Marley Coffee, a partner company of Marley Beverage Company, LLC (makers of Marley’s Mellow Mood), showcased its ground, whole bean and single-serving packages of coffees, particularly the Jamaica Blue Mountain line, which is grown, processed and packaged on their certified organic, 52-acre Jamaican coffee farm. The chairman, Rohan Marley, bought the farm 11 years ago and is dedicated to sustainability and paying his local workers above a living wage, says Brent Toevs, CEO of Marley Coffee.

The Marley family’s charity called Kicks for Cause donates three cents of every Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee product to help build playable soccer fields and camps for school children in coffee-producing countries, which is currently undergoing at a school next to the farm. Kicks for Cause isn’t Marley’s only charity; all Marley companies are involved with 1Love (www.1love.org) to give back to the community in honor of Bob Marley’s dreams for world peace and love. Marley Beverage Company and Marley’s Coffee have partnered to make the RTD, bottled coffee beverage, One Drop, which also donates a percentage of sales to 1Love.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine (online 9/24/12)