
Nordic Koivu birch water – from the forests of Northern Karelia and ready to conquer the world
Deep in the forests of Eastern Finland, things are different. The picture-perfect landscape takes your breath away, and there’s a touch of ancient wilderness in the air. The magical birch forest has been growing here for centuries. You can feel the complete stillness and a certain peace, but just under the bark the sap is rising, since it has since the dawn of time – you can hear it moving if you know how to listen. This is the home of the cleanest birch water in the world – Nordic Koivu. The tree water within is genuine and authentic and the world is going to know about it.
Birch sap – the water of life
The pretty and pale white birch has been called the tree of life – it radiates natural well-being, strength, and beauty. Symbolising new beginnings and protection after the darkness of winter; it has stood for fairness and purity. For centuries, birch sap has been highly valued in Nordic countries as a springtime tonic for sweeping away the tiredness and exhaustion of the long dark winters.
Birch sap is naturally produced by the tree in a yearly cycle. In the summer, it uses the sun’s energy to turn carbon dioxide into sugars and oxygen; in the autumn it starts storing these sugars in its roots before dropping its leaves and preparing for its wintertime rest.
In the spring, as the air warms, the birch stirs and starts to draw water again from the ground. It mixes the water with the sugars stored in its roots and starts to push this vital fluid up towards its soon-to-be budding branches. The sap rises for only about three weeks, until the first budding leaves appear, then as they open the tree begins once more to harvest the warm summer sunlight streaming through its new green canopy.
Clean traceable birch sap of the highest quality
Although birch sap is unique, it’s not a rare product. Drinks and cosmetic products made from birch water are available across most of the world, and companies can be found producing birch water at a range of levels not only in the Nordic countries, but also in Canada, Eastern Europe and the UK, for example. However, there is only one company that produces high-quality birch sap free of all additives at an industrial scale – Nordic Koivu.
Nordic Koivu is in fact the world’s leading producer of birch sap, and is a company focused on making it available on an industrial scale. The production plant in Tohmajärvi, Finland, sends out millions of litres of birch sap every year. A full 98% of this is exported, mainly to Central Europe and Asia, with demand increasing year-on-year as the company now supplies sap not just to the beverage industry and direct to consumers, but also to fulfil the growing needs of the cosmetics industry.
Nordic Koivu has worked hard to perfect its process, and this research led to the development of their InnoSuomi award-winning harvesting and production process, which allows for birch sap to be stored and sold throughout the year without the use of any additives or preservatives.
Unlike other industrial producers of birch sap, Nordic Koivu can also pinpoint exactly from which of its groves within a 200 km radius of Tohmajärvi the birch sap has come. Nordic Koivu doesn’t freeze its sap either, and this ensures that quality is always at an optimal level, and nutrients are left untouched. Sap that has not been frozen is also easier to use on an industrial scale.
From the groves of Northern Karelia to the world
The clean soil of Finland, a carefully managed production process, and transportation in large containers ensure that the sap harvested from Nordic Koivu’s birch groves in Northern Karelia is of a uniformly high quality – whether it’s sold directly to consumers in supermarkets or used in the beverage and cosmetics industries.
Nordic Koivu has been brave and resilient in its ambition to produce birch sap at such a scale that it can be used industrially yet also keep the uniqueness which comes from allowing nature to simply take its course. Those birches in the groves deserve all our respect and care to ensure that their sap, Mother Nature’s own invention, will rise again every spring.
The world is waiting, Nordic Koivu is ready… are you?