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

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.

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

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

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

"drinking spring itself" how lovely :-)

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.

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.

You two are awesome. Love from Ireland,🇮🇪

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

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

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

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

Birch sap wine is so good 👍

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

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!

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

Behold the power of the birch tree!

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 .

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

Love this kind of videos.

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.

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

Love it! And i love my knife from you guys

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

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

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.

Awesome! Thank you. God bless you.

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

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.

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

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

Wow! Thanks for sharing.

Working a treat this year

That was great! thank you so much.

Like it, proper bushcraft

Thank you!

Loved the video guys. Also subscribed.

Awesome. Thank you

Great video 👍

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?

thank you very much

Really useful - thank you!

I love the video

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

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 .

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

Good video👍

Hi both, I am really enjoying these videos 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

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.

Hope i can remember come march

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

Oy! You got a license for that stabby-wabby

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

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

Holy cow I want some

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

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

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

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

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

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

do you boil it to make some syrup?

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!"

are all birch varieties safe to tap in southern UK?

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 ...

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?

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.

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

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

Cool

plugging a birch with willow or hazel?

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

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

I check the with a 1/16 " drill bit

WHAT KIND OF KNIFE ARE YOU USING

What does it taste like?

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

can you still do it in mid april?

how long can it go unrefrigerated

So nice im learning english here lol😎

Does this hurt the tree

So what you're saying is technically you're tree vampires?

Are there other uk trees that this can be done with

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

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

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

👍

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

The cups , hahahahhaa

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)🤔🤔🤔

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.

does this harm the tree?

I don't have a drill so I use a knife, however when I put the tubing in it always seems to drip down the tree. Its really frustrating any help please?, new subscriber here 👍

Interesting, Ben and Lois! No birch trees here where I am. Makes me want to try it myself if I ever get the chance to. Is there any health benefits to drinking birch sap?

Where did you get that clear pipe?

Can we have this in India pls..