Happy Apple Juice

eco-friendly farming by Tero Palmroth

Fully Ecological - Fully Transparent

At the Hakonen orchard in Karjalohja, each apple variety is picked when the apples are ripe and suitable for juicing. The apples are picked one variety at a time, and the juices are not mixed. No water or additives have been added to the juices, and approximately 2.5 kilograms of completely pure, fresh-picked first-class apples have been used to make one bottle of apple juice.

The juice is then packaged into 1.2-litre food-quality plastic bottles designed by Harri Koskinen, one of the best known Finnish designers. When empty, the bottle can be reused, e.g., for freezing berries. Please note, that the bottle is filled to the brim. Open carefully.

The Happy Apple label is designed by professor Erik Bruun, one of Finland's most renowned and respected graphic designers. The apples are farmed and juiced by Tero Palmroth.

No pesticides. No government subsidies. Our core values are honesty, transparency and respect for the environment. Our mission is to set an example on how to produce local food the right way. It is also important to us that everyone involved is getting decent pay for a job well done.

Apple field at the Hakonen orchad.

The almos plum-like deep red colour of the lobo variety apples is the result of the cold autumn nights and daily sunshine. The 2022 lobo crop was harvested in late Sebtember. The result is exceptionally sweet juice.

A patch of first-class Lobo-apples ready to ship to Sammatti juicing plant. Happy Apple juice is genuine local product – it is grown and manufactured within just 100 kilometres from Helsinki.

Ready-made product. Happy Apple juice – made without pesticides and without government subsidies.

THE APPLE FARMER’S BOTTLED HAPPINESS

Tero Palmroth was the first Scandinavian to ever participate in the legendary Indianapolis 500 Race. By way of love, coincidences, and bison, he ended up an apple farmer and juice maker.

Entrepreneur Tero Palmroth thought that raising bison was a good idea, as he wanted to bring some life back to his wife’s family farm in the late 1990s. Farming apples proved to be a much better idea.

‘This is a fantastic climate for apples. The herd of bison was sold and apple trees were planted on the south-facing slopes of the Hakonen farm in Karjalohja. Today, there are 2,600 trees and the organic crop is made into juice from “happy apples” (Onnellisten omenoiden mehu)’, Tero Palmroth says, clearly very pleased.

In the beginning, the crop was even turned into apple brandy. The authentic Calvados casks were imported from Normandy and the drink was very tasty, but the intricacies of Finnish alcohol legislation made the operation difficult.

Now the apples are used to make cultivar-specific apple juices. The crop is harvested by hand, each variety individually at exactly the right time. The apples are transferred immediately to a dim and cool space, washed, and transported to the juicing station in Sammatti. At the station, the apples are freshly squeezed and packaged into Finnish plastic bottles designed by Harri Koskinen and decorated with labels designed by professor Erik Bruun.

‘The apples are not left sitting in storage, and they are squeezed one cultivar at a time. Much like fine wine, people value top quality juice that has been produced without making any compromises’, Palmroth says.

The taste of apple juices varies by both cultivar and vintage, much like that of wine.

‘My personal favourite is the White Transparent juice for breakfast, but juice pressed from the Samo cultivar goes well with food and it is also served at dinner in the Savoy restaurant. Juices from the Jaspi or Raike cultivars, on the other hand, are better suited for dessert because they have honey and vanilla aromas’, Tero Palmroth says.

This year’s crop is going to be relatively good, even though the apple season is a few weeks late.

‘It’s all up to Mother Nature and the Lord. This is not a big business. This has more to do with idealism and faith in the countryside, as well as the production of pure, local food. It is rewarding on its own to be part of something like this.’

Translated article from Viini-magazine.

Varieties

Look at the stamp

Every package has a stamp which shows the apple variety the juice is extracted from.

Pirja

Sweet, caramel-like. Ripens early in august.

Valkea Kuulas

Fresh-tasting, acidic. Colour green, gets lighter when ripe.

Samo

Medium sweet, acidic, calm. Ground color yellow, part of the surface is covered with reddish brown color.

Jaspi

Sweet, "honey-like". Bright red color.

Raike

Taste is initially sour, but gets sweeter as they ripen. Has a "vanilla" taste. Quite reddish color.

Lobo

Sweet, medium acidic, safe. Dark red.

Complete History of the Juice

Visual designer professor Erik Bruun, apple farmer Tero Palmroth and package designer Harri Koskinen at Heinolan Heila. 2016.

Seedlings were grown in Ahvenanmaa (Åland) in 1999.

Planted on organic fields of Hakonen farm in Karjalohja in 2001. Trees grow in a south facing slope of about 2 hectares. There are six verieties; pirja, valkea kuulas, samo, jaspi, raike and lobo, a total of 2600 trees.

The trees are in rows 1.30 meters apart. Every row has a cover fabric that prevents weeds and makes the roots warmer in springtime.

On top of the cover fabric is a irrigation system that delivers water to the trees for 45 minutes every evening. The water comes from a natural spring pool that is located just next to the farm.

In springtime the irrigation system also delivers natural “vitamins” and nutrients to the trees.

Every April the trees are trimmed. In July there is another trimming, so that the fruits will get more sunlight.

The harvesting of the crop begins in July-August, and goes on with one variety at the time.

The best apples are delivered every day to the juicing plant in Sammatti, eight kilometers from the farm. In Sammatti the apples are juiced and pasteurized with traditional methods and 50 years old equipment. Unopened juice is good for 14 months in room temperature, and it keeps 2 weeks in fridge after opening. The juice is bottled in 1.2-liter bottles. The bottles can be recycled or reused. They are great for example for freezing berries.

No water, or any type of additive is added to the juice. Approximately 2.5 kilograms of apples picked from the trees is used for each bottle of apple juice.

People behind Happy Apple juice agree with the values of Ellen McArthur Foundation and UN Enviroments New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. To reduce plastic waste Happy Apple juice is packed in 100% recyclable package. The bottle is designed to be durable enough to be reused at home.

We wish you a pleasant and healthy times with our juice.

Tero Palmroth