The old wooden cider mill used to make the autumn favorite 200 years ago uses the same basic process now done using the newest technology behind the glass wall. One bushel (approximately 90 apples) produces about 3.5 gallons of cider. Photo by Kathie Hempel

I am an autumn junkie! I admit it. I love everything about fall.

The crisp cool air, the glorious color of changing leaves, the promise of cozying up to the wood fire on evenings when the temperatures fall — all these make me one very content lady. Oh, there is one more.

As my native Canadian Thanksgiving approaches (second Monday in October), I begin to long for the comforting scent of warm apple cider with a cinnamon stick. That’s why this year I began my preparations for the holiday season at the source of this favorite indulgence.

Grandpa’s Cider Mill is a wonderful experience. Just-picked apples arrive at the mill and are loaded into a hopper outside. The machine gently dispenses the apples onto a conveyor and into the building.

Once inside, they enter a washer, where they are scrubbed and sponged and given a water bath prior to heading up the elevator into the grinder. Here they are ground into a pumice prior to making their way to the press.

Below the press is a 100-gallon pan that catches the freshly extracted, pulpy juice. From there the juice is pumped through a filter into holding tanks for bottling. It is an incredible process and according to owner Jay Jollay: “If you really look at the engineering and mechanics of that old hand-operated press, (on display at the mill) it is exactly the same as what we are doing commercially behind the glass wall. You still have the grinder. You still have the press. You still have the bottling area — even though it has been greatly extrapolated, the process is still the same.”

The “glass wall” Jollay refers to is a 50-foot glass window which is all that separates you from the entire operation when you visit Grandpa’s Cider Mill at 1850 Friday Rd., Coloma. Jollay describes the process as fundamentally the same as it was 200 years ago. In spite of the use of all the new technology and electricity replacing hand power, is fascinating to watch.

Jollay has thought through the technology as carefully as he has the atmosphere in which he welcomes the visitors who come to watch it. The “rack and cloth horizontal” press, brought in from New York state, extracts the juice for this, the sixth press season at the mill and was chosen specifically for its gentle action so as not to disrupt the molecular integrity of the apple more than is necessary.

Rather than the usual heat pasteurization that can alter the flavor of the cider, this mill uses a UV light processing system to mitigate any bacteria. This allows Jollay to produce “the closest to raw cider allowed by the USDA.”

For those, like me, who are curious about the differences between apple cider and apple juice, Jollay explained his cider is specially blended to be a “deep dark brown, dark and cloudy so you can’t see a thing through it.” It is the natural sediment that makes it that way.

Those accustomed to clear apple juice sometimes fear this sediment, which can settle to the bottom of the bottle or glass, means the cider may be turning bad. However, it is what makes cider, cider and the result of it being the less filtered of the two. For those who want a drink as close to what the apple used to be as possible, cider is the choice.

“We list our ingredients on our label. There is only one: apple,” Jollay says.

The mill not only produces cider for Jollay’s own retail and wholesale needs, it also takes on custom presses for about 40 area growers. Each of the custom runs assures the individual farmer they will have cider pressed from their apples, bottled and private labeled to sell from their own farm or at their local farm market.

Grandpa’s Signature Cider, is a precise blend of a variety of good juicing apples which allows for the consistent quality of cider for which the mill is known. Visitors are invited to “belly up” to the cider bar or slide into one of the booths Jollay provides to enhance the experience of tasting the final product.

But wait. In addition to the pure Signature Cider, you can choose from a variety of flavors — 40 at last count — custom blended while you wait. A menu board lists staff favorites.

Jay’s favorite is the Red Hot Cinnamon, which is served warm at Valentine’s Day with candy hearts sprinkled in the drink. Grandpa Mike is partial to the caramel. Julie, who has worked year-round at the mill since the location opened, is listed as choosing pomegranate. However, in an aside she shared with me that her true favorite is peanut butter.

Peanut butter! In cider! This I had to try. Much to my surprise I loved it. This is why the sign detailing how to try the various flavors states: “Keep an open mind.” Who knew?

While you wait for your custom blend of cider there are plenty of other unique items to peruse as you walk around the mill’s retail store. A wide variety of jams, jellies and mustards, a variety of gift ideas and even a special Jollay cider bottle that appears perfect to hold about a pint of the delicious drink, no matter what flavor you settle on.

The on-site bakery produces delicious blueberry, pumpkin and apple cider donuts. Apple, cherry and blueberry pies along with cookies and cupcakes were also on display.  I walked out with special caramel crystals flavoring, a couple of half gallons of the Signature Cider, a half gallon of cider blended with Jollay’s own cherry juice, a pint each of caramel, cinnamon, mango and the peanut butter cider in addition to a dozen of the donuts. Hey! I shared.

The mill is just a mile down the street from Jollay Acres where the Harvest Festival is in full swing. Saturdays and Sundays until Oct. 31, visitors can ride the Ferris wheel, pick their own apples, go through the theme park village, have a fall picnic, take a hay ride through the apple orchard and out to the pumpkin patch, make their way through the corn maze and visit the haunted school house all for one low admission price. People 2 to 92 pay $6 and those under 2 years old are admitted free.

“We had more visitors than even I expected for the Labor Day weekend. Both at the farm, picking their own apples and enjoying the events there and here at the cider mill, so we were very pleased,” Jollay said.

There is still one more, long holiday weekend to plan for. Jollay will have the attractions open for Columbus Day Monday too, which brings us back to the start of my holiday season with Canadian Thanksgiving the same weekend.

This is a great way for the family to have a memorable day trip seeing the fall colors on the drive to Coloma and experiencing the Harvest Festival complete with a trip to Grandpa’s Cider Mill. For more information and directions you might want to first visit Jollay’s website at www.jollay orchards.com.