Herb-Infused Maple Sap: With health-promoting bioactive compounds, maple sap slightly sweetens tea and boosts antioxidant levels. At the end of a long day, I love this with Lucid Dreaming Tea or 21st Century Tea.
How to Collect Maple Sap
If you follow along on “The Gram” (what? I’m cool), you may have seen that we produced our own maple syrup this year. In order to make maple syrup, you collect sap from maple trees. To collect the sap, you must tap the tree during sap flow. Sap flows when daytime temperatures reach above freezing, and nighttime temperatures fall below freezing.
To tap the tree, you drill a small hole into the tree and insert a spile. Then, you attach a bucket, bag, or line (or a combination) to the spile. The sap flows from the tree, out of the spile, and into the bucket, bag, or line. At this point, you collect your sap.
Because we both work full time, much of our sap collecting happened well after sun down. This may seem like the least opportune time to do so, but it was a beautiful thing 🙂 After a long winter, it was magical to be outside again, under the stars, the smell of the earth thawing beneath our feet. Any stress or noise from the day just melts away…like syrup.
In the countryside, the stars shine so bright; but even so, we sometimes forget to stop and appreciate them. As we collected sap guided by the light from constellations like Orion (the Hunter), I was filled with extreme gratitude for nature and a partner who is as fascinated with producing his own food as I am. This journey of playing a more active role in the meals we eat has gifted us the opportunity to slow down and appreciate all the earth has to offer. And maybe even a gentle reminder to appreciate each other, as well.
What To Do With Sap Other Than Syrup
In North America, maple sap is most commonly processed to make maple syrup. You need approximately 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. However, you can also drink the sap straight. As we collected it for the first time, we got to experience our first refreshing gulp. And holy cats, was I surprised! I thought it would be, well, sticky. However, maple sap is clear and resembles water. It’s like the most refreshing gulp of slightly-sweet water. Some say you should boil it before drinking, but hey, I like to live on the wild side.
Many believe drinking maple sap energizes the body after a long winter. I am now among one of those people. After a gulp, your eyes widen and you feel . . . alive. Perhaps it’s the antioxidant activity and the bioactive compounds, or maybe it’s the vibrational energy from the tree. Either way, count me in. Fresh maple sap stays good for about 7 days, but it can also be frozen for later use.
Herb-Infused Maple Sap
And then Matt had the greatest idea: “I bet this would make the best tea . . . ever.” And he was right! So friends, if you have access to maple sap, and it turns out many of you do, why not try herb-infused maple sap? I received so many messages from people who either collected their own or have a friend or family member who shares with them. I was fascinated by how many of you have been enjoying this good stuff! So, I figured this tea was worth sharing 🙂
In other news, we also have some new additions to the family that I also thought was worth sharing:
Herb-Infused Maple Sap
Ingredients
- 8 ounces maple sap
- 8 ounces water
- 2 servings of your favorite tea
Instructions
- Add maple sap and water to tea kettle. Heat to 170 degrees F.
- Add loose-leaf tea to tea to tea diffuser and add to cups. Alternatively, add tea bags to cups.
- Once water reaches temperature, pour over tea into cups. Brew time will depend on tea type. Enjoy.
May your sap always be sweet and your stars always shine bright.
Neat recipe!
Thanks, Adrienne! It’s a fun one 🙂