Our Story

The Payne family’s ancestors have been farming at Pine Trees Farm, Doddington, Kent since 1939.

Over the years the 50-acre farm has evolved from being a mixture of fruit and arable, to exclusively farming fruit since the mid-1970s.

Almost 70 years after the family’s ancestors started farming at Pine Trees Farm, Rob Payne became the 5th generation to join the family business.

The fruit industry, particularly for smaller farms, is a struggling sector in UK agriculture, but Rob was determined to find a way to pay his wage and continue farming.

Making cider seemed like a natural progression. Using apples grown on the farm, Rob made his first small batch of cider in 2009 to sell at local farmers’ markets.

By 2011 the small-scale production had doubled two-fold and Pine Trees Farm cider (as it was then known) was attracting a real following from local pubs and farmers’ markets.

Rob decided his cider needed a more marketable name, and discovered that the 11th Century origin of the village name, Doddington, was Dudda’s Tun.

The connection was instant, Dudda’s Tun not only represents the location of the family farm, but the very roots and unique style of cider we produce.

…and so, Dudda’s Tun Cider was born.

2011

2018

Dudda’s Tun Cider has continued to grow, and now produces A CORE RANGE OF 12 CIDERS.

Dudda’s Tun can be found in most micro-pubs across Kent and has notched up 25 awards (…and counting!).

With real momentum behind the craft-cider market, our cider has even found its way in to local Co-Op stores. Some new wholesalers situated outside of Kent are also helping our very local cider to become national.

From day one our goal has been to make cider true to our unique region in the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Kent.

Being lovers of all things food & drink, we strive to produce super tasty ciders that make the apples sing!

We nurture the apples from blossom on the tree through to picking, and aim to make every variety the star of the show, showcasing the stark contrast that our apples can bring.

Our styles of cider vary greatly, whether it be still, sparkling, traditional, hazy, filtered or flavoured, but they are always clean, crisp and refreshing.

We always ferment from 100% freshly pressed juice and only with naturally occurring wild yeasts unique to Pine Trees Farm… Kent to the Core!

The future is looking exciting for Dudda’s Tun. With our branding overhaul complete and new ciders on the way,
we feel we’re perfectly placed to take Dudda’s Tun
to the next level.

We want to make our cider accessible to all, whether it be national stockists or our online shop.

Dudda’s Tun is here to stay, so join us for the journey, and keep enjoying our cider. That’s the most important thing…

For The Fun Cider Life!!!