The Loleta Cheese Company

It's the cheese that counts at Loleta Cheese Company. You'll find our cheesemaking factory in the small town of Loleta, a quaint dairy farming community just across the Eel River from the Victorian Village of Ferndale, on the North Coast of California in Humboldt County.

The North Coast of California is famous for its beautiful coastline and giant Redwood trees, but its greatest secret just may lie in the lush clover and tall grass pastures of the Eel River Valley. The bountiful pastures of Humboldt County play a very important role in the quality, flavor, and natural goodness of our cheese. These pastures boast many of the same characteristics of the finest cheese-producing regions of Europe.

Bob and Carol Laffranchi founded Loleta Cheese Company in 1982. The idea started with Bob when he was teaching agriculture education at Eureka High School. He began to lead his dairy class students through the maze of cheesemaking, and the rest, as they say, is history. more about our history »

Loleta Cheese is made in small batches using traditional recipes to ensure old-fashioned flavor. The small size of our factory affords the flexibility to work at the pace of the cheese, which is critical in the production of premium cheese. Each vat of cheese is worked by hand and carefully monitored by the cheese-maker to bring out the natural quality found in our Pasture-Based Milk.

In 1995, Loleta Cheese became the first cheese factory in California to make organic cheese. Today we produce a variety of 4 different flavorful organic cheeses.

The Loleta Cheese Factory has developed a very loyal following because of its varieties of flavored Cheddar and Jack cheeses. Favorites include Smoked Salmon Cheddar, Jalapeno Cheddar, Garlic Jalapeno Jack, Havarti with herbs and spice, Garden Jack, Hickory Smoked Jack, to name just a few.

Visitors to the Loleta Cheese Factory take part in the fun with watching the actual process of cheesemaking and sampling a little taste of all of our delectable cheeses. As an added attraction, our colorful gardens offer visitors a beautiful retreat while enjoying a relaxing picnic of cheese, wine, and crackers, and tantalizing goodies from our store.

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