How we send out great cheese in great packaging and manage our environmental impact.

Whilst we are official cheese heads here at Geek HQ, we drive to minimise our environmental impact. We have big plans to grow whilst staying in control of our carbon footprint.

How we send out great cheese and manage our environmental impact

Whilst we are official cheese heads here at Geek HQ, coming in a close second is our drive to minimise our environmental impact. We have big plans to grow and grow which ultimately means more and more boxes heading out across the land - from the outset, we’ve worked tirelessly to ensure that this packaging is sustainably sourced, easily recyclable, reusable and biodegradable. Get it right now and we’ll be able to stay in control of our footprint in the future.

Rather than keep this knowledge to ourselves, we wanted to share some of these credentials. We make no apology for getting Geeky...it’s in our nature!

Using biodegradable wool to naturally insulate cheese

It’s funny. Say wool and you naturally think of jumpers. Maybe blankets. Or woolly sheep. Using wool to keep things cool doesn’t naturally spring to mind. Our partners at Woolcool are genuinely changing the face of the insulation industry by using 100% pure wool for temperature control. Be it for food or pharmaceuticals, wool insulation has a bunch of benefits:

  • Wool is available in abundance as a by-product of rearing sheep. The wool that’s best for insulation (the more coarse varieties) is actually considered waste as it’s too coarse for clothing or fabrics. These varieties account for 75% of the wool produced in Britain. So wool that would be waste is keeping your cheese chilled!
  • Wool is the natural alternative to man made (energy hungry) insulation such as polystyrene or polyethylene. It’s sustainable, biodegradable and can be reused in a tonne of different ways from stopping outdoor taps from freezing to protecting plants from frost or stuffing cushions.
  • Wool is one clever cookie, even earning the title: Nature’s Smart Fibre. Why so? Get ready for a science lesson: Wool fibres have an incredibly effective hygroscopic ability to absorb moisture (they can hold 35% of their own weight in moisture!) without becoming damp - this reduces humidity and helps maintain stable temperatures (either cool or hot). It doesn’t stop there. Their overlapping cell structure traps air and prevents its movement giving insulative values comparable to that of still air. All this means wool actually outperforms something like polystyrene when it comes to temperature control meaning we can use less ice packs.
  • Wool has been proven to absorb smells! Now whilst we’re quite happy to have whiff of even the pongiest Bigod, it’s not to everyone’s liking...so this is a nice side benefit!

Other uses for wool liners:

  • Stop outdoor taps freezing
  • Protect fruit trees and plants from frost
  • Draught excluders
  • Loft insulation
  • Pipe lagging
  • Garden kneeling pad
  • Feeding roses
  • Compost
  • Hanging baskets
  • Pet baskets
  • Cushion stuffing
  • Keep picnics cool
  • Keep takeaways warm
  • Donate to animal shelters

Send back your wool liners free of charge so they can be reused

If you’re cushioned out and your pipes are all protected, we’ve also teamed up with Woolcool to offer customers the chance to take part in their Circular Economy Scheme. Rather than recycle, it’s an opportunity for your wool to be reused. Follow the steps below and your liners will make it back to Woolcool where they are inspected, cleaned and processed to ensure they are food and pharma safe. Ready for reuse!

  1. Collect together a minimum of six wool liners (you’ll get two in each delivery from us so after only 3 deliveries, you'll be good to go)
  2. Repack the liners in to the Cheese Geek box you received
  3. Apply the Collect+ shipping label you received in your delivery
  4. Drop the box off at one of 7000 Collect+ pick up locations

For more info from the horse’s (or sheep’s) mouth, check out www.woolcool.com/pioneers/

What are we doing right now?

From the big picture stuff like our carbon footprint and that of the wider dairy industry, right down to the little things like the stuff your cheese gets wrapped in and the coffee we drink here at HQ (...a lot!), here’s a peek into the big and little ways we are getting greener!!

The big stuff!

We’re currently undergoing a major carbon audit, analyzing every part of our business to find out exactly what impact we are having on the planet.

We are working with our suppliers and amazing cheesemakers to minimise packing and transportational materials in addition to sourcing recyclable, compostable or reusable alternatives. Going forward, the number one thing we look for in a new partnership with a supplier is the same enthusiasm for sustainability as us!!

We have recently teamed up with Too Good To Go, to crack down on our food wastage. We’re now providing the lucky locals near our HQ with magic bags of any cheese we can’t use for dispatch. WIN WIN!

We’re working towards B-Corp accreditation. B-Corp means weighing profit against things that truly matter like workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. It’s really important to us that we are part of this global community using business as a force for good!

We want our website to be completely transparent so you can see every part of our supply chain. We’re currently laying out environmental policy and setting targets for the future so watch this space!

The small stuff!

