Coffee & Cheese Break

I love traditional cheese from their traditional homes. There is nothing like a taste of Beaufort to imagine the alpine meadows in the mountains of the Savoie. Enjoying the grassy, earthy taste of St Nectaire makes it easy to conjure up images of row upon row of wheels aging on straw mats in the cellars of the Auvergne.

But where does that leave new world cheese makers? Straight copies of old world cheeses tend to come off a little pale when compare to their originals. Introducing something brand new to the market can be a long haul though, so what is needed is a strong personality and a dedication to the cheese maker’s own vision. I love it when a North American cheese maker branches out and lets his or her imagination, and love of food dictate the actions. At Beehive Cheese Co. in the US they are certainly doing that.

This is a great creamery run by Tim Welsh and Pat Ford. They make their unique cheeses at their creamery in Northern Utah with milk from a 4^th generation dairy farm located near them. They make a variety of truly original cheeses, and they obviously use beautiful milk to start with, which you can taste as soon as the cheese passes your lips.

They are most known for their cheese Barley Buzzed. This rich, firm, dense, almost cheddar-like cheese is cured with a crust of espresso and French lavender. The mix of these two powerful ingredients seem like it might overwhelm a lesser cheese, but the hand rubbed blend of coffee and herbs adds an amazing, original taste. The first bite is definitely surprising, but the finish of caramel and the savoury kick of the lavender make it a really playful concept brought to a delicious end.

I have met Tim many times over the years at American cheese events, and he has visited us often in Vancouver as he tirelessly promotes their cheeses throughout North America. He is a lovely person with a true enthusiasm for the work that their creamery is doing, and a real love of the industry he is part of. That’s what’s needed when you bring something totally new to the market; you have to really work to set it firmly in the mind of consumers and cheese mongers alike!

We love to meet local cheese makers doing their own thing and following their own passions. The love of their work always shows in the end results, and it makes for such a vibrant community to be part of.