Meet the member:
East Neuk Orchards

Our apple juice business began one Autumn when it was clear we had more garden apples than we, friends or family could use.  A quick search on the internet revealed a small apple press available for hire which we did.  We gathered our apples, cleaned them, pressed them, pasteurised the apple juice and tried it out on willing volunteers.  We made 60 bottles and then we had to wait a full year before doing it all again!  Since then we’ve planted many new trees, experimenting with growing techniques and different apples varieties.

Coincidentally and just to make sure we couldn’t possibly become bored we decided to get on with upgrading our Lodge cottage.  It was unfortunately empty being almost uninhabitable and just about as soon as it was ready, the people renting our other house handed in their notice.  Our third house – the Doocot was an old ‘tractor’ shed.  It had reached the stage of either being partially demolished or repurposed.  We chose the second option but hadn’t realised just how long it would take to complete.  A very small, vertical building does not suit modern building regulations but with the help of a fabulous, talented architect and an amazing team of local trades/craftsmen it finally all came together and we launched our holiday home business.

@ East Neuk Orchards is now a holiday destination as well as almost the smallest possible working farm.  Our farming is all about apple trees and so we’re doing very different tasks throughout the year.  We are on the shoulder of Kellie Law and just up the hill from Kellie Castle, so it’s rural and very peaceful but with all the benefits of being close to Fife’s fabulous coastal villages.
Each house is different and has a different vibe.
The Barracks sleeps eight and attracts family get-togethers, the Lodge sleeps four and tends to attract active older people or very young families whilst the Doocot sleeps two and attracts guests looking for a quirky, quiet getaway.  The grounds are very much open plan and we’re dog friendly so it’s easy for our guests to take a wander.

We advertise with cottages.com and we have our own website which can take direct bookings, www.eastneukorchards.co.uk.  We’ve also placed the Doocot on Airbnb because it’s a good fit for people seeking something unusual.

Growing apples and producing apple juice requires a lot of patience and resilience!  I’m always rather embarrassed to admit we’ve been doing this for eight years now . . . and it still feels as if we’ve only just started.

Top of the list has to be the Scottish Government’s proposed Deposit Return Scheme.  We’re a very, very small producer but we still got caught up in a scheme that was much bigger and with implications we could never have imagined. There was a lot of footwork behind the scenes however in the end the scheme was cancelled.  The good thing is it made us examine what we’re doing and look at how we can reduce our footprint even further.

We only use Fife grown apples and whilst the majority are from our own orchard we are invited to pick a couple of rather special local orchards.  We only press during the apple season, so we’re very careful to press the right apple at the right time.  We blend the varieties to make sure our juice has a consistent depth of flavour.  We’re also incredibly lucky to be close to two fantastic soft fruit farms and they supply the raspberries and brambles we use for our mixed juices.

It’s taken years of practice and of course, each year is different because the apples reflect their earlier Spring and Summer.  For example, last Autumn apples were generally smaller, harder and less juicy than normal because the earlier winter was very wet, spring was wet and summer was generally cooler than usual.  As far as apples are concerned, this winter has been a vast improvement on the last one so fingers crossed for the rest of the year!

Actually, I think East Neuk Orchards must be pretty close to being a carbon neutral enterprise although we haven’t undertaken a formal audit yet. Not only do we grow the apple trees here, the apples travel about 100 yards from the orchard to our juicing shed and all our apple waste is composted nearby and used several years later to help boost orchard soil fertility.  We’ve also grafted some of our very old apple trees to ensure their genetics are preserved for future generations.

Regarding accommodation, the holiday houses benefit from a communal biomass hot water/heating system so we have been able to discard two oil heating systems.  We also source other Scottish products for our welcome gifts, soap, shampoo and so on.

We try to source as much as possible locally and we really enjoy working with Elmwood College.  Recently, each year we’ve been able to offer the horticulture students a practical apple day, planting trees and exploring apple related themes such as the impact of root stock on growing habits.  Somehow they always bring the most amazing weather!

Last year we had a lovely visit from St Monans Primary school and this is something we hope to repeat on an annual basis.

This year Fife College has chosen to design a cocktail with our apple juice.  It will be one of their signature drinks for Fife Food and Drink Week.  It sounds delicious and we can’t wait to try it!

We thoroughly enjoy local collaborations with other producers and have recently supplied apple juice to Darnley’s Gin Distillery and the East Neuk Spirit Company.  They have both used our juice to create delicious seasonal cocktails.

We also worked with wonderfully talented local photographer, Caroline Trotter for our bottle and orchard images.

The intention was for the two seasonal businesses to seamlessly blend into each other to create a varied, fun and active year.  It hasn’t quite worked out like that as the holiday season has spread into October, which is also peak apple season, and then suddenly it’s Christmas!  Autumn is definitely our busiest time.

We’re very fortunate to be in the East Neuk and thankfully demand for our apple juice has continued to increase.  Costs have definitely gone up but that is the same for everyone.  Our holiday houses are well occupied and we’re also fortunate to work with two amazing local businesses keeping everything just-so.  We work hard to keep up to date when recommending local, independent places to shop, visit and eating out.  There is something for everyone here and we enjoy sharing our local knowledge.

We like to get out to farmers markets including Cambo Garden producer events, where we have the opportunity to engage with consumers and share our story.

We’re delighted a number of restaurants and cafes stock our apple juice and are very grateful to Ardross Farm Shop, Balgove Larder, Wells Green Farm Shop & Kingsbarns Distillery for their terrific support and encouragement over the years.

We supply direct to trade and are always on the lookout for new accounts.
We’d be delighted to hear from any food & drink business interested in finding our more about us!

Of course, we love all our juices but if we had to choose, Apple with Bramble is delicious.  Our preference is to mix it with sparking water – 50:50.  It’s a lovely refreshing drink to have before dinner or at any time for that matter!