An interview with Tegan Buin from Lost Boy Cider!
Greetings, Cider Exchange friends. The last few weeks have been intense, and frankly it feels like months have elapsed since we first kicked off our TCE Women in Cider series for Women’s History Month in those seemingly carefree days of early March. During this time of coronavirus uncertainty, we are counting our blessings and losses alike, learning a new way to live, and adapting as quickly as we can to our new reality. To support our favorite cideries, we are ordering cider online, for pickup, and even for home delivery - even though many of us are already sitting on cases of cider. Every purchase helps, so let’s go ahead and #supportcider & #pickcider and hoard cider like never before.
Today we are spotlighting Tegan Buin, whose adventures in cider making many of us have followed from Eden (Vermont) to Brännland (Sweden) and most recently to Lost Boy (Virginia). Today we raise a glass of cider to Tegan and all of the hard working cidery team members who dedicate their talents in the orchard, in production, in tasting rooms, sales, events and beyond: you are in it for the love of cider, and without you, the cider that we enjoy so much simply could not happen. Thank you and cheers to you all, and here’s to better days ahead for all of us.
-Erica Jeter
To celebrate Women's History Month in March and highlight members of the group who work within the cider industry, we interviewed leading women making waves as makers in the cider industry. We hope you enjoy our feature and get to know more about the Women in Cider who are being highlighted.
Question: Tell us about yourself and your role in cider.
Tegan Buin: I am currently unemployed due to the Corona Virus. As of a week ago, I was half of the cidermaking team, as well as a Tasting Bar Associate, at Lost Boy Cider in Alexandria, Virginia. I am optimistic that Lost Boy, and the many other cideries currently struggling, will survive this crisis and I will be able to return to work sooner rather than later. When I am working, I do so alongside the Cidermaker, my partner David Biun, and we like to joke that he makes the spreadsheets and I make the cider. I do lots of the hands-on work of production: inoculations, additions, readings, pumpovers, racking, kegging, canning, and endless cleaning! We also work together as a team to explore new apple varieties, strains of yeast, and flavor ideas. During my bar shifts, I have the opportunity to engage with our customers and share our delicious ciders with them alongside a small team of wonderful, passionate people--most of which are also temporarily laid-off at the moment. I started out, like most people, making wine and cider at home. I got my professional start in the Finger Lakes wine region of New York state: initially working in the tasting rooms of Swedish Hill Winery, then Bellwether Cider, and my first professional production position was as the Cellar Assistant at Montezuma Winery. Subsequently, I became the Tasting Bar Manager and Assistant Cidermaker at Eden Specialty Ciders in northern Vermont. At Eden I made award-winning ice ciders and dry ciders from heirloom and cider-specific apples. After that I had the opportunity to move to northern Sweden and work as the Assistant Cidermaker at Brännland Cider in Umeå where I continued with ice cider production, this time using Swedish apples. I have been enjoying my position at Lost Boy Cider where we produce a wide range of bone-dry ciders from Virginia apples--several with additional whole ingredients like fruit purees, flowers, herbs, spices, teas, peppers, honey, and hops, among others. We are continually exploring new possibilities like single varietals, barrel-aging, wild fermentations, and natural carbonation. I am a believer in honest and minimal intervention cidermaking--the fermented apple character should always be foremost and the maker should do as little as possible but as much as necessary to produce delicious and consistent beverages. Currently, our ciders are available for online ordering and curbside pickup but we are working on getting nationwide shipping set up.
Q: What do you enjoy most about cider and/or the cider industry?
TB: I love the cider community itself the most and how our fans do great things like compiling a list of what commercial ciders are currently available for shipping--helping both consumers and producers, while our leaders are lobbying to get us the help we need at the state and federal levels. I love how passionate and supportive and vocal cider drinkers are. They are generally adventurous and curious and welcoming; seeking out new ciders, eager to learn about process and ingredients, and happy to proselytize about their beverage of choice to their friends. Fans create maps and travel guides, post reviews and interviews, and even exchange different ciders across the country! I find it inspiring during this pandemic that cider drinkers are still finding ways to support us cider producers. I also love how supportive and cooperative the cider industry is as a whole. Producers are happy to share information, stories, resources, and even equipment with each other. The cider industry in the US is so young and growing so quickly right now and we must work together to redefine what American cider can be. By making cider that is honest and delicious we can be welcoming to new drinkers and exciting to existing drinkers.
Q: Do you have a favorite moment in your cider adventures?
TB: I have had so many great moments in cider. Some highlights include: picking apples with my dogs in the orchard at Eden, getting to live in Sweden(!) to work at Brännland, and doing taste trials for new summer cider flavor combos with the team at Lost Boy.
Q: What was the first cider that really knocked your socks off?
TB: Scrumpy Cider at Coopersmith's Pub and Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado. I know, not a mainstream cider, but it only takes one good glass of a delicious beverage to kickstart a career. I was studying Equine Science at Colorado State University and working at an animal hospital at the time--horse riding, hiking, and drinking beer in my spare time--when I decided to try a cider for a change at a local brewery, and the rest is history!
Q: What is your current favorite apple for cidermaking and why do you love it?
TB: My current favorite local apple for cidermaking might be Arkansas Black, although I really love working with a combination of tannic and tart fruit; bittersweets and sharps, and even crabapples. I am new to Virginia and just starting to learn more about the apples of the Mid-Atlantic. Every area I have lived and worked has grown and used different apples for cidermaking, from modern eating varieties to traditional cidermaking varieties, Nordic and northern European varieties to heirloom American varieties. They all have their own unique characters and strengths. We are currently experimenting with several types including Arkansas Black, Albemarle Pippin, Stayman, Winesap, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Rhode Island Greening, Fuji, and Golden Delicious, with more to come.
Q: What do you do when you’re not making great ciders?
TB: My number one hobby of choice is hiking! I am most at peace in nature and I love winding trails through the forest, scenic trails alongside streams, and rocky trails on mountainous terrain. I also spend a lot of time cuddling and playing with my cats, and I enjoy taking pictures, reading, cooking, watching movies, and playing board games, and I am adding on running, cycling, painting watercolors, and learning Spanish. Before the pandemic, I also loved going to the gym, visiting cocktail bars/breweries/wineries, exploring museums and galleries, attending performances, and traveling whenever I could.
Q: When you’re not drinking your ciders, whose are you drinking?
TB: In Europe, I drank a handful of Spanish and French ciders which were quite tasty. Here in the US, I tend to seek out mostly dry ciders made with tannic apple varieties. I am looking forward to trying lots of new cider from my new region, and all the cideries that have popped up recently across the country. But, if I'm being honest, I usually drink wine, beer, and whiskey.
Q: Anything else you'd like to add?
TB: I just want to reach out to all of you wonderful cider drinkers, and encourage you, if you are able, to support your favorite cideries through this major upheaval. Most cideries are tiny businesses that employ folks like me, and have very small margins and little buffer for unexpected downturns. I know this crisis has affected all of us in different ways, and I hope that you are safe and healthy and can afford to live. And if you have the means, consider putting some of it towards a small business that you believe in, because your support is what keeps us going. We are making this cider for you and we hope to continue to be able to produce delicious ciders for your enjoyment for years to come, but we cannot do that if our businesses can't keep the lights on. Let's support each other and share our appreciation for this beverage we all enjoy! Be well, cheers, and skål!
Lost Boy Cider
317 Hooffs Run Drive
Alexandria, VA 22314