Ryan Castelaz isn't one to do things along a projected plan or path. All about playfulness, passion, and creating story, Discourse Coffee's CEO gave me, and the patrons coming up to the window for their morning bursts of cupped delight, the scoop that their summer residency is continuing until at least the new year at Urbanbelly in Wicker Park (1542 N Damen). And while the menu will change from things like the Go Light (Matcha, tomato shrub, passion fruit, soda, chili lime sun gold tomato) and the Well Mannered Goat (Espresso, goat and oat milk blend, pistachio orgeat, lemon pepper, olive oil, strawberry peppercorn maple buttered popcorn powder, yuzu salt), luckily Ryan (with such a presence he deserves a first name basis) and the Discourse team have no shortage of ideas when it comes to beverages.
I had the extreme pleasure of not only watching Ryan create these complete liquid dishes with Michelin-star intrigue and attention, but got to taste each one he placed and told the tale of. There is truly no better experience than witnessing someone do what they love and having them be able to share that with you, to allow you a direct sensorial route into what drives them forward throughout the day, what keeps them awake at night, what scatters journals and messes up counters. Everything from the iconic Ramen Latte, sweeping the socials of every Chicagoan, featuring Urbanbelly's shoyu ramen broth, to Discourse's classic Motorhead with a pork fat and apple caramel inspired by Ryan's time with a butcher shop, to the simple yet profound sous vide coffee fermented alongside peaches with an aroma like walking unencumbered through a peach orchard. Ryan's creations wake up more than just your tired eyes, your palate will feel brave and ready for new beginnings and twists. His favorite thing: taking something that shouldn't taste good, and making it the most satisfying experience you've ever had. I spoke with Ryan about breaking coffee culture out of rote paths, how much failure comes into play when creating greatness, and the flavors to come that will continue to pay homage to Wisconsin and embrace new beginnings here in Chicago.
Coffee and tea culture has expanded so far beyond cold brew and drip. What inspires you to take something that can be an absentminded daily step into something special, savored and unexpected?
Excellent question! At our core, we're storytellers, so the work we do really comes as second nature to us. Third Wave coffee was all about the stories of the producers, and that is part of what made it so sticky and relatable to people all over the world. There were new heros to support, and new stories to lose ourselves within.
At Discourse, while we celebrate the tremendous stories of our producing partners, our focus is on the stories of our baristas, the stories of our communities, and the stories of our world as it stands, as it was, and as we envision it could be. Translating and relaying these stories in liquid form is the essence of what we do, and while this process can often lead to some off the wall flavor combinations, and the application of modern techniques and technologies more often seen in high end kitchens or cocktail bars, all of this is employed in the name of telling better stories.
What is the trial and error for these flavor combinations?
Some drinks come together quickly, and others can take dozens of iterations to perfect. The process of translation from story to drink is often relatively complex, and its something I talk alot about in my book, The New Art of Coffee: From Morning Cup to Caffeine Cocktail.
Some stories write themselves, like Flora, a lavender latte with rose water and candied lemon powder, inspired by the incredible lavender grown on Washington Island, just a few miles north from our original location in Door County, Wis., or the Don, a wistful combination of Sicilian olive oil, espresso, tobacco, and Orange adorned with a frozen bullet, inspired by mob boss Vito Corleone.
Others can prove much more difficult, like trying to encapsulate the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail in a glass, which became an imagining of the surely fermented red wine we envisioned housed within the grail and led to us freezing coconut water hand grenades for house made coffee "lambrusco" atop a fog of elderberry tea.
The core evaluation criterion is nearly always "does this meaningfully add to the composition as whole" and "does this serve to tell a clearer story". If the answer to those two questions is a no, the element is removed.
The flavors for the Urbanbelly residency are very much keeping summer alive. What combos do you bring in when you transition into fall that take us out of our pumpkin spice, cinnamon boxes?
We absolutely LOVE fall here at Discourse! We always offer one or two riffs on the genre defining PSL, exploring ways to expand the possibilities of pumpkin, and this year we'll be exploring the marriage of roasted kabocha squash, corn milk, fresh and carbonic grape, and anise hyssop.
Two of our all time favorites that will be returning this year are Clyde, a captivating combination of Metolius chai, mango, tamarind, and nutmeg, and our Caramel Apple Bombs, inspired by the elusive perfect bite of a caramel apple, and consisting of a thin layer of cocoa butter filled with spiced apple cider and topped with housemade dulce de leche and a candied pecan.
We'll also be offering more off the wall combinations throughout the Fall, like matcha, sesame & pear, mandarin, hinoki & kumquat, and apple, duck & gooseberry. You may see cheddar pop up in or two of our Fall drinks as well! We are from Wisconsin after all.
The Discourse Coffee Urbanbelly Residency is open 7am to 2pm Thursday through Sunday at Urbanbelly's Wicker Park location at 1542 N. Damen.
