Frequently Asked Questions

It’s kind of a long story: Cypress Grove’s founder, Mary Keehn, was approached by a Dutch cheese master at the New York Fancy Food Show over 20 years ago. He had brought a sample of aged goat cheese with him that his mother had made from the milk of his goats. Wishing to develop a market for his cheese, the two began a conversation and as they talked, they realized they shared a very similar love of animals and cheese.

Their relationship grew over the years with Mary visiting and being impressed by what seemed to be the “healthiest and happiest goats” she had ever seen. The flavor of the cheese was good at first taste, but over time they worked on a unique recipe. The cheese was aged longer, the cultures were adjusted, and the preservative lysozyme that is present in most cheeses of this type was removed.

At that time, there were few aged goat cheeses being produced in the US and nothing at all similar to Midnight Moon; the milk supply in the US was in very limited, isolated pockets. It would have been impossible to make it here. We are proud of shrinking the world a bit, and we love Midnight Moon so much that we created a recipe for Lamb Chopper, our aged sheep milk cheese, with the same expert cheesemakers.

There are a few things to consider: is the cheese an appetizer or main dish? Do you have any guests who really, really, really love cheese and can polish off a whole wedge by themselves? A good starting point is about 1.5 oz per person for an appetizer board, and double or triple that for a main meal board (double if there’s a lot of other food, triple if there isn’t). When in doubt, buy a bit more than you think you’ll need — you can always save it for later or send guests home with a treat!

Yes. All of our cheeses are made with microbial (vegetarian) rennets and are vegetarian-friendly.

Yes, cheese is keto and you can eat goat cheese as part of a ketogenic (keto) diet. Healthy fats are a central part of a keto diet. Our goat cheese is minimally processed cheese that’s low in lactose, making it a great fit for people following a keto diet. Goat cheese can be a great way to add healthy fats to a keto salad, or you can even add one of our fresh cheeses to a keto omelet.

What is the Keto Diet?

The Ketogenic diet is a low-carb diet that requires one to significantly reduce carbohydrates. People who do the keto diet typically aim to lose weight by restricting carbs. It tends to be a short-term diet. While carbs are not completely off-limits, they do need to be in a significant deficit for one to reach ketosis.

Is the Keto Diet Healthy?

We are not medical professionals here at Cypress Grove, so we can’t determine whether the diet is a good fit for any one individual. What we do know is that our cheese spread is keto-friendly, and keto dieters can still enjoy the flavor of our cheese. So, if you’re looking for keto side dishes with minimal carbs, our cheese is a great place to start!

No, no – a million times no.

Yes, Cypress Grove products are gluten-free.

Can you eat cheese rind? We get this question all the time, and the answer is an emphatic YES! You can eat the rind on all of our soft-ripened cheeses — in fact, it’s a key part of the cheese’s flavor and adds a fantastic textural contrast. When it comes to rinds, try a bit, and if you like it, eat it! Just don’t eat any man-made rinds like wax or cloth, and steer clear of tree bark. Words to live by.

Many people ask, “What IS Humbolt Fog?” we get it; it’s an incredibly unique (and delicious!) cheese. Humboldt Fog is not a blue cheese, but that’s a common misconception. The grey line running through the center of Humboldt Fog and around the outside under the rind is an odorless, tasteless, and completely edible vegetable ash. The vegetable ash adds a beautiful aesthetic and is an ode to the French cheese Morbier, but it also helps the mold to grow on the outside of the cheese. Goat cheese is quite acidic, and the ash helps to bring up the pH and encourages mold growth, which in turn becomes the rind of the cheese or the mold exterior.

Humboldt Fog is one of our staples when it comes to soft-ripened cheeses. While some may be blue cheese fans, our Humboldt Fog soft-ripened goat cheese is in a completely different genre. The mildly acidic flavor, along with the recognizable ash rind, makes this goat cheese unforgettable.

Try Our Humboldt Fog Cheese

Looking to give the Humboldt Fog cheese a try? FInd some near you using our store locator, or order online through Goldbelly. With the creamy texture and bloomy mold, what’s not to love? You’ll won’t regret you trying this delicious Cypress Grove cheese!

