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TeePee Cider

@teepeecider.bsky.social
333 followers 21 following 1.1K posts

Cider-Maker

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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Move over perry pears it's now the turn of the cider apples. Our very first apple blossom. A big difference is seen. The perry pears bloomed before the leaves appeared the apples bloom at the same time as the leaves emerge. #apple #blossom
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Perry pear blossom at petal fall. Well blown off in our strong equinoctial winds! The naked structure reveals the nectar cup of the fused sepals which will become the calyx of the fruit. #pear #blossoms #nectar
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Foggy start to the day at the orchard here in Wairarapa New Zealand. Then it burnt off by 9am as the sun came up, leaving just a little low lying fog in the lee the foothills, beautiful but cold day. Still a little snow on the high Tararua ranges. #Springtime #orchard #Wairarapa #Aotearoa
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Peak perry pear blossom time for our main variety. Great to be growing these as standards as a late frost has affected some nearby bush orchards. I fear we are in for a bumpy ride with El Niño and the current negative Pacific decadal oscillation affecting our weather. #perry #pear #weather #EINino
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The Beswick Babycham figurine is a vintage ceramic advertising piece of the iconic leaping chamois deer with a signature blue bow. Produced during the 1960s and 1970s Now highly sought after by collectors as quite rare as the delicate legs or blue bow break off. #babycham #Beswick #breweriana
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
There is an iconic New Zealand song Standing on Shaky Ground performed by the Kiwi band D-Faction in 1991. Last night it was literal for us. A sizeable shake 4.2 right under our feet at TeePee Cidery; that will have knocked off a few petals off the blossom! #earthquake #Wairarapa
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
This perry tree at TeePee Cider in Wairarapa New Zealand is 6 years old post grafting. Sadly it developed fireblight on its leader 3 years ago and needed radical pruning but survived. Looks good now with plenty of blossom going on! Waiting for a good crop of perry pears.
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
TGIF joke time Friday and the end of a week. Time for a laugh. Eve couldn't use that excuse here in Aotearoa though ® #joke #TGIF
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Spring is officially here for us as cider orchardists. The apple buds are creaking open. This is Tom Putt our earliest variety. Hailing from Devon it's a mixed use apple. It ripens the first too, we use it to start the wild fermentation in Autumn. #Spring #apples #cider #orchard #Wairarapa
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
A lovely bit of perry memorabilia arrive today. A Babycham mirror. It will be installed in the cidery. A nod to Francis Showering who brought perry into the wider public awareness with Babycham. #cider #perry #showerings #mirror
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Great to hear a Ruru or morepork Ninox novaeseelandiae calling last night in the orchard. Sadly very little moonlight so I couldn't see it in the big Old Man Pine but it called repeatedly for 30 mins. Hope it finds a mate. Under pressure from introduced pests. Our only native owl now #morepork #ruru
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
It's Spring in New Zealand and the perry pears in the orchard are about to burst open into blossom. A time of rapid change and promise. #pear #Spring #blossom
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Pruning. It's right at the end of the season but the ground has been so wet. When growing apples and pears as standards you need a firm base when using the pruning saw up a ladder that high. Some cuts are chain saw large. #pruning #pears #apples #orchard
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Tracking the effect of Spring in photos with warm longer days on the perry pear trees Another week on and the first blossoms are now full. 3 weeks from the first signs of bud growth Great to see the orchard waking up from its Winter slumbers. Next the later pears then the apples #pear #perry #Spring
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Pears in art This engraving is the title piece of a lovely book "Les clients d'un vieux Poirier" or The Population of an old Pear-tree; (or Stories of insect life) by Ernest Jean van Bruyssel, 1827-1914 Published 1870 Translated from the French by Charlotte M Yonge 1823-1901 #art #engraving #pears
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Today's post on Swiss Neolithic farmers eating pear is too long for Bluesky. It’s worth having a look on Instagram, Facebook or Reddit. 🙋‍♂️
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
