Established in 1904, Thatchers is a family cider business and an Official Partner of Love British Food. This is their story.
The saying from orchard to glass has never been so timely as we enter our annual apple harvest. It is such an important time of year to shine a spotlight on the dedication to quality that all our apple growers proudly demonstrate, day in, day out through the hard work and pride they put into growing the very best quality apples. And this passion for quality allows our cider makers in turn to craft the very best tasting ciders here at Myrtle Farm.
This harvest, as we do every year, we’re celebrating the growers and cider makers that create the British tradition that is cider, from pip to pint.
We are really proud of the fact that we are a family company and craft all our ciders here at Myrtle Farm in Somerset – the same farm that my Great Grandfather, William Thatcher, first started making cider back in 1904. William and his son Stan, my Grandfather, were indeed the original craft cider makers, honing the skills that have now been passed down through four generations, with our fifth generation beginning to make their mark too.
We have growers throughout the West Country, some of whom have worked with us for many years, others are much newer, but they all have one thing in common, and that’s taking great care of their apples and meeting our expectations of quality. Their commitment plays a huge part in Thatchers’ journey of creating innovative, high quality ciders for today’s rapidly changing consumer tastes and demands.
At Thatchers, we are one big family. So each year we hold a growers day, to which we invite all our contracted growers. The day is all about working in partnership, sharing our values, and how we all contribute to making the highest quality cider in this ever changing environment.
This year we updated our growers with our trials of growing traditional varieties on new planting regimes, part of our continuing investment and development of our orchards. For many years we have been researching and trialling new methods of orcharding with traditional and modern apple varieties, in fact we took part in the industry wide research led by the National Association of Cider Makers of 29 new varieties introduced back in 2010.
As the cider market evolves, and tastes change, new styles of cider become popular, and as a cider maker it’s important for us to look ahead and plant the varieties of apple that create contemporary style ciders. Apple trees take up to 7 years after planting to crop effectively, so with our growers we take a long- term approach to the varieties we grow.
“We gain so much from the close relationship we have with Thatchers,” says Herefordshire grower Philip Griffiths. “The annual growers’ day is a great place to share experiences, but most of all it gives us confidence that we’re supplying fruit to a cider maker that is committed to quality through and through.”
“From one family business to another, we love growing apples for Thatchers. Their ethos for quality is exactly in line with how we work. We supply what our customers want, and Thatchers want the best. Their success is our success. So we invest in our farm to make success happen.
“Knowing you’re working with people who have the same values as you breeds a successful working relationship. By talking directly to the Thatcher family, this makes a big difference.”
Philip has been growing apples on his Herefordshire farm for Thatchers since 2016 – and now has 150 acres of orchard for Thatchers, with favourite apples Gilly, Jane, Helen, 3 Counties, and Dabinett chosen, varieties that we select for our range of award-winning ciders.
Meanwhile Robert Lane has been growing apples for us for almost 20 years at his mixed farm in Ilminster, South Somerset. With an almost perfect climate in the cider-loving county for cultivating bittersweet apples, Robert grows both Dabinett and Redstreak on 50 acres, apples that our cider makers favour in our blends for their tannins and body.
“We work closely with Thatchers to supply the apples they want, in the way they want them. Quality comes first every time.
“Attending the annual apple growers day at Myrtle Farm is a really beneficial experience. It's full of useful information and always inspires us when we hear how well cider sales are going. It’s always a motivation to really look after the apples and keep the quality high, as we know they’ll be going into a fantastic end product that people love.”
We always select the varieties of apple we need carefully to make the best cider in the way only we know how, and we work with our growers to reach the highest quality. On his Devon farm, Ian Batchelor grows varieties such as Dabinett, Yarlington Mill and Michelin.
“Different varieties harvest at different times, so this is invaluable when it comes to managing what is already an exceptionally busy time of year for us. The apples are harvested and sent straight to the Thatchers mill for the following morning.”
Ian and wife Yta’s farm in mid Devon is a traditional area for growing apples. With a deep, sandy loam red soil, his ground is free draining and south facing – so the trees absorb the sunlight, all contributing to the best quality fruit.
“Thatchers has given us the confidence to invest in the farm. My father grew apples before me – so as a family we know the industry, but having Thatchers support us all the way makes everything worth while.”
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