Cabot Creamery Visitors Ctr

I’ve been coming here for years, yet this is my first Unilocal review. What you’ll find here are small cube samples of their many famous and in some cases, obscure cheeses. They even sample some of their higher priced award winning cheese such as their clothbound cheddar. You can also sample other items for sale such as pepper jelly, dips, and even cheddar powder for popcorn. You can purchase many cheeses you won’t find in your neighborhood supermarket or deli. They also sell other local products such as dipping oil spices, cold pack cheese dips, yogurt, cottage cheese, hot sauce, soda and knick knacks from the area.
They offer tours for a nominal $ 3 donation where they show you a video on their demo room and then take you out on the floor to see where they actually make the cheese and fresh dairy products. They’re one of the few dairies who still provide actual tours of their production facilities. You can’t walk into the rooms where the vats are, but you’re right there.
There’s only one thing that could use improving — – the place is too small. In the summer when the tour buses come around, the place is extremely crowded.

We love cheese and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit this place when we were in the neighborhood. The place is a co-​op and shares ownership with many other fellow farmers. The tour is a nice way to learn about the process of making cheese and afterwards they have lots of their cheeses to try.
The prices are very reasonable for the cheese afterwards and you could pick up some and avoid paying the middle man. It is a little far but was worth it. If you want to come here be sure to check the times they are open and when they offer tours.

My husband was so excited to come to the Cabot factory as he is a HUGE cheddar cheese fan. We really enjoyed the tour through the factory and the selection of VT products and cheeses. Loved all the samples. We ended up buying a lot of cheese… delicious cheese. I loved seeing the film that talked about all the people they co-​op with. The only suggestion I have is to have a larger space for people to try the cheese because there was such a big group on a Thursday afternoon that there were probably 30 people maneuvering around the table for samples.

After visiting the Cabot Farmers’ Annex in Portland, ME and having a great time, I thought the Cabot Creamery Visitor’s Center would be also a great time. We paid $ 3/​person for the tour, which was mostly a video about how the creamery got started and that they are still cooperatively owned by farmers. After the video we were taken down a long hallway and stopped periodically to have something explained to us about the cheese-​making process. The actual tour part of the tour was very short and we were left feeling like «uh, is that it?» The store had all the same products as the Farmers’ Annex in Portland and the tour didn’t add much value. If you’re driving by, I guess you should stop in, but keep your expectations in check.

The tour was dull and not really worth the $ 3 admission, seriously. The tour consisted of watching an uninteresting promotional video and seeing a limited portion of heir operations. The tour guide lacked personality and enthusiasm and seemed to actively dislike kids (there were several kids on our tour). The viewing windows were too high for the kids to see through and it seemed like a huge oversight that there was no step for them the look in at the little bit of cheese making that was visible. The kids also had to wear the huge adult sized shoe covers, which struck me as a major tripping hazard.
The whole tour area smelled mildly of disinfectants. While I appreciate that they keep a clean facility, it was not very appealing.
The store is surprisingly small and gets cramped fast. It was not nearly as nice as the Cabot Annex store in Waterbury. Skip the drive to the factory and just go for the free samples and selection at the Annex location.

Nice, interesting tour. Great variety of items in the gift shop, though certainly over priced. I enjoyed seeing a selection of cheeses that I don’t normally see in the grocery store. Biggest complaint is the sample table and the lack of traffic flow. It was like people had never eaten cheese before! The sample table should be reserved for post tour only, and that might alleviate all the pushing! After a while I gave up.

If you LOVE cheese, then this is a must-​see attraction in Vermont.
Currently, Cabot is making cheese 7 days a week since it is their peak season. Tours on the weekend run every half hour — begins with a 10 minute video and ends with a tour of the facility. Tours are approximately 30 minutes long. We were able to observe the cheese making process through large glass windows — cool machines breaking down the cheese curds and separating them from the whey. It was really cool to see it happen.
At the end of the tour, we spent quite some time tasting the cheeses in the gift store. Their aged cheddar cheeses are delicious. There were about 25 cheeses that you could try — by far the most out of all the cheese shops that we explored on the Vermont Cheese Trail. The picture below shows their tasting table!
Don’t forget to bring a cooler with ice packs — we bought a lot of cheese!

This is a great place to visit if you love cheese. The creamery has a simple tour, but it wasn’t available when we were there, so we got to view a short film instead. The shop area has tons of free cheese samples and I think we ended up trying ~15−10 different types of their cheese (all delicious!). Cheese is sold at very cheap prices in their gift shop as well and it’s a fun place overall. I’d suggest coming here if you’re in the area!

