What is BIRCHIQ Birch Water and how is it collected?

Birch water also known as birch sap is a clear liquid with a somewhat sweet taste. In early spring, right at the time when the first warmth of spring depletes the freeze of winter, birch tree roots reach out deep into the ground for the clearest water to replenish their branches and buds. At that time roots pump filtered water from the bottom to the top of the tree. And that is when we collect BIRCHIQ Birch Water for you. This period lasts only 14 to 21 days per year, depending on weather and how quickly the cold of winter is replaced with the warmth of spring. The very limited collection period makes birch water even more precious.

Birchiq Birch Water is collected in eastern Europe. To collect, we look for healthy trees with a diameter of more than 12 inches and a well-developed crown. Around 12 inches from the ground we carefully tap a hole in a trunk. Just under the hole, we attach a wooden or stainless groove through which sap is directed to a jar. Every tree produces approximately 1 gallon of birch water per day, which is collected daily. The number of taps is monitored per diameter and will not hurt the tree. For a tree with a diameter under 12 inches, only one tap hole is safe, for a tree with a diameter of 12-16 inches, up to two tap holes is safe, and for a tree with a diameter over 17 inches and more, up to four tap holes are allowed. The more mature the birch tree is, the sweeter the water produced. Although most of the trees that we tap are over 16 inches in diameter, usually we make just one tap per tree per year to make the process of collection almost insignificant for the tree.

What is interesting to note is that the birch will begin to heal the wound applied to it, by itself as soon as it is tapped. Therefore, the amount of birch water collected from each tree decreases daily. It is not healthy for the tree to deepen the hole, so we don’t do that. We just change the birch tree as soon as the sap stops going. After collection period is over, we treat the tree by taking clay to close the hole. This prevents bacteria from getting into the trunk.