The Food Start-Up Whiz

The claim is that sap rising through the tree in the cold of winter is the heralding of Tu B’Shevat. From speaking with Ari Tolwin CEO of Happy Tree Maple Water you’ll find out that it’s not maple syrup shooting out of that trunk. Conversations on maple-tree tapping and alternative hydration are par for the course when speaking with this food start-up whiz. Pull up a tree stump and grab a glass of maple water; you’ll be all the more nourished for it.

You kind of discovered this maple water how exactly?

It’s a pretty cool story. Reminiscent of Home on the Range. My brother owns a homestead upstate and while I was visiting there a few years ago he asked if I wanted to make some maple syrup. When I went to the buckets hanging on the trees I wondered why they were filled with water and not syrup. He explained “The water is what comes from the trees and that is what we’ll boil down to syrup — try it it’s delicious and good for you!”

I took a swig and I realized “Hey! Till now I thought water came from rain and oceans! Who knew it can also come from maple trees?”