Cypress Grove Chevre

So, my husband is a cheese hound. His world revolves around Etorki, Comte, Stilton, Roquefort, Rabiolo and Taleggio. None of that Gouda humdrum for me, & he’s from Holland, the home of Gouda! Always trying new stuff. Latest one is Humboldt Fog goat cheese made by Cypress Grove. OMG! You read that right. My life will never be the same. I now know that Humboldt Fog always needs to be on call. Love at first bite!

Holy Cheese!!! I’ve been on many trips to Europe and have had some fabulous cheese and Cypress Grove easily ranks on the same level! I have not had the chance to visit their official site, but had most of their cheese at my work.
I was fortunate enough to sample the Humboldt Fog, Truffle Tremor, Bermuda Triangle, Lamb Chopper, Sgt. Pepper, and Purple Haze. I would say the first three I listed are not for your average joe who enjoys an average mainstream cheese. Very earthy and extremely strong tones (Love my stinky cheese). The rest were just as extraordinary, but may be for most crowds who enjoy a more traditional cheese found in stores. Of course I sat there trying everything single one and found it nearly impossible to choose a favorite. Each one is excellent in it’s own way, but I will say that the Humboldt Fog really made an impact on me as a personal favorite. I’ve seen the cheeses in many grocery stores and markets around the bay area, so now I will have to resist the urge to purchase any (This will be extremely difficult). Highly suggest the cheese, whether a special occasion or a splurge purchase for some wonderful and reliable cheese.

This is not a cheese shop. You can only buy it at local stores. The below Unilocal review is incorrect. However, we did go visit and they were extremely nice. They gave us a quick tour of the aging room and a sample to go!

Consistant and reliable. I know I can choose any one of their cheeses and it’s delicious!

Seriously the best cheese ever– I love the Lamb Chopper, Humboldt Fog & Midnight Moon (probably my favorite). They run an awesome business, take such good care of their animals & give back to their community. This is a company you can feel good supporting.

Cypress Grove Chevre has shared their wonderful goat cheeses at several Unilocal events. Their cheese can be purchased from places like Berkeley Bowl and several cheese shops.
All the cheese they make is wonderful; I think my favorite is the Humboldt Fog. This creates a big problem, I don’t want to share. If S finds I hid the cheese so he could not have any he would be hurt. Oh well, he will get over it in a year or so.

You can find this cypress Grove award winning cheese in any good market, cheese shop or restaurant from Arcata to Manhattan. It is the best. Great gift too.

Cypress Grove Chevre makes some seriously deliz goat cheeses,
locale: Unilocal summer sip-​nic (⁸⁄₃)
eats: both samples were deliz,
–would buy some if i could handle the calories
but i can’t right now.
not sure if the lipitor i’m taking now can handle the grease overload.
crumbs:
–something definitely to look forward to.

Is it wrong to want to eat a WHOLE wheel of cheese?
(No. Right?)
Humboldt Fog came into my life like a mist and then it was gone.
I wanted more but the long line at Unilocal Summer Sip-​Nic did not allow me to stay.
Right then and there my friend and I decided that no matter the price we were going to order a wheel.
After seeing the prices we decided that price mattered and
we were going to go halfsies on a small wheel.
I cant wait till it arrives. After that we’ll have to figure out how to evenly divide custody.
I just want the judge to know that I loved the cheese more
and will provide a more stable home
…in my stomach:)

My husband and I have been huge fans of the Humboldt Fog Cheese made by the Cypress Grove Creamery for quite some time now. It’s one of our go-​to cheeses whenever we entertain. After attending an event in Alameda this afternoon, we now have another favorite from this fantastic creamery; Midnight Moon. It’s got a delicious nutty flavor and we love the slight crunch of the protein crystals that form naturally with aging. Midnight Moon will definitely be a new star on our cheese platters!

Lamb Chopper and Humboldt Fod are pretty kick ass. They certainly know their way around excellent dairy products. I hear the Truffle Tremor is also really damn good. Great tasting product and also fun creative names. It’s easy to like their goods and theyre one of those artisans outside of Petaluma that are making great cheeses.

my all-​time favorite cheese (Midnight Moon) is made here! very friendly staff.

