In this special 30th episode, we sit down with Ryan Castelaz, founder of Discourse Coffee and author of "The New Art of Coffee." Ryan shares his unconventional journey from aspiring opera singer to coffee entrepreneur, and reveals how he transformed a tiny shop in a town of 600 people into a thriving hospitality group.
Ryan Castelaz is the Founder of Discourse Coffee & The Afterglow Group
Author of "The New Art of Coffee"
Creator of Agency (Milwaukee's James Beard-nominated hybrid cocktail lounge)
Instagram: @ryan.castelaz
Website: discourse.coffee
"The New Art of Coffee" - Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, William Sonoma, Onyx Coffee Labs
0:00 - Intro
0:52 - Building Discourse
2:50 - From Flavor Science to Coffee Innovation
3:37 - Head in the Clouds, Feet on the Ground
6:43 - Building Pathways of Trust with Customers
8:29 - Why People Will Still Come to Cafes
11:41 - From Opera Singer to Espresso
15:32 - Three Essential Rules for Opening a Cafe
17:50 - The Crawl, Walk, Run Model
23:19 - Inside "The New Art of Coffee"
27:32 - The Fourth Wave
32:25 - "Your Audience Isn't Ready"
34:39 - The Co-Fermented Coffee Debate
40:50 - Matrix Reference
46:18 - How to Start Creating Drinks
50:26 - Ideas Choose You
53:15 - Where to Find Ryan