End of winter is coming very soon The pear and apple orchard looks bare. The buds are mainly dormant for now but the next few weeks will see a big change. The grass has been eaten down by the Shropshire sheep Spring plants are in bloom. Grape hyacinths and bluebells are just starting #orchard #pears
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
What a week of warmish temperatures make. Last week we were at the silver tip/early swollen bud stage. Now we are at bud burst with a glimpse of pink on the furled petals showing. #pears #Spring #budburst
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Enjoying our stories on cider and perry here? Are you a Redditor? Did you know there is a dedicated perry site on Reddit, r/perry_pearcider? You would be most welcome to join it. Daily posts. 😊
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Dec 17th 1662 is not a date usually associated with champagne but this was the day Dr Christopher Merritt presented his paper to the Royal Society in London on making the still white wine from the Champagne region fizzy 2 weeks after a paper on sugar in cider #cider #champagne #Merritt #RoyalSociety
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
The Chinese believe the pear symbolises immortality and it is a popular gift to leave at family shrines. It has been chronicled in Chinese writings and art for over a thousand years. #art #pear
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Great to see our earliest pear tree is showing signs of stirring for Spring yesterday The tough protective winter outer scales are beginning to separate and push apart. This called the silver tip or stage 2 of fruit bud development, coming directly after full winter dormancy #pear #Spring #budburst
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson #pears #quote #literary
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
An espaliered pear tree against a brick wall at Fairgreen Farm in the Cotswolds, UK space-saving horticulture technique was highly valued in England gardens on South facing walls as the sun’s heat was trapped by the brick and brings on the fruit early. #espalier #pears
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Grandad joke: groan!
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
In French, la poire is the sweet, edible fruit - the pear), while le poiré is the alcoholic beverage made from fermented perry pears, similar to how cider (le cidre) is made. A perry pear is called a poire à poiré, and the trees that grow them are called poiriers à poiré. #apples #pears #french
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
A photo of a pair of pears I pared. #homophone
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
It might feel cold in Wairarapa recently with the polar blast but check out these icicles from a Hawke Bay Orchard in Flaxmere this morning! Looks like a winter wonderland! 😊 It's called frost irrigation and contrary to its looks it is an active protection system for delicate buds! Photo Andre Kupa
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The cold sunny days at the orchard have brought out the daffodils in the orchard's grass These are Tete a Tete. Cheers up the view in winter when the trees are bare. Daffodils are poisonous to sheep But this naughty one loves wriggling though the fences! #daffodils #sheep #orchard
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
A cold start to the day. A polar blast has reached New Zealand The culprit is the current negative SAM (Southern Annular Mode) pushing cold polar air north The Remutuka pass, the route to the orchard closed from snow on the Remutuka ranges, the southern extension of the Tararua ranges behind us.
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
The chill continues today at Beau Vista orchard in Wairarapa, so I thought I would post some more pictures. Photogenic but think of those apple and pear buds. Even with those scales the living tissues must be cold! #winter #ice #bud
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
It's a cold frosty start today N Z is in the grip of a cold snap due to a freezing polar air blast from the Southern Ocean, and a high-pressure ridge making clear skies Makes for crunchy grass in the orchard and great photos. As always I am grateful for nature setting the bloom and killing the bugs
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Another week of wet cold weather at the orchard. Oddly the winter has not been as cold as normal for winter in the Wairarapa NZ. So far only a few days or snow on the Tararua ranges above us. Some bulbs like daffodils have responded to this and are flowering early. The crocuses are over #daffodils
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
During 1960s, Showerings promotional campaigns for Babycham This long stickpin fawn was given away in pubs, and mail in It is made from gold-tone metal with a textured fur finish a blue enamel on the oversized bow tied around the neck. Targeting women, on a long, slender stickpin it is a hat pin .
