Helsinki city took down its Christmas tree – the symbol of Finnish Christmas celebrations - on the early morning of the second day of 2020.

While for years the city has processed the tree for wood chips, this year the needles and branches of the tree will be used for tonic water.

The tradition started last Christmas from the Estonian island of Saaremaa, whose 17-metre tall Christmas tree was turned into “Spruce and Cardamom” tonic water by island-based producer Lahhentagge.

Helsinki will be the first of the four Baltic Sea coastal towns - alongside Loviisa in Southern Finland and Estonian towns of Pärnu and Kuressaare - whose trees will be recycled this year after their short stints on the main squares of the cities.

In early 2019 Lahhentagge turned Kuressaare spruce tree into tonic water which won several awards over 2019, among them the most prominent Estonian food industry award, and is now on sale in five countries.

“I had been thinking about using the second-hand Christmas trees for our Spruce tonic for quite a while before I had the Eureka moment when I was standing in front of our town’s Christmas tree. It is big enough and stays outside in the cold, so it does not dry,” said Maarit Pöör, founder of Lahhentagge.

The three of the trees will make dedicated batches of our Spruce and Cardamom tonic soda, while Pärnu’s Grey Fir will become a different drink due to its distinct taste pallet.

The Christmas tree tradition runs deep in Estonia, which was the first place in the world to put up a public Christmas tree back in 1441. Saaremaa-based beverages company, Lahhentagge, is one of only a few local tonic makers in this Nordic country.

“What we are essentially trying to do is to bottle up some of this Christmas magic and combine it with historic zerowaste lifestyle of the islanders,” Pöör said.

“Taking into account the minerals and the vitamins that you can find in a spruce tree, and the number of spruce trees that are cut every Christmas, this is a massive opportunity to change the world – one Christmas tree at a time,” she added.