A hot cup of coffee makes everything better—especially in the winter. No one knows this better than coffee shops located in places that experience freezing temperatures. In Upstate New York, near gorgeous Watkins Glen State Park, you can find Seneca Sunrise Coffee.

Operating out of a small shop south of Seneca Lake, Seneca Sunrise Coffee prides themselves on being a small batch coffee roaster. They sell coffee and espresso drinks in addition to products like honey, maple syrup, eggs and cheese that have been grown within a 50-mile radius.

After being in business for a few years, they had the opportunity to cater coffee for 300 people. They only owned equipment that would serve a handful of people, so they went to their local restaurant supply store where they purchased their first Cambro Camtainers.

“We brew the coffee here in-house and then take [the Camtainers] with us,” said Beheydt. “We’ve had coffee in there for over 16 hours, coming out still hot. Not just warm, but hot.”

That’s no small feat when temperatures in their neck of the woods consistently reach freezing.

“We love them, especially in the winter time when you need to keep the coffee hot. If it’s an outside event, you really need something like that to keep them warm,” said Beheydt.

Seneca Sunrise Coffee has at least one Camtainer in each size to ensure they’re prepared for any catering order, festival or farmer’s market they encounter that week.

“We haven’t replaced any one of them yet…we just keep adding on. We just bought another one a few weeks ago,” said Beheydt.

The driving force behind Seneca Sunrise Coffee is Beheydt’s wife, Mindi, who suffers from arthritis. She’s been drinking organic coffee for the last decade at the recommendation of her doctor. After switching to organic coffee, she noticed an improvement in her pain and a taste for the natural things in life. When a local coffee roaster wanted to call it quits, Mindi happily took the baton.

“She does all the roasting, she’s here fulltime. It’s pretty much a one-person operation,” said Beheydt.

Although all the coffee products at Seneca Sunrise Coffee are currently made from certified organic green coffee beans, they are hoping to become certified organic in 2020 after they complete their expansion project.

Visit www.senecasunrisecoffee.com to learn more about the offerings at Seneca Sunrise Coffee.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ADRIANA DESIDERIO IS THE DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER AT CAMBRO.