How to Tap Birch Tree Sap - Bushcraft tutorial 

To really appreciate the tapping of burch and maple, you should remember that in the past there was no refined sugar, corn syrup, etc among European society. Just honey, which was rare, and the natural sugars found in fruits, berries, and the such. When emerging malnourished from a hard winter these saps provided vital calories to the peasantry

Love the idea of getting the sap from a branch, less invasive. I will try that method, my first time. Thanks for Northern Ontario, Canada

Wow. Lovely! I grew up in New England (and returned here 7 years ago) and we tap maples for their sap, which is usually boiled down into syrup. I remember drinking fresh sap as a youngster--mildly sweet and very fresh. I did not know that birch trees could be tapped.

Fantastic! I love tapping birches each spring. I am loving the videos you are putting out.

This is a high quality video 10/10. I never thought about using the branch but it seems so blatantly clear now…ahh I’m happy.

most excellent upload Ben & Lois Orford. I shattered that thumbs up on your video. Keep on up the quality work.

Birch tree syrup is definitely an acquired taste. Thank you for sharing your video. And hello from Toronto Canada. ❤️

You two are awesome. Love from Ireland,🇮🇪

It was so calming to watch you both. Thank you for sharing 💜

this is brilliant. In particular the second method is gentler. Thanks for sharing.

I grew up in Quebec, each spring we tap the maple trees to get maple syrup. We used to tap the yellow birch to get water to wash dishes until the spring started running. I never thought of it as sweet but it certainly has minerals in it.

thankyou! will try this myself. also thankyou for showing how to minimize harm to the tree!!!

'A surprisingly high quality video! Very informative, thanks!

Brilliant! No fluff, just how to do it and how to be respectful of the tree. Wassail!

Love this kind of videos.

You've earned my sub! Amazing information and you've made it very interesting.

Well, no, I didn't enjoy that as much as you did, because I didn't get any of the sap! But it was entertaining and educational, and much appreciated. Cheers!

Thanks for the information on this I love do bushcraft and other stuff.

In my country we collect it in the bucket with lid at the spring time when there’s still a bit snow left. I’ve honestly thought that the season is over when all the snow has melted. The bucket w.lid blocks the UV-rays & the snow collected around keeps it better preserved, (good if you need bigger amount at once.) Around that kind of conditions birches should be ”juicier” too, and you don’t need to damage so many trees. I wonder would chaga begun to grow from the hole, if i’d put a plug of chaga in that hole… 🤔 gotta try next time.

Very informative. I hope I have occasion to tap a birch tree. Good video, a "must watch" for survivalists. ciao.

Love it! And i love my knife from you guys

Oh blown away with this . I can't wait to try it😊 Mother Earth🙏

Collected our first birch sap,today collected around 150 mls , refreshing taste. I like the idea of the bottle , we use a heavy duty freezer , taped on the end of a branch .

I've learnt something new today thanks for the info 💙😎👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Birch sap wine is so good 👍

Awesome! Thank you. God bless you.

Wow! Thanks for sharing.

"drinking spring itself" how lovely :-)

Loved the video guys. Also subscribed.

It's always nice to learn about things you can eat in the wild. I had no clue you could drink that. Even though they're freaking everywhere here.

That was great! thank you so much.

Really enjoyed watching this amazing video Ben & Lois good to see you both again. Do you do a home delivery service? If so can I order two pints please😃

Good stuff for surviving winter.

Great video 👍

Working a treat this year

Awesome. Thank you

Like it, proper bushcraft

Thank you!

thank you very much

Thanks for sharing....staring at some silver birch out the window as I type. Cheers

Behold the power of the birch tree!

You forgot to mention just how cold the sap is when you drink it. Good video.

I love the video

Good video👍

Hi both, I am really enjoying these videos thanks

Can't wait till March..Thank you both and happy new year to ya ... Jesus Christ is Lord peace from Toronto Canada ✌️

Thank you for this video. I had no idea you could drink this. I was wondering if you ever fermented it before and if so what did it taste like?

Really useful - thank you!

after the collection you should cover the hole with moss or wax to avoid any chance of damage

I had no idea until by accident heard of this . I have 3 river birch but for the first time at the beginning of the year I gave them bayer feed and protect because the June bugs were eating away the leaves . I love them for their beauty and I live in a subdivision ( more about looks than nourishing) . Also use fertilizers for lawn care . I guess I will not be drinking their sap 😢

You two have got cool lives. Also, wut dat knife soooooooonnnnn

Very interesting and informative video, isa= there any real health benefits of drinking sap out of interest .

