30 - The Fourth Wave of Coffee with Ryan Castelaz

Equal Parts Coffee Podcast • January 26, 2026

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Ryan Castelaz Guest 90% RULES Login to Follow

Description

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

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