Discover our process - Northern Reach Maple

Sugarmaking is a year-round job. even though we only produce syrup once a year when the trees start to thaw, We prepare for this event throughout the entire year…

Caring for the Forest, Crafting Better Syrup

Before we ever tap a tree, we take time to care for the forest itself. Through selective thinning and thoughtful forest management, we create space for healthier, stronger maple trees—and room to install our sap tubing system without harming the natural landscape.

By reducing overcrowding, each tree has more sunlight and room to grow. That means wider crowns and thicker trunks, which lead to more sap—and even sweeter sap at that! Healthier trees don’t just produce more, they produce better.

And because we believe in working with nature, not against it, we leave some standing dead trees behind. These provide essential habitat for nesting birds and other wildlife, helping the forest remain a vibrant, thriving ecosystem for generations to come.

Smart Tubing, Sweet Results

We carefully install our large-diameter tubing system (over 1 inch wide!) across the sugarbush with special attention to protecting growing trees and preserving the natural forest floor. We use a combination of high-tension wires, wire ties, and side supports to keep the lines securely elevated—built to handle the deep Northern Maine snowpack without missing a drop.

This setup ensures that even when winter delivers its heaviest, the sap keeps flowing smoothly from tree to sugarhouse without freezing up.

Fun fact: Some parts of the mountain regularly see over 5 feet of standing snow in the winter—our tubing has to be as rugged as the terrain it runs through!

Reaching Every Tree with Precision

Once our main lines are in place, we build out a network of smaller 5/16″ tubes that stretch through the woods like a spiderweb—designed to reach every healthy maple in the area. Each maple gets at least one individual “drop line,” which connects to “lateral lines,” and those laterals link into our larger “mainlines.” Eventually, everything feeds into our central tubing system known as the wet/dry conductors, which carry sap all the way to the sugarhouse.

All tubing we use is food-grade, high-density polyethylene (HDPE)—the industry standard for clean, safe sap collection. This ensures no tree is missed and no drop of sap is wasted.

Tapping Season Begins

As winter begins to loosen its grip and temperatures start to rise, the sap begins to flow—and that’s when our work kicks into high gear. Each year, usually by early March, we tap thousands of sugar and red maples across the property to catch the first flows of the season.

We follow time-tested, sustainable tapping guidelines: if a maple is at least 10 inches in diameter, it receives one tap. If it’s over 16 inches wide, it can support two. These careful, conservative practices help protect tree health and ensure we can keep harvesting sap from the same trees for decades to come.

The result? A sustainable, sweet tradition that starts with respect for the trees and ends with pure maple syrup in your hands.

From Forest to Sugarhouse

As the days warm and temperatures rise above freezing—while nights still dip below—that’s when the sap really starts to flow. From each tap, the sap travels through a network of small tubes, joining larger and larger lines as it makes its way down from the mountain and into the heart of our operation: the sugarhouse.

This collection period typically runs through April and sometimes into early May. When nighttime temperatures stop dropping below freezing for about a week, the season wraps up naturally. We follow nature’s lead, collecting sap only while the conditions are just right to produce the best, most flavorful syrup.

Turning Sap into Syrup

Once we collect the raw sap, the transformation begins. We first filter it several times to remove any impurities. Then, we concentrate the sap and slowly boil it on our evaporator—where the magic really happens. As it boils, the natural sugars caramelize and the minerals blend together, developing that rich, unmistakable maple flavor.

When the syrup reaches just the right temperature and density, we carefully “draw it off” the evaporator—thick, golden, and ready for the next step in its journey from tree to table.

Filtering & Grading: The Finishing Touches

After each boil, we gather the freshly made syrup into stainless steel barrels—but it’s not quite ready yet. It goes through another round of fine filtering to remove natural byproducts like “sugar sand” and “niter.” Concentrated minerals from the sap form the gritty substance niter during boiling. sugar sand on the other hand, consists of tiny sugar crystals that appear when we heat the syrup near its boiling point.

Filtering these out doesn’t just improve the syrup’s clarity—it brings out a cleaner, smoother flavor in every drop.

Once we filter the syrup, we carefully grade it based on color (measured by how much light passes through it) and flavor. From golden and delicate to dark and robust, each batch is unique—and every grade has its own loyal fans.

Bottling & Labeling: Sealing in the Sweetness

Once we store our syrup in stainless steel barrels, we divide it into specific batches depending on how we will use it—whether we put it into bottles, or transform it into value-added treats like maple sugar or cotton candy.

For bottling, we carefully draw the syrup from the barrels, gently reheat it, and filter it one last time. We then “hot-pack” it into containers while it’s still at a high temperature. This does two important things: it eliminates any microbes that might be present, and as the syrup cools, it creates a vacuum seal that keeps it fresh and shelf-stable for over a year—without the need for preservatives.

We then label each container by hand according to its grade and characteristics. For example, a syrup with a light transmittance (measured using a reflectometer) between 50% and 75% is classified as Grade A Amber, known for its rich, classic maple flavor.

Clean-Up & Un-Tapping: Wrapping Up the Season

While we keep all sap-contact surfaces in the sugarhouse clean throughout the season, we perform a full reset with our end-of-season clean-up. Everything inside of the sugarhouse goes through an inspection/deep-clean/storage process. This is also the time when we take a moment to maintain the equipment and make minor adjustments to ensure everything’s in top shape for next year.

We also head back into the woods to remove the spouts from each tree. This allows the small tap holes to naturally seal off and begin healing. Maple trees are remarkably resilient, and with careful tapping practices, they continue to thrive year after year.

During the off-season—through summer, fall, and deep into winter—the trees quietly get to work. They grow new leaves, process sunlight into energy, and slowly begin storing sugars in preparation for the next sweet season!