How to Tap a Maple Tree

Maple syrup is a staple of New England. It is exported around the country and sold in almost every New England tourist shop and grocery store. While most know that it is derived from maple trees, the rest of the process is a mystery to many, especially those who did not grow up in rural New England. If you did grow up in rural New England, as I did, you saw the entire process in action every spring and learned the tricks from people who had been tapping maple trees for 40 or 50 years.

When Does Maple Sap Start to Flow?

Maple trees begin to bud in late winter as the days grow longer and the sun's energy increases. Even before the buds begin to show, however, sap starts to flow within the tree. Each morning as the sun comes up, the sap rises from the roots up into the tree to power it's pending spring rebirth. By tapping the tree, New Englanders can harvest some of the maple tree's sap in order to make maple syrup or maple sugar. Maple sap is far from the finished product -- it is watery and, although it may have a slightly sweet taste, it has nothing like the rich flavor we associate with maple syrup. Maple sap is to maple syrup as iron ore is to iron. Depending upon what part of New England you are in, mid-February is about the right time to start tapping a maple tree. If you're more north, maybe a bit later, and earlier if you are in southern New England. When you drill the tap hole, sap should flow freely. If the hole is dry, then your timing is off.

How Many Taps Can a Maple Tree Support?

To collect maple sap, the raw material for maple syrup, a hole must be drilled into the trunk of a maple tree. The old farmer's rule of thumb is that a maple tree with a diameter of 12 inches or more can support one tap without significantly weakening the tree. At 18-20 inches in diameter, the tree can support a second tap, and at 24 inches in diameter, a third tap can be used. Some will add a fourth tap for very large diameter trees, but this should be done only with the very strongest, healthiest trees. The goal is to collect enough sap for the maple syrup producer, while leaving enough for the tree to thrive. After all, a healthy tree will produce maple sap for many, many years. Over-tapping to the point of weakening or killing the tree is very poor resource management, a thing thrifty New Englanders understand very well.

Drilling the Tap Hole for Maple Sap

A maple tree can be tapped with any standard drill. Using a 7/16" drill bit, drill a hole directly into the tree trunk at about three feet in height from the ground. The hole should be drill at a slight upward angle so that sap runs out of the hole rather than pooling inside. The hole should be about two and a half inches deep. Traditional maple sap spouts, called spiles, will fit snugly into this hole. They can be gently tapped in with a hammer, but remember, you'll need to pull them out when the sugaring season is over, so go lightly.

Hanging a Maple Sap Bucket

The spile comes with a metal hook or hanger designed to hold a maple sugaring bucket. The bucket will have a small hole at just the right place for the hook. Hang the bucket and make sure the spile is secure enough in the tree that it will hold a full bucket securely without falling out. Maple sap buckets also come with a special lid that keeps things from falling out of the tree and into the bucket. A metal rod threads through the spile and the bucket lid to hold it in place. The bucket can be easily removed to be emptied without removing the lid or spile from the maple tree.

Line-Tapping Maple Trees

While the old spiles are still very commonly used, many modern syrup makers use plastic tubing to run a number of taps from a number of trees into a single large collection tank. This is called line-tapping and is often preferred by larger maple sap collection operations. Line-tappers use special spiles often using a smaller diameter hole. Either method is fine.

How Much Sap Does it Take to Make Maple Syrup?

In traditional tapping, the sap bucket should be checked and emptied every day. Sap will go sour if allowed to get warm before it is processed into syrup. Soured sap will produce an off-flavored maple syrup. Maple sap in a good season from a good tree has about a 2 percent sugar content. Finished maple syrup contains just about 66 percent sugar. As a rule of thumb, it'll take 40 to 44 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup, depending upon the exact sugar content of the sap you collect. Sap from early in the season makes lighter syrup and late sap makes darker syrup. Now that you have successfully tapped a maple tree and collected maple sap, you're ready to make maple syrup or maple sugar.

When Does Maple Sugaring Season End?

When the maple sugaring season is over, you'll know. The sap simply stops flowing and you'll find empty or nearly empty buckets each day. The end of the season will depend upon the weather -- cold nights and warm, sunny days are perfect for making the sap flow. When the nights get too warm, the tree is done producing for the year.