It sure is! “Chevre” means both “goat” and “goat cheese” in French and is frequently used to refer to fresh goat cheeses in particular. Fresh goat cheese, or chevre, is bright, tart, tangy, and delicious, but goat cheese comes in all shapes, sizes, and ages. We prefer to call our cheese “goat cheese” instead of “chevre” because we’re an American company with American roots — and it’s much easier to understand!

We have a handy dandy store locator to point you toward retailers in your area. You can also ask for Cypress Grove cheeses at grocery stores, restaurants, wine shops, and markets that have a good selection of specialty foods.

To order online, we’ve partnered with Goldbelly to provide you with the best ordering experience possible for all your cheese needs. You can now order all of your Cypress Grove favorites directly from their website, with your order still shipping straight from our creamery.

All cheeses should be kept as cold as possible without freezing (33°-35°F). In order to allow them to breathe, use only waxed paper to wrap ripened cheeses such as Humboldt Fog or Truffle Tremor. Our fresh cheeses, Midnight Moon, and Lamb Chopper should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Store cheese in the coldest part of the refrigerator, and prior to serving, bring only the portion you plan to serve up to room temperature for its full flavor to emerge!

(For more detailed information on Humboldt Fog, check out The Secret Life of Cheese.)

Terroir is a common concept in the food world which suggests that a cheese or wine (or other edible product) is influenced by its geographical location. Cypress Grove fosters terroir by thoughtfully managing a detailed set of practices including land stewardship of our Humboldt County goat dairy and working closely with other partner dairy farms that supply our milk.

We make a variety of fresh goat milk cheeses, including our award-winning Purple Haze and Fromage Blanc; soft-ripened cheeses including top-selling Humboldt Fog and black-tie-ready Truffle Tremor; and aged cheeses including Midnight Moon and Lamb Chopper, a sheep milk cheese.

Cypress Grove was founded in 1983 by Mary Keehn.

We always welcome visitors to our creamery, though we are unable to offer tours of our production facilities. Our regular office hours are weekdays from 8:30am to 3:00pm Pacific. We have no tasting room or retail sales at our creamery.

EFFECTIVE 3/9/20: Visitors are welcome to come into our front office to say hello, but we are unable to accommodate visitors elsewhere in our creamery, including our viewing window. Thank you for understanding.

You can learn more at CertifiedHumane.org — click the link to view the Animal Care Standards!

We welcome visitors at our creamery, but the 24/7 operations at our dairy mean that we’re really not set up to host drop-in visitors. Thanks very much for your interest in visiting us here in beautiful Humboldt County!

Yes. We do have our own dairy (over 1400 goats today) which supplies us with very high-quality milk.  In addition to working with California and Oregon dairies, we supplement our supply of goat milk with imported curd. This allows us to meet the year round demand for our beloved products.

Our imported curd, of course,  meets the same strict quality specifications as our domestic goat milk supply.

They are commonly referred to as wattles. It is believed that these skin appendages are evolutionary remnants of a gland no longer needed or required by the body, hence its outward appearance. They serve absolutely no known function. Some goats have them, some don’t. When a doe has wattles, it is likely her kids will have them, too.

Our goats are fed a balanced diet that includes a grain mixture specifically formulated for our herd including alfalfa and Timothy hay — plus they always have access to lush Humboldt pasture land.

On occasion, goats may receive antibiotics when they are ill. However, it is illegal to use milk that tests positive for antibiotics in the United States. Any goats that have received antibiotics are separated from the rest of the herd until they are well and antibiotic-free. To ensure the highest milk quality, we test every batch of milk that we pick up for antibiotics, butterfat, protein, and bacteria. Our goats never receive growth hormones of any type.

We breed our goats once a year and they have on average two kids per kidding.

We have a 48 stanchion milking machine. Milking takes approximately a minute-and-a half per goat, and the herd’s average production is roughly 0.83 gallons per day, per doe.

Our goats are milked twice daily (6am and 6pm).

Our dairy consists of four breeds: Toggenburg, Saanen, Alpine, and Lamancha. Toggenburgs are known to produce milk with lots of butter fat, while Saanens are known for high volume. Alpines are known to have consistent and lengthy lactations. Lamancha goats have high milk production and high butterfat content, but they are most well-known for their incredibly small “gopher-like” ears.

As of spring 2019, we have just over 1200 goats on our dairy.