Changing the coffee conversation, the innovative mind behind Discourse Coffee

MILWAUKEE (CBS58) – When we think of coffee, we think quick, convenient, and this better wake me up. But at Discourse Coffee in downtown Milwaukee... Founder and Creative Director of Discourse, Ryan Castelaz, is imagining coffee differently.

"We want to create a new impassioned conversation around coffee, a new discourse around coffee, and that really is where the name originated. this idea of starting a new conversation,” said Castelaz.

This revived conversation and innovative wave of coffee started in a small town of just 500 people in Door County.

"We found this space in this almost abandoned association of shops. it was probably about half full at the time in Sister Bay, Wisconsin called Country Rock Shops,” said Castelaz.

While it wasn’t an ideal spot for a coffee shop, Ryan wanted the coffee to be the destination, not just the place you go, on your way to somewhere else.

'How do we make coffee this really destination-style experience, so I started looking to restaurants and cocktail bars that had done that really successfully that were very out of the way and yet still had guest books that were booked out for two years. what were the strategies that these people were employing and what I ended up finding after this research was that the common denominator of all of it was story,” said Castelaz.

That is when Ryan and his team started to play with the idea of blurring the two worlds of coffee and storytelling.

"We call it ‘narrative drink’ making so essentially what we do is we start with a story, and we use the language we’ve created to tell that story through drinks. so there very much a language we speak and a language that flavors speak, textures speak, and temperatures speak, and presentations speak, and all of these things are subconsciously communicating with us whether we know it or not we realize it during the drinking experience,” said Castelaz.

For the last seven years discourse has been the exploration of what coffee can be and how it can evoke a feeling for the guest.

"When you come into discourse it’s much more than just a cup of coffee it's coming in to know us to know our stories, to know the things that matter to us, to know the community,” said Castelaz.

If curious about what is on the menu, you will find unique ingredients like root beer bitters, pork fat, and apple caramel which can be daunting at first glance.

"When you come in and you look at this menu and you see these ingredients and are explained this approach for many people this is the first time they’ve heard of coffee being approached this way and so to take a moment to rise from that discomfort to comfort with the help of the host and to now go through this journey of who are we, what do we do, why am I here, what should I get. it’s a really magical moment," said Castelaz.

last year Ryan wanted to share what he has learned over the years with you at home and published The New Art of Coffee.

"But for me, it's always been about how do we create, how do we motivate, how do we elevate the culture holistically. how do we provide resources for baristas for drink makers for dreams to be able to create this stuff,” said Castelaz.

Pavlina: "What is your hope for coffee, what is your hope for discourse?”

"That it continues to evolve in a way that values the barista as much as it does the farmer and the roaster and the importer. All of these people work so hard and they should be celebrated in every way shape and form. I hope for Discourse that we can be just some of the people that convince the world that this is possible,” said Castelaz.

To learn more about Discourse Coffee click HERE

To purchase The New Art of Coffee click HERE