Whole Latte Love went to Birds, Bees & Brews

On May 1st, 2026 we attended Birds, Bees & Brews, a tasting event at the Seneca Park Zoo. Attendees were able to sample beer, cider, kombucha, and of course coffee from a wide range of local and regional producers and learn about the vital role that bees and other pollinators play in the production of those beverages. We sat down with Laura Gaenzler, the Community Science Coordinator for a brief interview to learn more about bees, beverages, and how the community can support populations of bees and other pollinators.

The Event

Our on-site team included myself, Zach, our Video Producer Mike, Sales Manager Allysa, and Scott who oversees customer retention and our Barista Assist Program. We ran a booth from 5:30 - 8:30 PM, talking coffee with guests and running an exclusive giveaway for attendees of the event.

If you were lucky enough to attend, we also offered a sneak peek of our upcoming Rwanda single-origin coffee, brewed up a simple and delicious Horchata Cold Brew that I’ll link below, and allowed attendees a closer “sniff” of in-house coffees.

Who Was There

A variety of local and regional beer, cider, and coffee companies were represented at the event, including a handful like Blue Toad Cider and Union Place Coffee Roasters who are right around the corner from Whole Latte Love HQ. The full list of attendees included:

Beer

Founders Brewing, Sloop Brewing, Troegs Independent Brewing, Stoneyard Brewing, Rising Storm Brewing, Big Ditch, Brewery Ommegang, Southern Tier Brewing Company

Cider

Blue Barn Cidery, Blake's Hard Cider, Meier's Creek Brewing, Downeast Cider House, Jack's Abby, Cider Creek Hard Cider, Blue Toad Cider

Coffee & Kombucha

Whole Latte Love, TiA Coffee, Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters, Union Place Coffee Roasters, Equal Grounds, Caphein Coffee & Co, Katboocha, Happy Gut Sanctuary

Additional companies include the Empire State Honey Producers Association and Athletic Brewing (N/A Beer).

Talking Pollinators with Laura Gaenzler

Laura Gaenzler is the Seneca Park Zoo's Community Science Coordinator and the person responsible for bridging the gap between science and animal biology and the everyday person who visits the zoo. We met with her in the Creatures from the River's Edge building to get more perspective on the role bees play in producing some of the beverages guests were enjoying at the event.

What are some key agricultural products here in NY State that rely on bee pollination?

It's going to be nut trees, fruits, wine. All of these products are going to be impacted by bee pollination.

How important are bees to the production of specialty beverages like coffee, beer, etc?

Even for all of these products, even if they are not pollinating those plants because a lot of these products do self pollination, they are so vital for the general ecosystem that is growing around those plants. So they are going to help the quality of the soil by having other plants growing and pollinating them, and also by having those other plants there that those native pollinators are pollinating. You're bringing in other insects that are going to take care of pest species that could be attacking the crops for these different specialty beverages.

If a plant is self-pollinating like coffee, what are the benefits of bee pollination to the plants?

So very similarly to the previous question, it's all about balancing the ecosystem and biodiversity. Even if a plant is self pollinating, you need the whole ecosystem working together to create an efficient ecosystem that's supporting those individual plants. But for coffee in particular, there's actually research that shows that bee pollination will create beans that have a stronger aroma and a more bold taste, apparently. So, even though they're self pollinating, bees still can play a part in affecting what that product tastes like.

Who are some of the leaders in protecting bees and other pollinators?

I'd like to honestly say just the community. Everybody that is living in a space that's shared with our pollinators. We are responsible for policies that are protecting our pollinators. We have our yards that we can create, pollinator spaces that they, these individuals, can live in year round.

So really it is us. We're the leaders. The community is what's going to determine what's best for our pollinators. The zoo, personally, we actually plant pollinator gardens around the city of Rochester and we also sell seed mixes.

What is your go-to coffee order?

It would be caramel. Oh my gosh. Caramel cappuccino is my go-to.

With regards to Laura’s comment regarding bee pollination and stronger aroma in coffee, an article published last January in Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment evaluated the impact of bee pollination on Arabica coffee grown at the CoopeTarrazú in Tarrazú Costa Rica. You can read more about their findings and their research methodology here, but suffice it to say that it’s a topic of interest within specialty coffee.

Single Origin Rwanda

One of the best reasons to stop by our booth was to get a sneak peek of our Rwanda single-origin coffee. This is an all-new, natural process Rwandan coffee that will be joining our lineup of single origins in Q2 of 2026.

We’re so excited that we brewed up several carafes worth for people to try and even designed limited edition 8oz bags that people could purchase at the event. We’re very excited to share this coffee with you, and to reveal the final bag design for the standard 1lb size, so keep your eyes peeled!

Smell Before we Sell

While we had several coffees including our new Rwanda for people to try at the booth, we wanted to let people get a closer look, or sniff, of all of the coffee we roast. To that end we used a product called the Squeaky HOM. It’s a unique lifestyle product that works like a perfume bottle, except filled with ground coffee instead.

The HOM won best new product in the “open class” at the 2025 SCA Expo. On that note, you can read about another award winning product, the Varia VS4 in the blog I’ve linked below.

We used the HOM to help attendees get to know our coffees a bit better in case they were looking to buy something.

Horchata Cold Brew

In addition to two different hot coffees, we also brought a dispenser of our Colombia Tolima cold brew for people to sample. But, we wanted to offer something a little extra, especially with Cinco de Mayo right around the corner.

Our resident Arizona expert Zach whipped up a batch of his Sonoran style horchata to blend with the cold brew (although people liked it quite a bit on its own as well). The recipe is flexible enough for hot and cold variations so you should definitely check it out!

Final Thoughts

Coffee is so much fun because of how connected it is with all kinds of people and professions. We had a great time talking with Laura and the rest of the team from the Seneca Park Zoo and of course the Rochester community. Don't forget to do your part to make the world a friendlier place for bees and other pollinators. The link might be a little tenuous at the moment, but quality of your daily buzz might be more closely linked to their buzz than you know!

Shop This Blog

Related Articles