We’ve switched up our coffee supply to Grind. We get through a lot of coffee here at HQ! Thanks to Grind all our pods are now fully compostable. In addition, all our milk comes from milk and more in glass bottles to limit our plastic consumption.

At HQ we use Naked Sprout toilet paper. It’s made from undyed bamboo and every box gives a child in Kenya safe water at school for a year.

We’ve just installed a filter in our washing machine which collects microplastics that otherwise would end up in our oceans.

We’re currently sampling compostable wrap for your cheese and aim to make every part of your cheesebox biodegradable or reusable!

Back to blog

October's seasonal cheese selection

Each month we curate 5 of the finest cheeses the UK has to offer. They highlight quality craftmanship, complex flavour profiles and form the backbone of our gifts and subscriptions.

1 of ProductListDrop
cheesegeek Bibury
Bibury
Semi hard

A sheep's milk cheese made with milk from the flock at Sheaf House Farm just up the road in Gloucestershire. Made only seasonally from late March, Bibury comes to life in Autumn. Classic notes of meadow flowers and hay along with white chocolate and a fondant texture that is very appealing.

 

cheesegeek Swift Reserve
Swift Reserve

3 total reviews

HARD

A scintillating 9-month aged gouda style cheese. 

If there was ever a Goldilocks gouda, then this is it. Just young enough to be supple, buttery, nutty sweet and unbelievably moreish, yet old enough to have developed a slightly weathered earthiness and rich complexity. We reckon this tastes like liberally buttered jacket potato skins. Oh, and finish is a joy to behold, long, sweet and delightful.

To top it off Swift Reserve pairs perfectly with coffee (yes, coffee). Transport yourself to the Med and enjoy a wedge of cheese with your morning caffeine. Keeping you fuller for longer and tasting shockingly good, it'll soon become part of your breakfast routine. Exclusive to cheesegeek.

Look out for the Swift Black coming soon to one of London's most exciting coffee specialists!

cheesegeek Quicke's Mature Cheddar
Quicke's Mature Cheddar
HARD

Mature, and not in a dull, doesn't like to leave the house way. Quicke's Mature is just fully developed. Quicke's the makers date back to 1540s so they know how to make goooood cheese. Handcrafted using grass-fed cow milk, this well rounded cheddar is typically matured for 12-18 months (hence the name) and brings you a variety of flavours from brothy to buttery to freshly mown grass and baked potato flavours. Always with the characteristic cheddar tang.

cheesegeek Washington
Washington

2 total reviews

SOFT

British cider-washed soft cheese

An unforgettable soft cheese, washed in cider. 

A testament to British cheesemaking, and a nod to continental cheesemaking. Washington is a washed rind cheese destined for great things. When slightly younger, the flavours are fresher and crisper, with just a hint of fruitiness. Ripened on, it develops deep, savoury, meaty flavour, a bit like those famous continental pongers like Epoisses. However, the cider wash brings an astonishing fermented fruity funk, balancing the savoury flavours perfectly, all playing out amidst the most tantalising creamy, decadent, luxurious texture. A modern take on history, and a cheese for the ages.

cheesegeek Perl Las
Cornish Blue
BLUE

Designed to be eaten as a young cheese, Cornish Blue is a very different product from traditional English blue cheeses. Its flavour is mild and creamy, with a dense texture and buttery richness, instead of the ‘salty tang’ common of other traditional blue cheeses it has a gentle sweetness.

November's seasonal cheese selection

Each month we curate 5 of the finest cheeses the UK has to offer. They highlight quality craftsmanship, complex flavour profiles and form the backbone of our gifts and subscriptions.

1 of ProductListDrop
cheesegeek 200g Rutland Red
Rutland Red
HARD

**Just voted 8th best cheese in World** One of the few remaining Red Leicester cheeses made in Leicestershire, Rutland Red is made in a special dedicated cheese room at Long Clawson Stilton makers. This beaut is so buttery and nutty sweet with a finish reminiscent of a creme brulee and a striking deep red colour that is unmistakable on a cheeseboard making it a firm favourite at cheesegeek. We're not the only ones to think so as Rutland Red just won 8th best cheese in the world (over 5,200 entries!) at the most prestigious 2025 World Cheese Awards. Red Leicester is a classic on any cheeseboard and is also one of our top picks to cook with, Cauliflower Cheese we're looking at you!!

cheesegeek Cornish Kern
Cornish Kern

6 total reviews

HARD

From Lynher Dairies, the makers of Cornish Yarg and Garlic Yarg, we welcome Cornish Kern—a stonker of a cheese. This beaut is off the chart with flavour. Encased in black wax, it is made in the style of a Gouda, however, the utilisation of Alpine starter cultures gives the cheese multiple dimensions. It has a real fruity twang, something like from an old sweet shop, except cheesy. Think exotic dried fruits, salted caramel, toasted hazelnuts and almonds, and although savoury, it simply tempts and teases you with a little bit of nutty buttery sweetness. All the flavours just linger beautifully in your mouth for the perfect amount of time. Its crumbly, crisp and slate-like texture simply arouses one's senses to another planet. An absolute worldy cheese....literally.

cheesegeek Burford
Burford
Semi hard

King Stone Dairy's longest aged, largest cheese. Originally conceived as a way to capture the sweet complexity of Summer pastures, Burford is now made year round and reflects the seasonality of the milk at Manor Farm. Flavours of charcuterie, hazelnut and hints of tropical fruit.

