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What should you expect in this unique
organic payoyo goat farm tour in Cadiz?
In this organic Payoyo goat farm tour in Cadiz you will learn about the endemic breed of goat from Cadiz and Malaga. It is located near one of the most beautiful beaches in Spain according to Conde Nast Traveller 2023, inside of El Estrecho natural park. It is a private tour to learn the whole process from the farm to the table from the owners themselves. Lorena is the cheese maker and Mario is the goat farmer.
The first part of the tour is learning about the breed, the diet, and the extraction of the milk. The second part is when we learn about how cheese is made, and we will be able to help making the first steps of the cheese. We will finish with a tasting of their cheeses.
We have to start with this part of the tour as we have to be at their farm early to see the goats because they go back to the Mediterranean forest after they are milked.
The milk produced by these goats is some of the best goat milk in Spain. Thus, the cheeses made with this milk are also incredible as you can see by the international prizes that it wins. In this goat farm they make some traditional cheeses but also some unique French style cheeses as well that are just amazing!
Organic Payoyo goat farm tour in Cadiz
If you are interested in learning about this breed, this is the tour you want. We must be around 10:00am at the farm to check on the goats as the first thing the goats do in the morning is to come down from the mountains to be milked and to eat a bit of organic cereals as a supplement to their normal food from the Mediterranean forest.
Become a goat farmer in Cadiz province
We will walk with the goats at the beginning when they arrive from the mountains as they are waiting for their breakfast. Here Lorena and Mario talk to us about the breed, the importance of being organic and being inside of El Estrecho natural park in Cadiz province.
They will also tell us how they live in the wild, how friendly they are, what they eat, and more. As they are organic they are not fed more than a bit of organic cereals, only so they relax while they are milked. If they have any infections and they have antibiotics they can’t be milked. The old females are not taken to the butcher but they are let to die in the wild when they are old. They will separate themselves from the herd to die in peace. The vultures eat the body, forming part of the natural ecosystem. You have to remember that we do not really have any big predators here.
While they are eating the delicious extra food they are being milked. You can have your turn if you would like. Sometimes they feel so heavy that the goats love being milked so they will be able to run freely again. They have machinery that does it faster but it is always a nice experience to do it ourselves!
Make your own payoyo goat cheese
The second part of the tour is when Lorena show us how the cheese is made. We will be able to do a part of this and help Lorena make a batch of cheese. After learning how they make artisan cheese by hand then we move to learn about how other types of cheeses are made too.
Finally we will finish by learning how the cheese ages. It will depend on the type of cheese and/or if we want it semicured or cured.
One of my favourite parts of the tour is the tasting, of course! We will taste different cheeses that Lorena has made. Depending on the season we will have more or less. Around mid-spring to summer there are less cheeses because they don’t force their goats to be always pregnant so there is milk only during certain time of the year. Best times to visit are from mid fall to winter. However, if you are coming another time you can still see the full process as there are always a few goats that get pregnant throughout the year. I can ask Lorena for whichever date you say and can find out if they will have different cheeses to buy and to taste.
On a different note, if you are interested in having an early lunch or brunch, I can bring some other Andalusian products like Iberian ham, local olive oil, homemade empanada and more.
Adding on a visit to the white town of Vejer de la Frontera or a visit to the Roman remains of Baelo Claudia after the payoyo goat farm visit in Cadiz
Before heading to the Bay of Cadiz natural park to do this incredible saltmarshes tour in Cadiz we can add a visit to one of the most beautiful towns in Spain, Vejer de la Frontera. It is a white town within the list of the most beautiful white towns in Spain. We can do a walking tour talking about its importance as a defensive fortification for the port of Barbate. Vejer de la Frontera is one of the towns in Andalusia with the strongest Arab influences in its design.
Or we can head to the nearby Roman remains of Baelo Claudia. We will be passing by this Roman site on our drive to the goat farm in Bolonia beach. This beach was voted in 2023 as one of the most beautiful beaches in Spain by Conde Nast traveler. These Roman remains are some of the best in Spain. By walking through these ruins you feel like you are walking in the city and understand how the city was structured.
