Beverage Startups
Birch Water Is Aiming To Be The Next Big Thing
Coconut water has been known for a while to be a super-hydrating, healthy beverage – but now there seems to be a new player in town.
Birch water has been well known in Northern Europe for centuries. It is rich in minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and potassium. The collection of birch sap is difficult due to its short harvesting season. In the early spring before any green leaves appear is the only time of year when the birch sap can be collected. The process starts with drilling a hole into the birch trunk; over two days, the sap approximately fills up a 40 l container from one birch tree.
During 2015, it seemed there were more and more brands of birch water to choose from. Today, we’ve gathered the most interesting birch sap beverages from Europe – take a closer look and maybe you will find your favorite among them!
TAPPED
The DrinkPreneur Live 2015 winner – with innovative packaging – TAPPED birch water is from the United Kingdom. The company released its product line of three different tasting beverages filled with birch water from Finland.
TAPPED straight from the tree: A mint-green label marks this organic birch sap, which has nothing more added. A 250 ml paper can contains 10 kcals. Its unique packaging with birch tree marks makes the tasting experience more interesting and remarkable.
Bilberry & lingonberry: Tapped’s decision to go of the mainstream and create beverages with different flavorings than other birch water brands offer is genius. A pink label marks this beverage which has only 16 kcals per 100 ml. Organic birch sap accounts for 76% of the whole birch water drink. Other drink parts include white grape, bilberry, lingonberry and blackcurrant juices.
Tapped’s products with flavors are perfect for people who aren’t in love with the birch water taste or just want something a bit different. Juices contained in the pink label product give you the chance to take in the all-important minerals from birch water while drinking something tasty and sweet.
Apple & Root Ginger: The orange label paper can contains 14 kcals per 100 ml and 77% organic birch sap. Apple, white grape and ginger juices make up the other parts of the drink. As I should have mentioned earlier, all three products have no added sugar. Moreover, all ingredients are natural.
B-Tree Water
This brand offers three different flavors, all in glass bottles. B-Tree is based in the United Kingdom, in London. Its birch water is sourced and produced in the European Union. Right now, its products are available in cafes in Virgin Active gyms and fitness clubs.
B-Tree’s original birch water Detox has no added sugar and 0 kcals. The 300 ml bottles are filled with 99.9% birch juice, which is well known as a super-hydrating and energy-giving elixir. This is the product to try in order to taste real birch water.
Fitness is another product line, one that is enriched with L-carnitine to transport toxins out of the human body. Also, L-carnitine is amino -acid synthesized by the body to aid into metabolizing fat into energy. Due to added sugar, the kcal count is increased and 100 ml contains 25 kcals. “Fitness” is the only product of B-Tree which isn’t safe to use during pregnancy. Additionally, there is added tartrate, which is often used in beverages as an antioxidant, acidity regulator, and emulsifier.
Vitality is the other flavor B-Tree offers to consumers right now. Compared to the other two, this one has less birch juice (only 99.2%). However, it has fewer kcals than “Fitness” and 100 ml contains only 20 kcals. With a flavor of peppermint, “Vitality” is the first choice for people seeking refreshment.
All three flavors of B-Tree Water are GMO-free as well as 100% natural.
SULA
Two different flavors of birch water are sold in 330 ml glass bottles by this company based in London, UK. As with the first brand, SULA is also made in the European Union. With a simple design reminding us of nature, SULA has charm even before the tasting. And their website serves up proof of their nature-based humor:
“Q: How do trees access the Internet?
A: They log on.”
Crystal Clear is a product that is 94.2% natural birch sap. There is no added flavoring which makes it natural, keeping in mind that there is added glucose and fructose syrup. One of its main advantages is that SULA is not made from concentrate. The total energy value per 100 ml is 19 kcals.
Wild Mint is for those who are not quite in love with a natural birch sap taste. It has 26 kcals per 100 ml. The mint green–labeled beverage is perfect for those who like a little bit sweeter drink with a refreshing taste. Both kinds of SULA have no preservatives, making them more attractive to today’s consumers.
BIRZI
This is the only brand from Latvia which made our list. Champagne bottles of 750 ml volume and birch sap don’t sound right together, but in this case it works perfectly. Right now the company offers five different flavors of birch sap, all filled in champagne bottles. Unfortunately, according to their official website, these products are only available in Latvia.
If you’re going to Latvia, don’t forget to taste original, made-in-Latvia birch sap. It is important to mention, that BIRZI brand is spreading across the globe. In order to that, BIRZI is improving their labels with nutritional information.
