In 1999, a group of 7 artisan cheesemakers in the northern part of the Loire Valley and the southern part of Normandy established l’Association des Fromagers Caprins Perche et Loir.
The farmers wanted to create a cheese that would be instantly recognisable but also had an association to the region in which it is made. During its inception, one of the members spotted an unusual, four-leaf clover shaped clay cheese mold in a local rural museum and the rest is history.
Le Trèfle, which means "clover" in French, has been in production since 2005 and is currently made by a dozen farmers in 4 French departments; the Eure-et-Loir, the Loir-et-Cher, the Sarthe and the Orne.
These particular Trèfles are made by family run, farmhouse dairy Earl du Petit Perche, in the Loir et Cher region of France. Every cheese is handmade on the farm itself with the milk from their own British, Alpine and Saanen goats early every morning. Le Trefle is hand ladled into four leaf clover shaped moulds to reflect the area it is from.