As spring melts away a long winter deep in Latvia’s vast forests, the stillness is almost imperceptibly broken by a rhythmic drip, drip, drip. A small black tube protrudes from the trunk of a leafless tree growing among spruces, birches and pines. Trickling from it, into a plastic bag suspended below, is a clear, sweet, watery sap which has been one of this country’s most popular drinks for centuries.
In Latvia, late March to mid-April is “berzu sula”, or “birch juice” season. Stalls groaning with bottles full of the sap have popped up by roadsides, while top chefs tout it as an essential ingredient in Latvian nouvelle cuisine and scientists, a health wonder.
Source: The Baltic Course - LETA
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/good_for_business/?doc=73125