Move over, exotic coconut! This natural beverage from the maple tree is locally-grown — and so loaded with wellness, it is set to take 2016 by storm
BY NABANITA DUTT
You’ve probably never heard of `maple water’. Well, neither had we, until we caught the buzz that maple water was going to knock the exotic coconut water off its fashionable pedestal, and make 2015 a year when American health beverage fanatics congregated around our trusty, local maple tree.
It is fascinating to think that North American explorers were drinking this natural beverage 300 years ago, calling it the “wholesomest drink in the world”, but somehow forgot to pass on the recipe to us as part of their legacy. With 46 vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, this is like a health supplement super-store packed into a bottle. And yet, we are only just re-discovering this long-forgotten elixir.
Bodmin Magazine spoke to Kate Weiler, one half of the Kate Weiler-Jeff Rose co-founding duo behind Drink Maple, the Boston-based fledgling company that is helping the initiative to re-introduce maple water to the world. Kate and Jeff were on a trip to Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, to race in a triathlon when they tasted the beverage for the first time. “It was refreshing, not overly sweet as you might imagine, with a subtle flavor of maple and a hint of vanilla,” remembers Kate. Impressed by the potential of this indigenous drink, the pair launched their own production facility to supply maple water to grocery or health food stores all over United States.
“A lot of people think the product is a watered-down version of maple syrup, when the opposite, really, is true,” says Kate. (About 40 gallons of maple sap/water has to be reduced or boiled down to get 1 gallon of syrup.) “We’re using Maple Water in a variety of smoothie and craft cocktail recipes to popularize its use. We’re playing around with salad dressings, chai puddings, iced coffee drinks, oatmeal and acai bowls. We have also experimented with a hydrating facial mask using maple water as ingredient.”
Like coco water, which has been an important part of traditional recipes and beauty regimens in Asia for centuries, it is perhaps no wonder that its North American cousin too is showing similar rejuvenating attributes when put to other uses in day-to-day living.
Flavor: Unlike coconut water, which has a noticeable coconutty taste, maple water carries just a tiny hint of maple.
In other words, you could treat it like ordinary bottled water and ignore the flavor if you like to drink your H2O straight.
Health benefits: Maple water contains 46 naturally-occurring vitamins, minerals, polyphenols and antioxidants.
It contains more manganese than one cup of kale and half the sugar than coconut water. It is gluten-free, dairy-free and non-GMO.
Sustainability: So far as saving the planet goes, maple water does its part. The sap yields from healthy maple trees and no forest is hurt or denuded by this enterprise.
Love it if: You are a fitness fanatic, regular gym-goer, vegan, calorie-counter, holistic wellness buff, or just plain cool.
And finally: Beyonce loves Maple Water. Need we say more?
FIND THE MAPLE WATER RECIPES HERE: (1)Festive Maple Water Cocktail (2)Pears Poached In Maple Water (3)Spare Ribs Marinated In Maple Water (4)Almond Smoothie With Maple Water
THE BEST MAPLE WATER BRANDS OUT THERE: (1)Drink Maple (2)Happy Tree (3)Vertical Water (4)Drink Seva (5)Oviva (6)Bettersweet