For those visiting Arcata, this is NOT a retail shop! This is the address for the actual creamery where the magic happens. That being said, picture two San Franciscans looking to buy some Humboldt Fog, wandering into a strange unmarked building while a shirtless man in a tractor stares, idling, at your SUV, absolutely mud-​drenched after a long camping trip. We poked our heads in, decided we were in the wrong place, and walked back out. A small energetic woman came racing after us, yelled «excuse me! can we help you?» FI and I exchange a glance, «we’re looking for… the cheese,» I say tentatively. «Well what are you waiting for?» she gestures, «follow me!» she proceeds to explain where we are, and that while they do not offer tours, she would be happy to let us peek at the magical cheese making room! She walked us through a long verbal tour of the whole cheese making process — both the Humboldt Fog we were seeking as well as the famous Chevre. I asked where we could find a retail something or other so we could buy some, and she presented us with our very own wheel of PsychiDellic Chevre, just for stopping by. Thank you, cheese lady. We are so happy. We’re enjoying it with a fresh baguette from the blue bottle coffee place on the Plaza. Thank you for making these tourists’ day!

(02/​26/​2012) We got a wedge of the Humboldt Fog, to build a goat’s milk cheese plate, from a small city market that is known for selling high quality, small production, artisinal food products. This was the best of the bunch (also had a garrotxa and chipotle chevre from two other farms); intriguing and addictive. Rind was soft and supple, interior oozed at the edges and was crumbly tender at the center. A fig paste and norcino salumi were nice complements.

Cypress Grove is incredible!
This was one of my first favorite goat cheeses. Humboldt Fog and Purple Haze are distributed widely in SF Bay Area and I didn’t think twice about where it was made… good old’ Humboldt.
Creamy, tangy and ashy. Such a soft texture, a must try.

This past January a good friend of mine who works in the food industry called me on a Monday morning and inquired if wanted to spend the morning at a food show. At first I was not feeling the love and started making up excuses on why I couldn’t make it. Work is busy, I am meeting someone at 4, I’m selling my car etc. After a few minutes I relented and walked down to meet him.
I was floored by the amount of exhibitors and the volume of free food and snack bites available. Lucky for me, I had not eaten a thing and I was starving and had plenty of room in my belly. But as I turned the corner and came out of the first row sitting there like an oasis was the Cypress Grove Chevre booth. Angels were flying all around and harp music rang out as I approached the most Heavenly of food booths. My eyes got wider and wider as I looked at each of their cheeses laid out waiting to be tasted.
Cypress Grove is hands down my favorite domestic cheese maker. The cheese makers put in countless hours perfecting the perfect goat cheese and make every effort to produce the best quality product they can. This translates into consistently good cheese with different flavors for any occasion suitable for some awesome wine pairings. And as one Cypress employee pointed out, if wine is not your thing then try beer. Yes, this actually works too!
My favorite is their signature Humboldt Fog. The description from their website reads as follows.
«Our signature offering, Humboldt Fog® is an elegant, soft, surface ripened cheese. The texture is creamy and luscious with a subtle tangy flavor. Each handcrafted wheel features a ribbon of edible vegetable ash along its center and a coating of ash under its exterior to give it a distinctive, cake-​like appearance. An American Original!»
I could not have said it myself. But one thing I would like to add is the emphasis of the ash layer. This single ingredient adds a hint of earthiness to the cheese reminiscent to what you would find a French brie. Perfect with a big red. Yes the website suggests a «crispy white» but I think the earth in the cheese screams for a huge cab or syrah.
So why wait six months to write this review?
Well this morning instead of spreading cream cheese on my bagel, I found a small leftover hunk of «Purple Haze» in my frig. Oh baby oh baby! My plain bagel with a high quality cheese made for an excellent breakfast.

I was led to write this review because of Cypress Grove’s delicious Midnight Moon goat cheese, which I bought yesterday at Berkeley Bowl West in Berkeley. I didn’t recognize the name of the creamery, which was written on the label, so I looked them up. Duh! They’re the makers of Humboldt Fog, which is well known and much loved!
The web site’s description tells a great tale: «It seems difficult to believe, but a mere twenty-​five years ago virtually all the goat cheese sold in the United States was imported from Europe. And that’s where our story begins, with a few enterprising Americans…» On the other hand, Midnight Moon was not exactly made by enterprising Americans («Made in Europe exclusively for Cypress Grove Chevre»), so it might be a good idea to serve it with a Rhone wine, or something.
Midnight Moon has been well decorated («Best New Product in Show, IFFCS (New York), 2002»). Check it out!
[I just found out that Midnight Moon is Dutch. Hold the Rhone wine and bring on the Genever.]