Taking inspiration from the very origins of coffee, RAVE Coffee and Paxton & Whitfield have teamed up to create a coffee matured goat’s cheese that’s sure to be the talking point of any Christmas cheeseboard.
Named Kaldi, the cheese pays tribute to the young goat herder who, according to legend, first discovered coffee when he found his goats prancing and frolicking having eaten red berries from an unfamiliar tree. A thousand or so years later, goats and coffee have combined once again to produce an innovative washed rind cheese that balances the fruity and floral notes of RAVE’s responsibly sourced coffee beans with the fresh, clean and nutty flavour profile of the goat’s cheese itself.
Brought together by a shared interest in collaboration and experimentation, RAVE Coffee’s David Webb and Paxton & Whitfield’s James Rutter explored the myriad ways that this concept could be realised, from the different milks and many styles of cheese that could be the project’s starting point, right through to the diverse selection of coffees available at the roastery. As it happened, they hit on a complex, balanced and intriguing result first time out.
Aged at Paxton & Whitfield’s state-of-the-art maturation rooms in the Cotswolds, just a few miles from RAVE HQ in Cirencester, Kaldi began with a young unrinded goat’s cheese from the Somerset Cheese Company. This then went through a process of brine-washing, coffee coating and maturation over the course of around ten weeks, before a tasting session confirmed that Kaldi would become Paxton & Whitfield’s first ever flavour added cheese.
David Webb, head of brand and marketing at RAVE Coffee, commented: “We’re always looking to push boundaries here at RAVE, so were excited to be part of this coffee cheese collab with Paxton & Whitfield. We know our beans, but to be working with a legend of British cheese has been amazing. Fun aside, the cheese itself needed to be on point, and we were all blown away with our first batch after it emerged from the maturation rooms. It’s a fantastic cheese and could be a game-changer for Christmas cheeseboards this year.”
James Rutter, managing director at Paxton & Whitfield, added: “Aside from cheese, coffee is the product that intrigues me the most, so it was a real pleasure to work on the Kaldi collaboration with RAVE. Since we opened our maturation rooms and increased our focus on affinage, coffee has been on our minds, but we knew the process would only work if we used the highest quality beans. We’re very lucky to have RAVE on our doorstep, ready to help us find a coffee that complemented the goat’s cheese and let it sing, rather than dominating it altogether. We’re delighted with the result and can’t wait to see what people think.”
Kaldi will be available to purchase from Wednesday 6 December via Paxton & Whitfield’s online store, priced at £15 per 250g wedge.
