One building featured samples of Colombian and cinnamon buttercream-flavored coffee. Another had cups of orange lemongrass tea alongside blackberry and mocha cold brews.

In between sampling the different roasts, visitors could meet sloths, visit an aquarium, and catch the last day of an orchid show.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning.

The mixture of coffee, tea, and animals took place Sunday at the Toledo Zoo’s annual “Slow Brew at the Zoo.”

“I love coffee and I love local coffee shops, so I wanted to check it out,” said Corey Calvin, a furnace equipment salesman from Perrysburg.

He was joined by his former co-worker and fellow salesman Megan Earle, who said she got the tickets for them as a Christmas present.

“We used to make coffee every single morning at work,” Ms. Earle said. “It was our special little morning treat, so this was a great way to get out and try a bunch of local places that we haven’t tried yet.”

Seventeen Toledo-area coffee and tea vendors were spread across the zoo to showcase their custom brews of coffee and tea, with 1,200 eager coffee drinkers showing up on a chilly Sunday morning to try the different varieties.

Besides unlimited coffee and tea samples, the $35 tickets included a collectible mug, live animal demonstrations, and zoo admission. 

Drew Longmore, the zoo’s development events manager, said ticket sales have doubled since the event first started several years ago. All of the vendors are local, she said, whether they’re roasters or have a brick-and-mortar store.

“People love it,” Ms. Longmore said. “They’re just all about their coffee. By the time the end of the event comes, they’re buzzing.”

One of the vendors was Matthew “Ro” Wrozek with Queen Bee & Honey, a small coffee shop inside Hoen’s Garden Center in Holland.

“We’re kind of known for our cold brew,” Mr. Wrozek said. “Most cold brews are either very acidic or very bitter. We figured out a way, with the right water purification systems, to pull out the wrong things and keep the right things in.”

It was clearly a hit: The booth, nestled inside the Carnivore Cafe and surrounded by plants, was packed.

“The line that you see here has been nonstop,” Mr. Wrozek said. “We have not taken a break to even drink anything.”

On the other side of the zoo, the Malawi Event Center was just as popular.

Sitting at a table were Beth and Jon Fowler of Sylvania, sipping samples from Swanton-based Doodle Bean Coffee. The Fowlers said they had been to the zoo before, but this was their first time at Slow Brew.

“There are a lot of different coffees here, and we really like them all so far,” Mr. Fowler said.

Flatlands Coffee of Bowling Green was another vendor in the Malawi Event Center. 

“I always describe how good of a day I’m having based on how much coffee I drink,” Ben Vollmar, Flatlands’ founder, said. Mr. Vollmar said this is the coffee shop’s third year participating in Slow Brew.

“It’s super exciting to have that person-to-person interaction and be able to serve people,” he said, “and as a guest, to be able to have a good time and try something at every booth.”

Also at the Flatlands booth was Mr. Vollmar’s 9-year-old son, Oliver.

When asked about his favorite part of the event, Oliver said that he “liked making people happy and seeing the smiles on their faces.”

First Published February 23, 2025, 9:38 p.m.