Umami Mart Gift Guide
Sake Gumi News

Organic Sake (April 2023)

The rice used to make Uka sake, KR55 Koda Farms® Heirloom Organic Kokuho Rose rice is grown in California’s San Joaquin Valley Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 200+ members throughout the country. Join today! Since the start of Sake Gumi in 2015, it has been...

Sake Gumi News

Female Frontrunners (March 2023)

Hiroko Yokozawa (L), toji at Tsukinowa Shuzo and Nobuko Inaba (R), toji at Inaba Shuzo Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 200 members throughout the country. Join today! It's March which means it's Female Frontrunner's month! Coinciding with International Women's Day and Girl's...

Sake Gumi News

Koji Chronicles (December 2022)

Making koji at Nishi Shuzo Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 200 members throughout the country. Join today! Koji is a mold used to make sake, shochu, soy sauce, mirin, and miso. There are three main types of koji used in Japan –...

Sake Gumi News

Experimentations in Wood (October 2022)

Aging alcohol in wood is an ancient technique, and in Japan, sugi or Japanese cedar was used to ferment and age sake during the Edo period (1603-1867), as well as to transport it to Tokyo. These vessels made of sugi are called taru. In fact, until the creation of stainless...

Sake Gumi News

The Terroir of Iwate Sake (September 2022)

Daiji Shimizu Spring in Iwate (photo courtesy of Asabiraki) Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! Iwate Prefecture is one of the northernmost prefectures on Honshu, just south of Aomori and east of Akita. It is the...

Extreme Junmai 90: Interview with Yoshi Sako

To celebrate 10 Years of Umami Mart, Kayoko and I have been collaborating with our favorite makers. So far, this year we've launched the Kabamaru x Umami Mart Furoshiki, and the Umami Mart Bitters by Miracle Mile to commemorate this milestone. If you've been reading...

Sake Gumi News

American Born Sakes (April 2022)

L to R: Troy Nakamatsu and Russell Wolfe of Sawtelle Sake, James Jin of Nova Brewing Co., Brandon Doughan of Brooklyn Kura Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! I am a...

Sake Gumi News

Female Frontrunners (March 2022)

Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! As a beekeeper, I think about female-led organizations often. In particular, I find inspiration in the queen bees of my hives, leading their workers into the seasons. Although she is...

Sake Gumi News

Kimoto and Yamahai Sake (January 2022)

Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! Organic, biodynamic, slow, and natural – these are buzzwords that are often used when talking about farming or wine. But how do we talk about these methods in sake-making? I've always...

Sake Gumi News

Winter Food Traditions (December 2021)

Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! As the bears start getting ready for hibernation, the bees hunker down in their hives to stock up on their stored honey, we start hanging up our hoshigaki and...

Sake Gumi News

Sparkling Sake

Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! Who doesn’t love bubbles? For the little ones, there are bubble baths, root beer floats, and gleefully blowing and chasing bubbles in the park. For us adults, bubbles are...