Cypress Grove's PsycheDillic '60s Flashback

​Cypress Grove, producer of one of my favorite local cheeses (Truffle Tremor), is offering two new variations in its soft goat chevre collection: PsycheDillic and Sgt. Pepper.

This brings its offerings in the category to six, and to continue the naming theme, all are available in an assorted six pack of 4-oz. packages known as the Flashback Six Pack: Purple Haze, Herbs de Humboldt, Ms. Natural and the two new flavors. Perhaps something other than grass for cattle is growing in Humboldt County that spawns these ideas?

PsycheDillic: You need to like dill to like this cheese, and if you do you'll love it. Dill pollen and dried dill leaves are dusted across the disk of fresh goat cheese to create an intense note of, you guessed it, dill. The dill mix infuses the cheese with a consistent flavor of the herb.

Cypress Grove Chevre Founder Mary Keehn calls it "dill squared."

"The pollen has a depth of flavor that you just can't get using dried dill alone," she says.

Sgt. Pepper: This cheese is covered with chili threads and a mix of black pepper, New Mexico chili powder, California chili powder and cayenne powder. Slicing into it instantly interlaces the threads into the cheese itself. A hit of heat is the first thing you notice, and the warmth lingers pleasantly after the cheese is done. If chevre and hot sauce had an affair, this would be their bastard child.

​One complaint, universal to all soft cheese in tight plastic packaging, is that it's almost impossible to cut the cheese out of the package without damaging its appearance. It tastes the same, but it's a less compelling presentation on a party platter. Plastic interacts with cheese in a way that's not positive, and cheese makers know it, but marketing often wins out as consumers want to see what they're buying.

Tech note: According to Cypress Grove, its fresh chevre disks have a 12-week shelf life. After you've opened them, wrap them in wax paper and place them in a Ziplock bag. They'll last, but the sooner you eat them after opening the better.

Both cheeses are nice additions to the Cypress Grove line, and are clearly best suited for people favoring the flavors they promote.

The new flavors will be available in mid September for $6.49 for a 4-oz. disk at Whole Foods, Rainbow Market, Bi-Rite, Say Cheese, Andronico's, and Cowgirl Creamery at the Ferry Building. The Flashback Six Pack is available exclusively at www.cypressgrovechevre.com, again in mid September, for $75, including shipping and
handling.