I’ve mentioned Mark Inman of the 100% fair trade Taylor Maid Farms a few times, but haven’t actually talked much about the company — or about Mark, for that matter.

Honestly, I’ve been a lil too overwhelmed by all the cool stuff that Mark has done — and is still doing — to put together a cogent post. Taylor Maid Farms is really at the forefront of figuring out what a green coffee company can and should be. “The goal of the company’s to push the concept on a green business can do,” Mark says.

A self-described “reckless entrepreneur,” Mark points out that, for a lot of the green innovations that Taylor Maid Farms undertakes, there’s no immediate financial “need” for them. “When I first got started, people thought I was a joke,” Mark says. “We didn’t NEED a new roater.”

But Mark wanted to push the limits on what was possible. “I would be bored if I wasn’t doing something new.”

So the guy invented a smokeless roater. And now, not only does he run an organic, biodynamic farm, he trains others to do likewise. When his concepts succeed, Mark says he’s not proprietarial about them. “We want people to copy us,” he says. “The more people that are in the industry, the more the industry changes.”

Furthermore, as a member of the board of directors for the SCAA, the guy’s been involved with the UN on Sustainainable Coffee Partnership. He’s also been involved with the US Senate, and was instrumental in recently getting the US back into the International Coffee Organisation (ICO). Both these’ll be discussed in future posts :)

What now for Taylor Maid Farms? Mark’s planning to open some “fully green cafes,” the first of which’s to open next year. And lately, his coffee’s been getting into the more luxury hotels — You can find Taylor Maid Farms coffee at Casa del Mar and Shutters on the Beach, two bougie Santa Monica hotels where I’ve been to for drinks — the less-caffeinated, more-alcoholic kind.

And of course, Taylor Maid Farms provides what really should be basics for all companies — full benefits, pension plans, etc. Plus, “I have no designs on going public,” Mark says.

Wanna support Mark’s work? You can find Taylor Maid Farms coffees in any Whole Foods — as well as many other green grocers — or buy the coffee online. The next time I’m in NoCal, I’ll definitely be paying him a visit –

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