Campus Trees to Café Lattes: Bowdoin's Maple Tradition Yields Natural Treats for Students

"Tapping trees for me signifies the coming spring, the start of the season," said Lisa Beneman, supervisor of the Bowdoin Organic Garden. On a crisp, sunny morning in March, she was prepared to start the process at a stand of sugar maples and red maples near the garden.

"I do a lot of planning and computer work and ordering over the winter, and it's always exciting to get outside and start the physical, tangible part of the growing season."

This seaso, Beneman invited Evan Braude '28 to help her with the task. Braude, who grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, said, "I've always been interested in how maple syrup is made. And I love maple syrup, of course!"

Going back at least to 2014, Bowdoin's gardeners have made syrup from campus trees, collecting buckets of sap when the days begin to warm up but the nights stay below freezing.

Each year, Bowdoin's tapped maples produce-after the sap has been boiled down and concentrated-between five and ten gallons of syrup. Some of it gets used in a taste-testing event Beneman runs in Smith Union, where she challenges students to distinguish between natural and imitation store-bought syrup.

The rest goes to the Smith Union Café for drinks like maple lattes and maple steamers, which Beneman says beautifully showcase the delicate flavor of the silky syrup.