Lemon BIRZI: Birch sap, lemon peel and sugar contained in a green champagne bottle with a yellow cork cover and sticker. We noticed floating lemon peel at the bottom of the bottle, which creates a feeling of naturalness. BIRZI is the only birch sap brand in our list that contains 0.5% alcohol. Without any preservatives and biologically certified, Lemon BIRZI is the perfect choice for those who love lemon and are seeking close-to-natural birch sap. Unfortunately, there isn’t a nutritional value table on the bottle or on the website, so we can’t tell you how many kcals Lemon BIRZI contains.
Peppermint BIRZI: This comes in a transparent bottle with a purple cork cover. It contains a turbid beverage with peppermint leaves in it. The natural birch sap, peppermint leaves and sugar are for those people who prefer a sweet but fresh taste. Peppermint BIRZI also contains 0.5% alcohol; however, you couldn’t tell it without reading label and by just trying to taste it.
BIRZI with blackcurrant buds: You should give a closer look to this product due to the fact that it’s the only one that provides consumers with such uncommon flavor. The bottle, with its dark blue cork cover, contains birch sap, sugar and blackcurrant buds, and only has 4 kcals per 100 ml. BIRZI with blackcurrant buds is great choice for people who love a sweet taste enriched with natural herbals.
Buddha Water
This is a Swedish brand bringing bubbles to birch sap. Talk about outstanding flavors, Buddha Water provides consumers with six different flavors of sparkling birch water in aluminium cans. The 250 ml cans are filled with sparkling birch sap concentrate, which has been certified as organic, along with grape sweetener and one of five different flavors. From original to lemon & lime, cranberry, hibiscus, mango or cherry, the consumer has a wide variety of choice. No matter which can you are planning to grab, all contain 28 kcals per 100 ml. We recommend you try the cherry and cranberry flavors for something unique.
Tree Vitalise
This is another brand based in the United Kingdom, again in London. Their main product, however, is produced in Ukraine. Tree Vitalise provides three different flavors of birch water in 250 ml glass bottles. The product line is available in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The brand furnishes three beverage recipes which all utilize Tree Vitalise birch water. In case you are not in love with the main birch water taste, you still can drink it by mixing it with different flavorings and other ingredients. Sticking to basic flavor solutions, Tree Vitalise offers original, mint and lemon flavors.
Original: Birch sap accounts for 99.86% of the ingredients. The original flavor has no sugar added and contains only 4 kcals per 100ml. This should be the first choice of the Tree Vitalise product line for people who are looking for a natural birch sap taste without anything added.
Lemon: Even though there is slightly less birch sap (98.45%) and added lemon, the number of kcals remains the same per 100 ml at 4 kcals. The lemon taste gives a little refreshment boost whenever you are drinking Lemon Tree Vitalise. The main advantage compared to other brands which have a lemon flavored birch sap is that Tree Vitalise doesn’t have added sugar.
Mint: The third flavor Tree Vitalise promotes to consumers is mint, which contains 99.7% of birch sap and just 0.15% dried mint. As with the lemon flavour, the mint flavour also doesn’t have any added sugar or other kinds of sweeteners. Less sweet than other brands, Tree Vitalise gives one the opportunity to taste pure birch sap with just a little bit of flavoring.
Sibberi
This brand from the United Kingdom gives consumers only one flavor of birch sap water. Sibberi together with TAPPED are the only two brands in our list that presents pure birch water without anything added. With only 3 kcals per 100 ml, the birch sap is rich with minerals. Harvested in Latvia and with no other ingredients, it is the number one choice for tasting real birch water – a 250 ml bottle of pure nature. Sibberi is currently available online on Ocado and throughout the UK at the likes Waitrose, Wholefoods Market and Vital Ingredient.
Sealand BIRK
A worldwide brand with headquarters in the United States, this birch sap is produced in Finland with packaging made in Denmark. As the main website declares, there are different tastes, including original without any flavoring. Blueberry, ginger & lime, raspberry or elderflower – Sealand Birk provides flavors that are different from other brands, a huge advantage.
Original (still): With 22 kcals per 100 ml and enriched with ascorbic acid, the original flavor comes in 330ml PET bottles. Gluten-free, vegan and non-GMO, Sealand Birk provides consumers with a safe and healthy beverage.
Original (sparkling): If other brands give you carbonated or still, Sealand Birk provides both for a wider spectrum of choice. Carbonated Sealand Birk also has added organic fructose for sweeter-beverage lovers. A 250 ml aluminum can contains 18 kcals.
NUDU
This Scandinavian company is based in Finland. NUDU has released a single flavor birch water in cute 250 ml tetra packs. The functional ingredient Vitamin C helps to boost immune systems. With birch bud and birch leaf extracts, NUDU delivers a unique taste. Because there is added fructose, however, NUDU is sweeter than others’ original flavor, although it has only 5 kcals per 100 ml. Compared to other brands, we note that its packaging isn’t very attractive. Despite that, the small size and taste of it pays off.
