Our bartender Brad has been with us since we first opened our bar in May. He had been a longtime customer of ours in our old space, and Sake Gumi member! When we started looking for a bartender, Brad naturally came to mind, and we...
Arase-san of Heiwa Shuzo says he uses Yeast #9 because it’s, “strong against other bacteria, and consistent.” Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 200 members throughout California. Join today! The main ingredients of sake are rice, water, yeast, and koji. I have...
Check out what we're gifting this holiday season! Hard Strong Fino Rocks Glass"I got this as a sample glass, and it's become my favorite glass for any occasion. I drink shochu out of it. My partner drinks wine out...
We're proud to introduce Shochu Gumi! This is the first installment of what I hope will be a dynamic, exploratory, and ever-expanding club. My name is Kayoko Akabori, and I’m the Co-Founder and Shochu Director of Umami Mart. I first...
When Kayoko and I were thinking about how to layout the interiors for our new space, we were sure of one thing. We wanted a Gallery Wall. Similar to what we had at our old location down the...
A few weeks ago, Kayoko and I were invited to our friend Mariko's house. Along with her partner, two twin boys, and Frenchie, their house was warm, inviting, and lively. I always find it restoring and inspiring to visit friend's houses and eat together....
If I were to describe Hokkaido in a word, I'd say that it's very rugged. Although the western side includes modern cities like Sapporo and Hakodate with all the creature comforts, most of the island consists of windy roads, towering mountains,...
As soon as we got our beer and wine license in 2015, we stocked our shelves with Ichinokura's Mukansa, one of the first dry sakes to hit the sake market in Japan - back in the 1970s. It remains an Umami Mart staff...
My two favorite desserts are pie and anmitsu. The word is a mashup of two of its main ingredients anko (red bean paste) and mitsu (syrup). Although I can access good pie in Oakland, there is literally no place I can get anmitsu. Every...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 200 members throughout California. Join today! This is Kayoko, Umami Mart co-founder, and Yoko’s sake sidekick. It’s that time of the year again, when I take over Sake Gumi for the month! This year,...
If you've followed our blog, you know that Kayoko and I went to Shiga prefecture in January, earlier this year. The main reason we went to Shiga was to see Mayuko Kita at her brewery, Kita Brewery. Her entire family was just as warm...
Over Labor Day weekend, we popped up in the very hot and sunny city of Los Angeles, inside the Ace Hotel. Located downtown, it was a four day extravaganza of Umami Mart wares and events. We could not have had more fun meeting our customers, followers,...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 180 members throughout California. Join today! When I lived in Tokyo, I used to go three hours north for a Gunma Getaway. North of Saitama Prefecture, it was just far enough to feel like you...
It's a special treat for us to be able to host Sakqueso! every year – it's such a fun event! This year marked the fourth annual Sakqueso!, where we pair the month's Sake Gumi bottles with cheese. This was the very first Sakqueso!...
Yoko and I have talked a lot about bentos on this blog. We often make them for each other when we are both working at the shop, and reminisce about how we used to be so ashamed of the bentos our moms made us growing up. Lord knows I just...
When I'm not at Umami Mart, you can usually find me near some bees. I've been beekeeping since 2014. I feel very fortunate to have been mentored by Betsy of East Bay Urban Bees. It was at Umamiventure #33, back in 2012, that inspired...
A few weeks ago, we hosted an event with our neighbor across the bay, Dandelion Chocolate, for a special event pairing sakes with chocolates. The event focused on chocolate and sake production, and we tasted through Dandelion's bars made in San Francisco and Japan, paired alongside sakes that...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 170 members throughout California. Join today! It’s the fourth edition of Sakqueso! this year featuring sake and cheese pairings. Even after four years, I still think that sake and cheese are two of the most complementary foods out...
Every year, right before Matsuri, I freak out. For about a week, I worry that no one will show up. This year was no different, and posed the biggest question: what if no one knows we've moved??? What a tragedy it would be if we opened...
We've wrangled a case of Baller Whiskey from St. George! This prized whiskey, aged in umeshu casks, is super hard to come by so we're not putting them on our shelves. Instead, get a drink at our bar for your chance at a...
