TARGET 120919
HARVESTING BIRCH TREE SAP IN EKATERINBURG
Collecting sap in a Birch OrchardEveryone knows that you can tap a maple tree, get its sap and make syrup from it. Also, you can tap a rubber tree and get the makings for rubber. You can also get the juices from the aloe plant and make medicine from it. But did you know that you can also tap a birch tree and get a very tasty drink straight from the tree? No real "making" it into anything required. Just drink it "straight" or "on the rocks" (iced). The sap is often a slightly sweet, thin syrupy-watery liquid. It contains sugars (namely xylitol), proteins, amino acids, and enzymes. It is very good for your health, and those who drink it sing its praises. It is reported to overcome the summer weakness, depressions and distractions and increase one's resistance to infectious diseases. It has diuretic and other good effects because of its composition of organic acids, minerals and vitamins. Besides being a very good drink, it is also reported to be an efective face clenser to prevent acne and good for washing your hair to prevent dandruff.
There is a birch tree sap farm just outside Ekaterinburg, Russia (see feedback map, below) that produces birch sap to meet the demands of a nation that treasures it.
To get collect the sap, the workers...
... simply drill a hole in the trunk,
install a drain pipe and seal it around the edges,
hook up a bag and wait for it to fill.While the farm in Ekaterinburg appears to use copper pipes to drain the sap, most farms and most people who just want to tap their own birch trees use plastic tubing.
Birch sap is the sap extracted from specific types of birch trees, such as a North American Sweet Birch or a Silver Birch.
The sap must be collected during a specific time of the year, depending on the species and geography, generally at the period between winter and spring when the sap moves intensively, typically between the first thaws and the start of bud development. So, sap collection can only take place for about one month each year. If collected in late spring, it becomes bitter.
A small tree with a trunk diameter about 15 cm (6 inches) can produce up to 5 liters (10.5 U.S. pints) of sap per day, a tree twice that size can produce up to three times that amount. The market price varies according to the country in which it is sold and that country's ability to grow birch trees. For example, the market price for the collected sap in Japan is around 50 Euro (around 60-65 dollars U.S.) per liter.
Bringing the bags to the truckThe workers bring the partially filled bags to the awaiting truck where they pour the sap into cans, much like the milk cans that dairy farmers use (see two pictures above). From there, the sap is taken to market or to a factory which buys it, again much like dairymen do. From there, it is bottled, turned into syrup, beer, or additives for foods, soaps, linaments, etc.
Note to viewers: The following, seemingly unnecessary stuff was added as feedback for those advanced viewers who may be working on "Stage 7" impressions (where you can procure actual words & phrases from the site). If that's not you, and you're not headed for northern Europe or Asia to get something to drink, don't worry about it. You're only responsible for what you perceived in your own session and at your own personal level of viewing.
The collected sap can be drunk as a tonic and it is a traditional beverage in
Russia (ask for "byeryozovyi sok"),
Latvia (ask for "berzu sula"),
Estonia (ask for "kasemahl"),
Finland (ask for "koivun mahla"),
Lithuania (ask for "Beryu Sula"),
Belarus (ask for "biarozavy sok" or "Byarozavik"), \
Poland (ask for "Sok z Brzozy"),
the Ukraine (ask for "berezovyi sik")
the U.S. (ask for "birch sap", "Forest Drink", "birch beer [carbonated,non-carbonated,alcoholic, non-alchoholic, etc.])
and throughout Northern Europe and parts of Northern China.
FEEDBACK MAP
If you got impressions for which this feedback is insufficient, more information,
pictures and videos can be found at the following web sites:
Slavorum.com (Slavic countries news)
Wikipedia - birch sap
Wikipedia - birch syrup
The health benefits of birch sap
Birch & maple sap - nature's energy drinks
Treehugger.com - How to Tap Birch Sap, and Why You'd Want To