INDUSTRY PROFILE
A passion project General Manager of Espressology Ged Ryan talks to BeanScene about the value of perfection and what customers really want in a post-COVID era.
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hen 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 18 it was a steep learning curve, but something that’s stayed with me ever since.” It followed Ged as he “dabbled” with barista competitions between 2001 and 2002, where he says his espresso and milk-based beverages were always “consistently perfect” because of the environment where he was taught. His signature drink however, was “terrible” – a simple piccolo latte that Ged says wouldn’t be comparable to the standard served in today’s World Barista Championship (WBC). Placing a respectable seventh signalled an early end to Ged’s competition career. He took a hiatus from coffee and travelled the world before pursuing work as a chartered accountant. After a few years in corporate tax, Ged saw Instaurator again at an annual luncheon. He expressed his fatigue with accounting and, just like that, was offered the role as Espressology General Manager on the spot. One month into his role, Ged went to the 2013 Melbourne International Coffee Expo. There, he attended one of the Coffee Logic Specialty Coffee Associationcertified training courses run by Sasha Jade
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Ged Ryan is the General Manager of Espressology.
of Fat Poppy Coffee Roasters. It was Ged’s first cupping experience and he was blown away by Sasha’s cupping knowledge and ability to articulate flavour characteristics. It was this discovery of flavour that helped transition Ged from a world of spreadsheets into coffee exploration. “I wanted to learn everything.
Instaurator took me under his wing and taught me how to run a business. I also picked up a lot of people skills from Rob Murrell, our Client Services Director. I tried to learn from those that had better skills than me in different areas,” Ged says. “Instaurator really is right. Espressology is an entrepreneur factory
