4 tips to discern a quality cheese from a meh one:

1️⃣If you taste some bitterness, stop for a moment! If the cheese is made with vegetable rennet, bitterness is a virtue, but if the cheese is made with animal rennet, bitterness means low quality.

2️⃣ Yellow doesn't mean poor quality! Cheese made from pasture-raised cow's milk is yellow, whereas cheese made from cows raised in stalls tends to be white. Pasture-raised sheep cheese has a greenish tint. In essence, the stronger the hue, the more grass the animal has eaten.

3️⃣ The rind, known in jargon as "nail" must be thick enough to prevent it from yielding and opening during the seasoning but not thick enough to allow exchange with the outside. If the crust is very thick we can expect some acidity.

4️⃣ Last but not least, the aroma! The aromatic balance must be constant from the beginning to the end of the tasting, without sudden changes.