The ongoing aim of the Real Cider blog – to educate cider consumers about what they are drinking.

It’s been shown from recent studies, that UK drinkers are consuming less, but what is being enjoyed is better quality.

When you are buying real cider, make sure it’s 100% pressed apples and nothing else. Unfortunately, any brand now can make a ‘cider’ which seems currently a blanket word for any alcoholic fruit syrup, which is in effect tarnishing the traditional real cider industry.

Another factor which makes it hard to buy legitimate real cider is there are no minimum food labelling requirements for real cider. Anyone can create a drink with ‘apple’ flavouring and call it cider, and it be stocked in a supermarket for example, next to a traditional real cider brand.

As you probably have experienced yourself, it’s a mindfield out there, and is very confusing for newcomers to cider, as you don’t know if you are buying a real or fake cider. And worse case, newcomers think Stella Cidre is a legit cider.. Ouch!

Our biggest challenges to date are quite high-level problems that can only be solved by education within the industry and a change of the perception of cider. James Waddy, Crafty Nectar

For example, that the mass produced stuff is anything but apples..

Ask any commercial producer a direct question about the cider composition (% of apples in their product).. then silence..

Remember to keep it real!