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Maple Sap Tea

February 22nd, 2017

It’s sugaring season here in Maine, I tapped our large sugar maple on Monday morning and the sap started flowing immediately. This year I’m only tapping this tree, it’s large, thus it accommodates three taps. That will produce over a gallon of syrup though, enough to get us through the year.

One of the delicious side benefits of sugaring season, is that I make my tea throughout the day with hot sap from the kettle on the stove. It imparts the slightest bit of sweetness, just enough to make the tea exceptionally great. I’m looking forward to my maple sap chai later this morning!

Do you live in an area where maple trees are tapped?

7 Comments to “Maple Sap Tea”
  1. Lorna on February 22, 2017 at 10:46 am

    We’re in Mass. and just tapped the trees this past weekend. The sap to syrup ratio hasn’t been as good as previous years (we usually get the coveted 40:1, but this year it’s been closer to 50:1). Most of the sap from the 55 taps go to relatives with an evaporator, but we like to spend the days out by the barrel stove with the kids doing a bit of our own. I’m hoping for three gallons of finished syrup this year. We like to celebrate with maple pie at the end of the season! I also use maple syrup for making granola and baking banana muffins for the kids’ snacks. And drizzling over ice cream and yogurt; and of course pancakes. Actually, I’m hoping to replace quite a bit of the white stuff in my baking with maple syrup this year!

    Reply to Lorna's comment

  2. Greg on February 22, 2017 at 11:01 am

    Susy, this is a great idea! We did not tap our maples this year for a few different reasons—I might tap one just to try this maple sap tea idea! :)

    Reply to Greg's comment

  3. Jennifer Schroeder on February 22, 2017 at 1:25 pm

    Hi Suzy
    I am no longer recieving photos in your emails. I used to always have a “download pictures now” at the top of your emails and now I don’t. Has anything changed? I am can enable photos in other emails.
    Hmmm.

    Reply to Jennifer Schroeder's comment

  4. Meg on February 23, 2017 at 7:02 pm

    Wow. I hadn’t ever thought to use the sap in making tea. Brilliant! Must try immediately. Thanks for the idea. Been following you for a couple years but very rarely comment.

    Reply to Meg's comment

    • KT on February 24, 2017 at 11:10 pm

      My father used to tap lots of trees and make maple syrup to sell in the spring. I miss it, and him.

      Reply to KT's comment

  5. Reid on March 27, 2017 at 10:25 pm

    Suzy,

    My in-laws live in NW Wisconsin. We went up to help make the syrup last weekend. We boiled 52 gallons of sap. This year the ratio is about 35:1. We boil in three pans. There is a distributor that slowly drips sap into the three rectangular pans. We keep it so that three gallons is in each pan, until there is no more sap in the distributor. The three pans sit over an oven like contraption that we heat with wood.

    This time though, we let it go a little too long, and had to add a bit of water so all of it would go through the final filtering. We still ended up with almost five quarts.

    I lovw the idea of making tea from the sap!!

    Reply to Reid's comment

  6. Reid on March 27, 2017 at 10:26 pm

    Suzy,

    My in-laws live in NW Wisconsin. We went up to help make the syrup last weekend. We boiled 52 gallons of sap. This year the ratio is about 35:1. We boil in three pans. There is a distributor that slowly drips sap into the three rectangular pans. We keep it so that three gallons is in each pan, until there is no more sap in the distributor. The three pans sit over an oven like contraption that we heat with wood.

    This time though, we let it go a little too long, and had to add a bit of water so all of it would go through the final filtering. We still ended up with almost five quarts.

    I love the idea of making tea from the sap!!

    Reply to Reid's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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