As others have said, the «tour» part is largely about the packaging of the cheese and that’s all through windows into the manufacturing rooms visible from a long corridor. The cheese «tables» were all loaded with cheese curd and the machines were breaking the curd up which was nice to see in action, but you were probably equally likely to see nothing happening in that room. The website suggests that you call ahead to make sure they’re making cheese that day.
The cheese samples were nice and plentiful — though it was an off-​season weekday so I don’t know how bad things would be if it were a high season weekend. It could definitely get crowded in the gift shop and sample room.
I’d say it’s worth a 30 minute drive if you’re looking for an activity but definitely not worth a 2 hour drive. And for $ 3, you can’t complain too much.

On a day too rainy to do much outdoors, we decided to swing by some of the local establishments. I bring Cabot cheeses home from the grocery store often, and stopping in to see their operation sounded like a good way to kill some time. I’m glad I went. They produce much more than is available in the Publix back home. A tasting station was available highlighting over 20 types of cheeses. After trying them all, I’m still not sure which was my favorite. The tour was quick and walked you through the process from dairy to fridge. The gift shop is full of cheese and Vermont related items.

A trip to Cabot was an excellent choice on a rainy fall day. My friend and I made a day of it and drove up from Connecticut. We explored their facilities and took a tour the day they were producing habenero cheddar. As we proceeded through the tour the pepper aroma intensified and made the majority of the tour sneeze. It was funny to witness. Despite the peppering it was an awesome tour and the employees seem to love the products.
I stocked up on many cheeses and fell in love with their European butter. I highly suggest trying it!

This is a great tourist spot offering a variety of cheese to sample, candy, jams/​jellies, maple syrup, honey, a plethora of souvenirs, and even a cheese-​making tour. There was also a small section with a few different maple syrups to sample. I was looking to purchase maple syrup and some souvenirs during my visit to Stowe and noticed that they were generally priced less here than shops I browsed in town on Main St.

I’m borderline 2 – 3 stars. Do I think this destination is worth a trip? Not really, it was okay. The free cheese is nice, but a bit too close to a feeding frenzy (granted I think we hit them at a busy autumn time). Do I like their cheese? Definitely. Not really that much of a tourist draw though.
I like that someone else on this thread has been to Tillamook in Oregon, which runs a similar operation but on a larger scale. So yeah, I’m terrible for comparing the two, and MOST people won’t be poking around Vermont and decide based on Oregon info… But maybe you should visit that college friend that moved out to Portland and hang out one day? You’ve really been meaning to catch up. He said you could crash on his couch anytime…
But anyway, really it’s just because Tillamook has marionberry pie ice cream… so… yeah… I am so very sorry Cabot, you lose.
So you’re around Cabot? Have you been to Goodrich’s Maple Farm? Well, there you go, now you’re making the most of your roadtrip!

Most people have probably heard of Cabot Cheese — they have those little cheese that you get in nearly sample sizes (among other things, but those are the most popular). Well, this is the place to get them.
There are actually a few other locations, but this is the headquarters. It’s also really inconvenient, in that you have to go really out of the way to get to it. And once you get there, it’s pretty cramped. More than a few people and it’s hard to navigate around the sample table.
As to the tour, it’s not so much a tour as a video, and then following someone through a hallway. But it’s decent enough, I suppose. It’s probably better to hit up one of the other stores, unless you just really want to see how they make the cheese — but you can do better watching it on TV if that’s what you’re interested in.

Underwhelming. The tour consisted of watching a promotional video and then being herded down one hallway of the factory to get a glimpse of the production line. Tour guide wasn’t particularly personable or knowledgeable.
I will say that all of the staff were super friendly, and the little store is cute and carries every Cabot cheese product you would possibly want. Also offer free samples of all their cheeses.
Stop in to browse in the store if you’re already in the area, but I wouldn’t suggest this as a must-​see destination otherwise.

We didn’t take a tour, but we stopped by on our way home from camping.
There are a lot of Vermont products in this little gift shop, cookbooks, honey, souvenirs, maple syrup, chocolates and of course cheese!
I do enjoy Cabot cheese. Cheddar cheese is my all time favorite type of cheese, sharp or mild, spicy or smoky. I’ll try it all and like it all! Of all the flavors I tried I liked the smoky bacon and the everything bagel. I didn’t buy anything because I had already picked up some local made smoky cheddar from a small farmers market in Groton.
The staff was pretty friendly and talkative. I did buy a few pieces of caramel that was quite pricy but delicious! Also got a soda with a interesting flavor: Raspberry rhubarb rumble! It was enjoyable and quite different.
If you are traveling/​being a tourist and feeling up to try some good cheese and potentially trying out some other great Vermont products that are all packed in one place, check Cabot Creamery out!

