BURLINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) — “I have a passion for what we do. This is our 52nd season,” Rob Lamothe of Lamothe’s Sugar House, said of the current conditions. “I’d say it was kind of a sluggish year but right now, early March, we’ve made up for it, we’ve had some good runs this week.”

In order to make this beloved topping, maple syrup, there’s work, patience and science.

“Throughout our operation, we have 5600 taps that we know of,” he said, walking by the 360 acres in production, some leased by the state, showing that our woodlands can generate revenue.

There is 26 miles of tubing.

“Say you have a freezing cold night – 20 degrees – that’s perfect. By noon if its 40-45, we’re gonna have the sap run,” Lamothe explained. “Everything is pitched and it goes to that tank.”

Then it’s brought back to the sugar house, a high tech operation that smells delicious.

“That’s heavy sweet concentrate,” Lamothe said as he worked the evaporator, where the sap goes after it’s been through a reverse osmosis filtering process, siphoning off water.

“It’s got 2 percent sugar, what we want is to get the 2 percent sugar,” he said. “The evaporator is taking away, evaporating the rest of the water that we need to get the syrup density.”

This expert syrup maker shows the fascinating process to visitors of all ages on weekends.

When the temperature reaches two 219 degrees, syrup is made.

Lamothe loves what he does.

“I love being outside, I love being away from the phone,” he laughed, noting the purity, the tradition and the nice people he meets while making this sweet nectar.

“We just gave them an hour or so to get rid of their worries, enjoy some country hospitality and they give me back more than I give them,” Lamothe said with a smile.

A visit to the sugar house is free.

Lamothe hopes to be giving demos to the public through the end of March.