Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 150 members throughout California. Join today! Nigori means “cloudy" in Japanese, so it makes sense that nigori sake literally looks like a wispy cloud when shaken. It is a style of sake that...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 150 members throughout California. Join today! It’s time to pull out the extra blankets, dust off the heater, and drink warm sake! One of the pleasures of sake is how you can enjoy it with the...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 150 members throughout California. Join today! I like a good challenge. I also really like desserts – so when I came up with the theme, "The Great Dessert Challenge," for this...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 150 members throughout California. Join today! The current sake trend in Japan is everything fresh and fruity. It's all about the nama-namas, namachozo, namazume, and shiboritate. But we are never ones at Umami Mart...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 150 members throughout California. Join today! Honjozo is a style of sake made for those who love to drink (like me!). It tends to be crisp, dry, and...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 150 members throughout California. Join today! Back in 2006, Kayoko had an idea to start a food blog. During Christmas break, we were both back in our hometown, Cupertino – Kayoko was living...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 150 members throughout California. Join today! Every June, we celebrate the mariage [sic] (a word that every one in Japan is using to express explosive flavor pairings) of sake and cheese. And every...
When searching for sakes for Women Sake Makers month, I was delighted to learn that Hayashi Honten is owned by a female. Reiko Hayashi is the fifth generation Hayashi to take over the brewery. We have featured Hayashi Honten sakes in the store...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 150 members throughout California. Join today! Every May, we celebrate the women who are in the center of our industry, whether that's for drinks, design, or Japan. We take every...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 150 members throughout California. Join today! This month at Umami Mart, we are waking up to spring. That means many...
This month at Umami Mart, we are featuring our closest collaborators and friends in the restaurant and bar world in the Bay Area. Our month-long celebration coincides with our annual Camino Sake Dinner (this year will be our third!)...
This February at Umami Mart, it's Love Yuzu month. Although we are grateful for our boos and family during the month of love, here at Umami Mart, it's all about loving certain foods and drinks. Thanks to my sister's tree in Berkeley...
It's no secret here at Umami Mart – I am a huge fan of yamahai and kimoto style sakes. So much so that I dedicate one month of Sake Gumi to them every year. Earthy, mushroomy, acidic, and savory are just...
The sakes that I selected for Sake Gumi this month are all premium versions of popular sakes that we carry in Oakland. Each and every bottle on the shelves of our Bottle System in Oakland is hand-selected after tasting and deliberation. It has...
In Japan, animals are everywhere. Besides Hello Kitty and Pikachu, animal imagery adorn temples, shrines, storefronts, crackers and candy. Last names are also fair game for animals. For example, my own last name includes 熊, the character for bear –...
Why is Jiro so happy, clutching his Sake Gumi bag? That's because we are offering one month free for members who sign up for Level One or Level Two, starting today until November 14! A perfect gift for the...
I've introduced the idea of warm sake several times in Sake Gumi. People still ask me, "Is warm sake bad? Do people warm sake to mask poor quality?" The short answer is a big fat, "No." Traditionally, sake is enjoyed warm, and that's how it...
Our Sake Gumi program is awesome - a subscription service that delivers two bottles of sake to members every month with pairing and serving suggestions. Sometimes the Sake Gumi selections are so good that our members demand that they go onto...
Hello Sake Gumi members! I’m happy to be taking over for Yoko this month to talk about pairing sake with my favorite food: noodles! But before that, a little about me - I co-own Umami Mart with Yoko and am a lover of adult beverages....
Every year, August is a time for reflection. As a Japanese-American (and as a human) it is a time to reflect upon the events of August 6, 1945, when the American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, dropped the world’s first atom...