My family and I hit up the Cabot Creamery Visitors Center while doing a tourist trip through Vermont. The factory appears to be in the middle of nowhere and was a bit of a trek, but the drive through rural Vermont is great so it wasn’t a big deal (also from the interstate to the factory we passed about seven plant nurseries, so if you need to do landscaping and cheese shopping this would be a good day trip).
The factory tour is $ 2 per person. You start out in a small theaterish room littered with informational posters, awards, and dairy artifacts. After this there was a short Q&A session followed by a tour of the factory where you get to see the cheese being made (which was pretty cool, lots of automated machinery in action). The factory and presentation weren’t anything glamorous, but it was authentic which I appreciated. I didn’t realize this before I went but Cabot is actually a large co op made up of small, family owned, dairy farms. The factory and the tour really show that this is a home grown operation.
After the tour (or if you want to skip the tour you can just hop into the shop and pay nothing) you are let out into their store. They have loads of cheese samples and they sell some cheeses that you can’t buy anywhere else (mostly aged cheddars). We purchased a couple of the cheeses that you can only get at the factory (Old School, and the 5 year Cabot Clothbound Cellars at Jasper) and they were excellent. This was definitely a good detour.

Is the tour anything that amazing? Not really. You watch a semi boring video, but afterwards you get to walk through the plant and if you’re lucky there’s some cheese being made.
The best part? Is the tasting room. Technically you don’t need to do the tour to taste the cheese, but for 2 bucks, you might as well.
Love all the local other goodies they have in the shop.

I’ve been a Cabot fan since our first stop here years ago. We passed on the tour during our recent stop. There are a TON of cheese samples. Pace yourself here, you don’t want to get sick. My goal was to see what they had that I’ve never seen or is hard to get at home. Everything Bagel flavored cheese? Score! Picture a block of cheddar encrusted with all the goodness you find on the outside of an everything bagel. The powdered cheddar is a must buy and the clothbound cheddar was another. They have Vermont gift items and we also bought chai flavored maple syrup and Autumn spiced maple syrup.
It’s a little out of the way, but worth the trip.

I totally forgot to write this place up after a fall trip up in Vermont sometime ago visiting a friend.
Nestled in the scenic countryside, the creamery is surrounded by lush greenery of classic unspoiled Vermont forest and mountains/​hills?. Idilic, and serene. Outside one notices a cow painted tower and a bright red roof that sticks out. It almost looks like a Disneyland adventure playhouse for adults from the outside.
Once in, you can go on a tour, but the main draw is the shop. Often for food tours or factory tours, the place can look and appear like a place of drudgery. However, every single worker there actually looks like they are enjoying themselves, from the people stirring up the tanks, to the food tour guides, to the woman behind the cashier counter at the gift shop. The tour is pretty straightforward and short, but its a good diversion, and it’s inexpensive too.
The real action is in the shop. Why? Besides the occasional tourists and cyclists coming in for a run, there are two main reasons.
1) Every Cabot product is available here (or at least 90% of them), from their award winning cheese (basic, and also a few cellard items) to the dips, and spreads.
2) It’s all you can eat… for… free
Read that last line. That’s right… you can go and sample a TON of stuff here for NOTHING. They put out SO MUCH cheese, and so much of it just so incredibly good that it will make your head spin. The staff actually encourage you TO EAT MORE OF IT, none of this, ok that’s enough you dang moocher. There were varieties and flavors here that I had never even seen before either compared to my area where I pick their products up when I can.
Dips all over in your face with pretzels and chips! Jams and spreads I never saw either. Tonnes of great tasting cheddar, but the killer. is the Whey Butter. Oh god the butter made with whey, sweet @%$#*&!!! JESUS… They had a huge block of this nestled with oyster crackers for you to dig into… and my god I would eat this entire block just like that, my arteries were SCREAMING.
What gets me is that I have been on occasional food/​factory tours in places but the food items are never this good, here at Cabot they are SPECTACULAR.
Then to ice the cake, Cabot is someone I have bought cheese from for many years because of their quality, but more importantly they are a fantastic company who make commitments to local farmers, green initatives, and producing natural food products without shortcuts. It shines in the taste of the product.
This place is a fantastic diversion if you visit rural Vermont, and absolute must. Unless you don’t like cheese… but then if you don’t you must be some sort of freak, but more for me!