All too often, great coffee has the reputation of a weird art film: “pretentious and inaccessible.” But Tim Taylor knows it doesn’t have to be that way — because fantastic coffee isn’t just for hipsters. That’s why Tim — not to be confused with Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor — started Pedestrian Coffee: to get great coffee into the hands of everyday people. Tim’s first encounter with coffee was not an ideal one: “I had a Folgers experience when I was 5,” says Tim. As a result, he didn’t go back to coffee for a very long time. But years later, while attending college and trying his hand at a variety of jobs — from forest firefighting in Oregon to checking in travelers at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport — Tim discovered the wonders of coffee. Soon enough, Tim found himself wanting to find out what makes a truly great cup of coffee. Immersing himself in the coffee world, he learned about the entire process, from farming to roasting to preparation and more. Tim learned that coffee is a cross-cultural collaboration involving folks from diverse backgrounds and languages — and represents an opportunity to make sure farmers are fairly paid. Seeing that ordinary people were often discouraged from enjoying specialty coffee because of the culture (and cost), Tim decided to combine his passion for ethical sourcing with his desire to introduce everyday people to fantastic coffee. As a result, Tim started a farm-to-table roastery and retailer in 2008, which became Chicago’s acclaimed Ipsento Coffee. A decade later, Ipsento was flourishing, and it was time for a new adventure. So it was that Pedestrian Coffee was born, with a continuing mission to get extraordinary coffee into the hands of everyday people, in both cafés and homes alike. It’s an adventure that Tim’s excited about and which involves his whole family, as two of his four kids have already been with him on international trips to coffee farms. He also serves on the board of the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, which governs the renowned Cup of Excellence competition in rewarding coffee growers of exceptional quality.