When Ged Ryan started work as a barista the day after he finished his Higher School Certificate in October 2000, it was simply a means to fund his Schoolies trip to the Gold Coast the following month. But what he soon discovered, was that his casual induction into coffee couldn’t have fallen into better hands.
“My father had a silent share in a café that was owned by family friend and industry icon Instaurator [Founder of private label roaster Espressology] and Paul Jackson from Danes Specialty Coffee. The way I got taught how to make coffee was very meticulous. If [store manager] Phil St Clare Hobbs didn’t like how we extracted the espresso shot or made the foam on top of the coffee, it didn’t go out to clients,” Ged recalls.
“Perfection was everything, and at age
