Photos: Discourse Coffee via Radio Milwaukee
Discourse Coffee
The Burnt Lemonade, Parisian and Meowy Jane from Discourse Coffee.
Discourse Coffee, known for creative, experimental craft beverages, will open a European-style all-day café at Radio Milwaukee, 220 E. Pittsburgh Ave. Community members will be able to sample offerings from Discourse at a pop-up from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. during each day of Radio Milwaukee’s fall membership drive, October 2-6 and October 9-13. The building will also be open to the public.
Discourse’s café at Radio Milwaukee is expected to open in January 2024. It will feature a full beverage program that includes an espresso bar, zero- and low-proof spritzes, cocktails, and a curated selection of beer and wine, along with a seasonal food menu and patisserie. And music will definitely be part of the café.
Discourse currently has two cafes in Milwaukee, one at the Milwaukee Public Museum, and a location in downtown Milwaukee at 1020 N. Broadway.
Ryan Castelaz, founder and creative director of Discourse, opened his “liquid workshop” in Door County in 2017. The artist and musician has since built a reputation as a beverage alchemist, infusing locally sourced and scratch-made syrups, along with exotic bitters and powders, into coffee and tea drinks. Discourse was featured in a 2018 episode of “Wisconsin Foodie.”
In 2021, Castelaz started doing pop-ups in Milwaukee and relocated the business from Door County to Milwaukee. Discourse opened its first coffee counter in Milwaukee at Crossroads Collective Food Hall.
While Discourse offers more straightforward coffee, including pour over and by-the-cup tea, they’re known for experimental concoctions where layers of flavors deftly unfold with each sip. Examples include the Motorhead, which combines pork fat and apple caramel with root beer bitters and granny smith apple powder. The Odd Duck features a combination of local candy cap mushrooms, toasted fenugreek, sweet soy sauce and sous vide coffee, dusted with passionfruit powder. Castelaz is author of the book, The New Art of Coffee: From Morning Cup to Caffeine Cocktail.
“We are incredibly excited for this partnership with Radio Milwaukee as we view this cafe as the full evolution of what we want Discourse Coffee to be,” states Castelaz in a press release. “Radio has been an important part of my life for a long time and the way Radio Milwaukee approaches storytelling and music discovery strongly parallels the way we aim to tell stories through flavor at Discourse.”
Radio Milwaukee (WYMS-88.9FM) launched in 2007 and purchased its Walker’s Point home in 2012 after a community-supported capital campaign. Stone Creek Coffee was a tenant in the building from 2013 to 2020. Discourse plans to renovate the existing cafe and will add a small kitchen.
To learn more about the partnership between Discourse and Radio Milwaukee, check out radiomilwaukee.org/podcast/this-bites/2023-09-15/discourse-coffee-radio-milwaukee.
For more information Discourse Coffee, visit discourse.coffee. For more information about Radio Milwaukee, visit radiomilwaukee.org.
