Kit ciders finish sweet because that is what sells, and because the yeast taped to the pouch is chosen for reliability rather than character. If you want something drier and more like a proper cider, the yeast is the lever to pull.
A dedicated cider strain ferments further and keeps more fresh apple aroma than a generic ale yeast. Add staged nutrient rather than dumping it all in at pitch, and the ferment will finish cleanly instead of stalling half-dry.
Fermentation temperature matters here as much as with beer. A cider fermented warm throws solvent notes that read as cheap. Held at eighteen degrees it stays crisp and the fruit survives.
Carbonation is the last decision. Bottle-conditioned cider with priming sugar gives a soft, fine bead and takes about a fortnight. Kegging and force-carbonating is quicker and lets you dial the fizz up for something closer to a commercial dry cider. Either way, be certain fermentation has genuinely finished before you package — a cider bottled early keeps fermenting in the bottle, and glass under pressure is not a mistake you want to make twice.
