How We Tap Birch Trees For Nature's Purest Water!

We love to tap birch trees every spring and collect the pure sap that comes out having been drawn up from the ground and filtered through the birch tree trunk. It has a pure clean taste with a small amount of sweetness to it.

Birch sap, birch water or birch juice is the sap directly tapped from birch trees, Betula pubescens (white birch), Betula pendula (silver birch), Betula lenta, Betula papyrifera, and Betula fontinalis.

Birch sap may be consumed both fresh and naturally fermented. When fresh, it is a clear and uncoloured liquid, often slightly sweet with a slightly silky texture. After two to three days, the sap starts fermenting and the taste becomes more acidic.

Birch sap is a traditional beverage in boreal and hemiboreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere[1] as well as parts of northern China.

Our Story:
In 2018 we left the UK to come to Gita’s family homestead here in north Latvia, not far from the Estonian border and now we live somewhere nowhere in the middle of a forest in a house built by Gita’s grandfather. We’re videoing our journey and trying to give you some insights into how we’re living here.

[FrankPagan-dk]

Nice to know for survival purposes too 😉👍

[Brian-obck]

There are some that would say one should not tap birch every year, but every other. That only birch of 8" diameter or better should be tapped.
Others that would say much precaution should be taken with sterility of tools as birch's are not as robust as maples and are prone to infection.
The sap is about 100:1 if you intend to make syrup. Night temperatures should be above freezing for the sap to flow.

[moonflower]

how long did it fill the bucket with those trees, and can you tap trees year round? wonderful video btw!

[sandipaul]

Questions:
1.When collecting the sap, what do you have over your buckets?
2. Do you have to boil ot afterwards?
3. Do you have to sterilize the jars
4. How long will they keep?
5. Do you have to refrigerate it?
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

[marutakelers]

I'm wondering what it was you dropped into the jars?

[vincemacdonald]

What do you do for filtered water for the rest of the year?

[chrishamilton-wearing]

What did you drop into the bottle just before sealing it ?