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Ultimately, we are storytellers. For the last 25 years, Narrative Drink Making
we as coffee professionals have diligently told the stories of Prep
Photo / Kevin Miyazaki
the producers, processors, and purveyors whose work comes Espresso, tobacco smoke, Sicilian olive oil, egg white,
before our own, doing our best to honor the products they and a frozen bullet.
have painstakingly created. While this is a noble cause, and When listed out of context, this drink reads more like
one to be held close as we evolve, I believe firmly that as the setup to a joke than it does the build to one of our most
baristas, we are so much more than a mouthpiece for those infamous creations. Context creates a connection.
who have come before. We contain multitudes, bursting with The combination was inspired by the infamous Don
passion and brimming with story. We can and should be Vito Corleone from Francis Ford Coppola’s seminal 1972
empowered to express ourselves through the products we film “The Godfather”. With this context, the ingredients
serve: to surrender to the power of play. begin to come into focus. The Don (which became the name
Best of all, in my decade of experience in this industry, of this creation) would certainly take his espresso straight,
the harder we play, the more we profit. Everybody wins. with a cigar in his left hand. As an homage to the source of

The harder we play,

WKH PRUH ZH SURÀW

Everybody wins.

Don Corleone’s wealth, I knew Sicilian olive oil needed to traditional espresso drinks like cappuccinos, cortados, and
make an appearance, and thus egg white was required to join lattes. More importantly, however, while we sold only 30%
the oil and water-based ingredients together into a single more craft and experimental drinks, these drinks generated
silky serve. Last but not least, in an effort to avoid dilution TWICE the revenue of our classic drinks, responsible for
and drive home our story, the Don was served on a single more than 50% of our overall revenue in 2023.
frozen bullet, precariously pointed towards the drinker. We exist in a swirling nebula of stories. They are
Without the underlying story as context, my brain inescapable. From film and TV, to music and media, to the
would never have combined these ingredients in a glass. stories we tell ourselves, story is the language of our lives.
Pursuing innovation for the sheer purpose of innovation The act of leveraging the power of story in your creations
rarely results in an impactful outcome, often feeling forced, is called narrative drink-making, and is the core practice
baseless, and inauthentic. But pursuing innovation to tell of our teams at Discourse.
more vibrant and transparent stories can create a sea change Now, I know what you’re probably thinking.
in the way our drinks are perceived, as well as the price that “But Ryan, we struggle to get our guests past lavender
our guests are willing to pay to partake in them. lattes and pumpkin spice! How in the world are we going to
From January to December 2023, we sold 26,500 craft convince them to try something this weird?!”
and experimental lattes like the Don, in comparison to 19,000 I hear you. Let’s start at the beginning.

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