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Although the pear trees (our first fruit trees to blossom) will still be dormant for 2 months more it great to see the bumblebees are stirring on sunny winter days. We keep a variety of plants and shrubs that are early flowering to help maintain their population in the orchard. #bumblebees #orchard
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Last week this orchard was underwater from flooding. The ground is still sodden and it continues to rain however these snowdrops seem happy. A great display this year. #snowdrops. #orchard
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Early morning fog over the Wairarapa valley lifting. Another glorious sunny day. The cold nights are good for the apple and pear trees but with a super El Nino forming we are expecting a dry winter - not so good. Is it affecting us already? It’s been unusually dry to date. #wairarapa #weather|
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Which one of you Dollies keep escaping? Who's the guilty one? And why? You have plenty of grass, water and shelter in the orchard. #sheep #orchard #cider #apples
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
If you are a follower of mine or cider making on social media; and a Reddit person, then please join r/perry_pearcider the only site on Reddit dedicated to perry 😊. There are also other subreddits on cider making, apples & pomme fruits.
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
This was the first perry pear tree we have. Back in 2014 we collected scion wood from a perry pear at Waitahuna. It is now a large prolific tree producing us a SV single tree perry. And we have now grafted on to other trees that are starting to to produce. #grafting #scion #perry #pear
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Perry like cider can be made still, or method traditional. This doseage machine makes getting a consistent fill levels in the bottles easy with the gravity fed reservoir bottle, after disgorging the lees This machine is Spanish and based on a classic design from Épernay. #perry #doseage
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
If you are after an academic view of cider making it’s hard to go past this book. Published 2003. The chapter on cider is written appropriately by Andrew Lea as well as him being joint editor. Although 20 years old now there is little out of date. Mine is well thumbed! #cider #cidermaking #books
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
The old masters of perry making had the same problems with perry as now. They didn’t know the science but their remedies work well today. See Rev John Beale aphorism 14 in Pomona by John Evelyn 1664 (attached to Sylva the book). #perry #Sylva #pomona #book
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Our pear trees look dormant but during autumn, these buds develop harden overlapping scales to protect the delicate meristem inside which continues to undergo microscopic growth and development whilst accumulating the required "chill hours" before Spring. 😊 #pear #perry #bud #dormancy #winter
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
For those in or visiting the UK, the Hartpury Orchard Centre is well worth a visit. They contain most known varieties of perry pear planted by Hartpury Heritage Trust. There are 30 acres of orchards and wetlands grazed by Ryeland sheep and Gloucester cattle. Dogs on leads are welcome #perry #pears
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Autumn time in the orchard here & time for medlar harvest. Medlars ripen later than most fruit and after the frosts set in. Traders brought them to England in the 1700s. It is recorded that they were added to cider in the 1700’s so we do so to with fruit we grow ourselves. #medlar #cider #autumn
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Autumn is here now in Wairarapa New Zealand. The autumnal colours are lovely. Especially on the pear trees. The orchard is still wet from the recent floods, pruning our next job delay , after burning last year’s pruning which have been providing habitats for skinks & geckos #orchard #yearlycycles
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Felt badges have been used by hikers since the early 20thC to remember places. Originating from Scout movement collecting merit badges, these felt badges let hikers to personalise hats etc with emblems. I got this one from the Museum of Cider in Hereford, England. #cider #museum #badges #Hereford
Felt badge of Museum of Cider, Hereford.
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Flashback time. End of the harvest 2013 I still have a few bottles left in the library. The tannins are mellowing a little but still drinks well We were using our original Vigo manual rack and cloth press then. Helped by our friend Champika Mahinda Wickramaarachchi #cider #harvest.
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TeePee Cider @teepeecider.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
On this ANZAC day I commemorate it with this WW1 cartoon It was part of a series titled Fragments from France, produced by Captain Bruce Bairnsfather during the war and were first published weekly in The Bystander magazine starting in 1915 This one is called Tommy Tickler's Plum and Apple Jam #ANZAC
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