 

The Cheese Geek 250g Tunworth
Dozmary
SOFT

A bold soft cheese inspired by the wild beauty and legend of Bodmin Moor. Named after the mystical Dozmary Pool said to be the resting place of King Arthur’s Excalibur, it carries the same sense of drama and heritage.

It has been developed as a richer, more flavourful evolution of the Cornish Camembert, Dozmary is oozy, buttery, and bursting with character.

The Cheese Geek Cashel Blue
Crozier Blue
BLUE

Crozier Blue is an Irish sheep's milk cheese modelled loosely on a Roquefort, that has a rich, full and well-rounded flavour. It is gently salty with a distinctly rich creamy texture, offset by a touch of spice.

December's seasonal cheese selection

Each month we curate 5 of the finest cheeses the UK has to offer. They highlight quality craftsmanship, complex flavour profiles and form the backbone of our gifts and subscriptions.

1 of ProductListDrop
The Cheese Geek Old Roan Wensleydale
Yoredale

4 total reviews

Made at Curlew Dairy by husband and wife Ben & Sam, Yoredale (formerly Old Roan) represents one of the only truly traditional, raw milk Wensleydale cheeses still made in the UK. As well as being a stonker of a Wensleydale, we were rather captured by the Yoredale's journey. The milk travels a whole 5 metres (or 500cm) from milking parlour to processing room. Then, having been matured for 3-4 months it makes its way to you...via us! Unlike block Wensleydale, the manual, handmade, small batch nature of this traditional clothbound Wensleydale results in so much more complexity. It has the tell tale bite in the centre, but carries an incredible stoney, mineral earthiness closer to the rind, where you also start getting the most wonderful breakdown in the cheese. There are more hidden themes here than The Matrix, and it is a great nod to traditional cheesemaking

cheesegeek Lincolnshire Red
Lincolnshire Red
This beaut gives you everything a great Cheddar should, but on top of that, another layer of deep burnt butter, nutty happiness. It has an intense moist yet creamy texture, with a delicate and elegant buttery flavour that matches with a lingering clean flavour. Theres no denying that this Lincolnshire Red is a promising winner on any cheese board.
The Cheese Geek Pitchfork Cheddar
Pitchfork Cheddar

7 total reviews

The newest of only 4 traditional, raw milk Somerset cheddars, Pitchfork joins great company alongside Keens, Montgomerys and Westcombe. In our view, it more than holds its own. It has incredible complexity and balance, one of the trademarks of a great cheddar. You'll find a farmy-like tang, a buttery undercoat with the hallmark of a proper, Clothbound cheddar- a crumbly, earthy breakdown in the mouth. There really is none of that supple rubbery chewiness you get with a supermarket cheddar. No wonder Pitchfork won 4th best cheese in the World in 2020, and Best British cheese!

The Cheese Geek 250g Rollright
Rollright

26 total reviews

Rollright - never ever ever Rollwrong. Simply put, it's a better, British alternative to Reblochon, yet so much more. It's luxurious, it's buttery, it's rich...but with an immensely satisfying crunch. Let's not forget the woodiness thanks to the spruce bark wrap. This guy comes as a 250g whole (it's a good whack of cheese but won't last more than a sitting). Whilst the guys at King Stone Dairy in Gloucestershire took inspiration from the washed rind soft cheeses of France and Switzerland, they have taken it to another level here. Keep on rollin.

n.b. our good friend Rollright is susceptible to seasonality and batches may vary, one thing is for sure though, he always tastes good!

cheesegeek Long Clawson Stilton
Long Clawson Stilton

5 total reviews

The heavyweight of all cheeses, Santa's favourite cheese, and Christmas on a plate... it's Stilton.

After months of blind-taste tests, we settled on Long Clawson as our Stilton of choice. But don't just take our word for it, Long Clawson won Super Gold at the 2021 World Cheese Awards, effectively crowning it the World's Best Stilton.
With it's beautiful blue veins (yes we're calling them beautiful) and bold flavour, we're so glad there's Stil-tons of this cheese in our fridge.