TAPPED Birch Water

When you tap a rubber tree, you get latex for making stuffs like tyres and rubber bands. With maple trees (sugar maple and black maple, predominantly) you can extract the saps for making its eponymous syrup. 

Well, it's not rocket science, and Tapped, a British startup, has the ingenuity to milk the Finnish birch trees for a natural source of water with a novel paperboard-based packaging designed to look like the trunk of a birch tree -- a distinct departure from the normal plastic or glass bottles.

Photo credit: tappedtrees.com

According to its website, "For centuries, the Finnish birch forests have been tapped for their sap in spring. More commonly known as birch water, it’s said to keep skin youthful, bones strong and a twinkle in your eye."

Also, according to Wikipedia, "Birch sap was a traditional beverage in Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, Ukraine, France, Scotland and elsewhere in Northern Europe as well as parts of Northern China."

The science of birch water is that in winter the tree would store vital minerals and vitamins such as calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc and vitamin C in their roots. When spring dawns, the water is filtered up the trunk to nourish the tree.

At Natural Living Ideas, Sierra Bright outlines the following 7 reasons for drinking birch water:

1. Lower cholesterol

2. Weight loss

3. Supports liver health

4. Clearer, brighter skin

5. Faster wound healing

6. Joint pain relief

7. Reduces cavities

Click here to read her article in full. She will even teach you How To Make Your Own Birch Water!

Tapped is persuasive with regards to the anti-oxidising manganese found in its birch water and I think it will only be a matter of time before it is listed as a source of manganese at The World's Healthiest Foods (whfoods.org), which currently lists the following as excellent sources on manganese: cloves, oats, brown rice, garbanzo beans, spinach, pineapple, collard greens, cinnamon, raspberries, black pepper, beet greens, Swiss chard, strawberries, kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, summer squash, turmeric, sea vegetables, garlic, basil and bok choy.

Afterthought

Prior to birch water and Tapped, the birch tree connects me solely to the poem Birches by Robert Frost.