In our second year, we tapped 60 trees vs. the previous year’s 30. Twice the taps brought twice the sap, which was fabulous for our inventory. However, it also meant twice the boiling time, which got a little tedious toward the end of the season. This year, Michelle put her foot down – no more taps until we solved the “Boiling Bottleneck” in the operation! So Jason devised a fancy new system to reduce the time it takes the sap to reach a full boil, which is when it really starts evaporating and turning into the syrup you love on your waffles. The new operation involves a bright blue 55 gallon storage tank sitting on a scaffold behind the boiling stove. From the tank, several feet of copper tubing wrap around the smokestack of the stove, warming the sap before it runs into the boiling pan. The whole contraption ends up looking a bit like a moonshine still, but it definitely speeds up the process.
And so we’ve opted to tap an additional 40 trees this year. The tapping process went something like this: Drill a hole in the tree with the cordless drill at a slight downward angle (no use letting all that gravity go to waste!). Pound the tap into the tree with a hammer. Hang a yellow plastic bucket from the tap. Put a blue lid on the bucket to keep leaves, sticks, and small woodland creatures from falling in the bucket. Repeat 99 times. 