU’s flavor, and seamlessly balances the sweetness of the pear puree while still holding up to the fizz.
And, the room-temperature seltzer water balances the bitter espresso. Cold seltzer would dull the fruity notes of the espresso, and would shock the coffee, bringing out bitterness.
Besides being sweet and savory, the drink has a pleasant bitter edge as the bubbles pull herbaceous notes and tannins from the coffee.
But, before you take a sip, admire the layered and colorful beauty — as if you were a leaf peeper pulling over at a scenic overlook.
The PSWLU is available at Spiller Park locations until Nov. 1, when it will be replaced by a hyper local pecan pie latte.
Spiller Park Coffee. Multiple locations, spillerpark.com
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