The Carmelite monks of Wyoming provide an instructive example of how even religious institutions may become involved in commercial operations that produce significant income, with less-than-transparent operations and greed leading to serious repercussions for an organization – so much so that this scandal forced them to close down their business and sell off land owned by them. Furthermore, its lessons emphasize the significance of honesty and integrity in commercial ventures, keeping consumers’ trust as crucial elements to ensuring long-term success.

Carmelite monks at Clark, Wyoming’s Carmelite monastery had an ambition of building a Catholic monastery nearby the town. To raise money for their project, they started selling premium gourmet coffee online under the name Mystic Monk Coffee; by providing repeat customers and building brand recognition they hoped that repeat orders would increase as sales began increasing.

Brother Elias, known to his friends and associates as “Brother Java,” was the master roaster for Mystic Monk Coffee. Working six to eight hours each day while spending 8 hours in prayer and worship, his job consisted of sifting and grinding beans for roasting, packing and shipping orders directly from his monastery as well as advertising and marketing. Two other monks assisted him in production and sales efforts through word of mouth promotion of product placement at local Catholic parishes as well as through an affiliate program offering commission payments when secular websites drove traffic towards Mystic Monk Coffee website.

As of 2007, Mystic Monk had earned annual revenues of $1 million through their coffee sales. They offered several varieties including whole bean and ground caffeinated and decaffeinated varieties as well as cowboy blend, royal rum pecan, mystic chants of carmel coffee. One popular product among their offerings was 12-ounce bags of whole bean brew mix which cost $9 each.

Mystic Monk sold its coffee online and wholesale to churches and coffee shops. Frequent buyers could take advantage of free shipping when making three or more bags purchases; additionally, their website offered other items, including T-shirts with monk Gregorian chants as well as CDs featuring monk Gregorian chants from their monks.

The Monks encountered difficulties in their fundraising effort as well. Developers of Irma Lake Ranch, a golf course and resort community, objected to their use of their land for religious fundraising by the Monks, seeking to prevent them from purchasing the development land at all. After several legal battles and negative publicity ensuing from Mystic Monks Scandal legal battles were resolved with them buying development land at less than its original cost; unfortunately this damaged their reputation and caused many people to withdraw support for them while raising questions regarding roles money and power within religion itself.