This year we tapped the trees on February 8, 2026 which was a bit early. However, it has been my experience that there is no harm in doing it early and it also guarantees that we will get some of the first sap. It seems that early flow is higher in sugar content also there is always a risk, that if it warms up early, the trees will bud and then the sap won't be usable for syrup production. The sap becomes bitter, cloudy and/or yellow and therefore is known as buddy sap.