What is the latest you can take the sap. Many thanks

I collect maple tap in automn. Do you know if it possible with birch tree and when is the right time for it. For birch tree in Canada, the right time to collect birch is just after maple season

Does River Birch have the same uses as White Birch? How about sugar maple vs silver maple.

Holy cow I want some

i wish i knew about this when i had a birch in backyard ... unfortunately i took it down cuz it was a older, smaller birch varity that was too close to the shed so i removed it to clean up yard a bit. but regretted it years later when i realized the birches they sell in nurseries now grow much bigger than the type i had, in fact, most people cut the tops off at a certain point to control the height in suburbs. i really dont know what type of birch it was but it never got so high as to worry about it being to high. trunk wasnt as pure white as the ones nowadays but it was still a birch. and the key point about it is that it did not grow extremmely high up. had i known when i took it down i would have made sure to get some seeds from it ... oh well, live and learn i guess ...

Could you use some sort of pump or vacuum to increase the speed of extraction?

Hope i can remember come march

Oy! You got a license for that stabby-wabby

look at those wonderful nettles under the tree. I would be more interested in those young shoots. Yummmm!

Its good for you, i wonder if a Chemist could break down the sugars and minerals content to compare it to other sources of sustenance in the wild just for interest of the food value.

are all birch varieties safe to tap in southern UK?

Great video thank you , how would you be going about healing sealing up the other tree that you used the branch . Its been good to see you both making video again .

do you boil it to make some syrup?

Sobits basically water siaked thru the tree. So can you just make birch tea ?

I check the with a 1/16 " drill bit

Cool

plugging a birch with willow or hazel?

i have found several silver birches near me and i pulled off some really thick black bark from the lower part of the tree and i was wondering if this is edible as i have been also have been using the bark of the oak tree for medicinal purposes.......looking at the silver birches in this video they dont have all that black thick bark on them - i live in the uk, do the trees differ all over the world..............whilst continuing to watch your video - as you cut into the birch..............well the trees i found had no silver bark at the lower part and someone said that this was becuase it could be tissue damage on the tree..........hmmm i am very curious as i do not want to hurt the tree when taking off the bark......i hope that makes sense

My daughter who was adopted from Ukraine remembers birch tapping as a child.

Ben: "Im going to drive it IN" Mr. Birch Tree "No. I'd rather you didn't....Ouch! Ow ow ow!"

Great video. I just have one question: are those trees too thin for that? A lot of people are saying they need to be at least 30cm. Never tried it myself self though so I don’t know

How long do you leave the hose tap inside the tree drawing sap out before you close the hole letting the tree heal and recover up the tap hole?

So nice im learning english here lol😎

Great info there thanks I'd Tie the bottle to the tree though 👍

WHAT KIND OF KNIFE ARE YOU USING

My old neighbor got one Tree and it's really Thick and Big. I'm little afraid to hurt it, but I'll ask them and hopefully everything goes well

Wonderful video. May I ask the brand of knife you used in this video?. Its quite lovely and the shape appeals to me.

Thanks for the info. However you didn't show how the branch to Billy can worked out.

❤️Bees love this stuff, and use it to make honey 🍯

i tend to do that first of all with a *NOYF*

I have tapped maple trees but have no idea about birch tapping. Thanks for the idea. I also have a white birch on the property Im moving to in a week, and was seeking quotes to have it removed as it is obstructing the view of the house. Can you do a video on the hazard of having birch in close proximity of the house. Appreciate.Thank you.

What does it taste like?

سلام روزتون خوش ایشون راهنمایی کامل وبیمنت وصمیمی د رفع اشکالات هنر چاقوسازی هستند

can you still do it in mid april?

how long can it go unrefrigerated

Does this hurt the tree

Secateurs, leaf cups and what else ...

👍

Does the tree not just gel up and stop the sap leaking from the cut branch

It has been shown that tapping the main trunk of the tree leads to fungal infection and death of the tree in roughly 10years. Much better to cut off a large twig and bend it into a bottle or can. The yield is the same.

looks potentially like Nettle sprouting at the base of that first tree?

The cups , hahahahhaa

Are there other uk trees that this can be done with

does this harm the tree?

57 still connected? Is this what were trying to do?😭

Can we have this in India pls..

As a child, I did this a lot. But we never drank the sap, it wasn't sweet enough. Should have known how to make syrup! Is there xylitol in the syrup, (or in the bark only)🤔🤔🤔

There is a discussion on the Bush craft forums to say that this does harm the tree. Causes bacterial and fungal infections which eventually rot the tree from the inside. 😢