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Wednesday, December 10, 2014
THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
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very year, the Curtis Apple Orchard is fi lled with students, families and all those in-between to celebrate the beginning of fall. The orchard features an apple orchard, pumpkin patch, country store and restaurant. It is also home to the Curtis Orchard apple cider, which is made using an in-house cider press. The orchard is home to 31 different varieties of apples, which go on to either live on the shelves or be pressed into cider. Curtis Orchard is currently run and co-owned by Randy and Debbie Graham. Debbie is the daughter of Paul and Joyce Curtis, the founders of the orchard. The Grahams started working at the orchard in 1980, which was the year the fi rst apples were harvested. They became partners in 1994, and have been gradually expanding over the years, which included opening the Country Store and the Flying Monkey Cafe. The Country Store sells different kinds of items including the orchard’s apples, cider and even salsa. Honey crisp apples are a crowd favorite. The cafe was a dream of Debbie’s when she was younger, and with the help of her family, she was able to open it up in 2004 and has had the opportunity to try out different recipes with customers. While his wife works the cafe, Randy starts up the cider press around 5 a.m. with his crew. The apples are washed and conveyed to the press before being dropped into a grinder, which then pulverizes and releases the juice. The apples are crushed with around 2,000 lbs. per square inch of force. It’s then taste-tested before pasteurization and bottling. Although it is no longer fall, the Graham’s are still accepting customers until Dec. 20. The orchard is located at 3902 S. Duncan Rd. in Champaign.
Folake can be reached at osibodu2@dailyillini.com and on Twitter @fosibodu.
CURTIS ORCHARD’S CORE VALUES BY FOLAKE OSIBODU PHOTO EDITOR