Conan talks to The Forest Farmers co-founder Mike in Lake Placid about the versatility of birch sap and for a special Chill Chums syrup taste test. Wanna get a chance to talk to Conan? Submit here: teamcoco.com/apply Get access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using this show link: https://siriusxm.com/conan.
Chapter 1: Who is Mike and where is he from?
Hello, Mike. It's good to talk to you. Tell us, Mike, where are you talking to us from right now? Where are you in the world?
I am in Lake Placid, New York, up in the Adirondack Mountains. I don't know if you've been here before, but it's a beautiful spot. I've been here for about 20 years. I'm raising three wonderful kids, and I get to work out in the woods of the Adirondack Mountains all day.
Chapter 2: What is the significance of Lake Placid and the Adirondacks?
This sounds kind of perfect. I have been up to Lake Placid. And of course, Lake Placid, am I correct? Is that the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid?
1980 and 1932.
Yes. Okay. I wasn't around for that one.
Potentially 2026 for the sliding sports. We're going to find out.
I just got the word about that. It's not happening. I'm the first one they talk to.
The sliding sports?
Yeah, I'll tell you later. It's a whole thing. I'm on the board.
Oh, those.
Yeah, the sports where you lay still and gravity does it all.
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Chapter 3: What is The Forest Farmers company and what do they produce?
So I don't know very many others.
Okay, so Conan, why have you not used the Adirondack chair for the Subway S'mores then?
Chapter 4: What types of tree syrups exist besides maple syrup?
Well, we should have an Adirondack chair the next time we're outside, and I'm going to demand one. And then I want to keep it at the end of the night, and I don't want to pay for it.
I want it to be courtesy of the Team Cocoa machine, which means basically it ends up coming out of my... I know some people who make Adirondack chairs, so if you decide to go with it.
I just think that's a fantastic chair, the Adirondack chair. Check it out. It is, it is, it is. Tell us, what do you do? What is your profession? How do you make your way in this cruel world?
Chapter 5: How do different tree syrups taste compared to maple syrup?
About 10 years ago, I founded a company called The Forest Farmers. We and my business partners, we own 10,000 acres of forest land here in the Adirondacks and Vermont. And we collect sap from lots of different tree species and turn it into syrups and sugars and all sorts of beverages and delicious food.
So basically, let me cut to the chase.
You're in the maple syrup business. Not just maple syrup, but other tree syrups as well, yes. Maple syrup is our number one thing. I didn't know there were other tree syrups. What other tree syrups are there? We do birch, beech, and walnut, and there's another five species that we could do, but we're not in the right part of the country to do that.
Okay. That's strange to me. I mean, maple is the go-to, and it's suddenly like you're saying, oh, no, there's another kind of Kleenex other than Kleenex. There's Zorzabar tissues. Yeah. So describe what does it taste like? How is it different beech from maple? Or is that just an impossible thing to describe?
No, no. So every different tree syrup tastes a little bit different. Some are very different than others. And it has to do, you know, a lot of types of sugars that are present in the sap and then how you boil it down. Right, right. Beach syrup tastes similar to maple, but with more like a raisiny fig type of complex to it.
I'm glad you asked this because actually we have a syrup taste test to do.
I have no palate.
Let's bring them in. We have syrups here that we're going to try.
This is fantastic. So I had sent syrups for each of the three chill chums. So then you can each have a syrup. Oh, look at this. This looks like Jager bombs. That is each, you know.
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Chapter 6: What is the truth about commercial supermarket syrup?
Chapter 7: What syrups are included in the Chill Chums syrup taste test?
You're in the maple syrup business. Not just maple syrup, but other tree syrups as well, yes. Maple syrup is our number one thing. I didn't know there were other tree syrups. What other tree syrups are there? We do birch, beech, and walnut, and there's another five species that we could do, but we're not in the right part of the country to do that.
Okay. That's strange to me. I mean, maple is the go-to, and it's suddenly like you're saying, oh, no, there's another kind of Kleenex other than Kleenex. There's Zorzabar tissues. Yeah. So describe what does it taste like? How is it different beech from maple? Or is that just an impossible thing to describe?
No, no. So every different tree syrup tastes a little bit different. Some are very different than others. And it has to do, you know, a lot of types of sugars that are present in the sap and then how you boil it down. Right, right. Beach syrup tastes similar to maple, but with more like a raisiny fig type of complex to it.
I'm glad you asked this because actually we have a syrup taste test to do.
I have no palate.
Let's bring them in. We have syrups here that we're going to try.
This is fantastic. So I had sent syrups for each of the three chill chums. So then you can each have a syrup. Oh, look at this. This looks like Jager bombs. That is each, you know.
Oh, wait. Should I wait till we do it? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let's wait. Let's wait. Okay.
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Chapter 8: When is the best time to harvest maple syrup?
It doesn't matter. The fan's gone. You know what I love?
I'm going to put that part in.
This guy... Up in the northern reaches of New York, who gets syrup out of a tree, his computer went down. Big shock. His computer is made of balsa wood. It probably runs on sap. You know, there's there's like a falcon. What's that?
I'm reading this thing. There's this is dark, robust maple syrup for Sona. Since she is traditional and sweet.
Oh, that's so nice. Oh, so these are each tailored to us.
Normal syrup that we make it on Earth.
Yeah, but we're all going to taste all of them, I think. So the first one is the pure maple. Can you read that again?
Yours is nutty. Probably real nutty.
All right. Well, listen, this gentleman is not with us at the moment. Can he hear us? I don't think so. He's not on yet. Well, I just think this gentleman who we're talking to, Mike, who makes the maple syrup, his connection has gone down. Yeah. Because I don't think they have Wi-Fi yet in Lake Placid, New York. And that's going to cost them the Olympics if they can't get it together.
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