Birch-juice coctail - the most seasonal drink

For estonians, taking birch juice during early spring is something very normal. For others it might sound strange. Well, it looks like water, doesn´t it, but it´s not. When the winter is gone, the birch juice starts running. You have to make a small hole to the tree, about a meter high from the ground and make a wooden spout to lead the juices to a container under it. After you have got as much juice as you wanted, make a wooden plug and put it into the treehole, to stop the juices from running out too much and the diseases from getting in. As I said before, it is a really seasonal drink, as the juices are running only for a couple of months after the winter is gone and before the leaves are coming out.

Well, now you have a beautiful drink, which is great to quench your thirst and also very healthy. Some people say, that you shouldn´t drink it before going to bed, as it will start purifying your body so quickly that you have to run to the toilet all night long. Other people think that the birch juice is against as many as 101 different diseases, it´s good for your kidneys, in case of tense muscles, rheumatism, podagra...

It´s nice to drink birch juice as it is, but I like to add a bit more freshness to a drink that´s already full of it. You really need to have a lot of freshness after the long winter, don´t you. So here is a nice refreshing birch juice coctail for you. You need (for every person):

1 glass of fresh birch juice

1 ts of sugar

2 slices of apple

2 slices of lemon

Put 1 ts of sugar to the glass, pour the birch juice over. Stir through and add the apple and lemon slices. Keep in fridge for half an hour before serving! It´s that easy.

Kevadine kasemahlakokteil

1 kl kasemahla

1 tl suhkrut

2 õunaviilu

2 sidruniviilu

Pane klaasi sisse suhkur ja vala kasemahl peale. Sega läbi ja lisa sidruni ning õuna viilud. Lase poolt tundi külmikus seista enne serveerimist.