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Brewery + Distillery Visit

Ikehara Shuzo (Ishigaki)

When we pulled up to Ikehara Shuzo this past February, I would have never guessed that the building housed an awamori distillery. Situated in a residential neighborhood with no interior space to waste, the pint-sized distillery and tasting room is extremely organized, well-planned,...

Event Recap

NamaFest 2024

So far, this year has been an exciting year of events. And oh boy did y'all show up for NamaFest! It was a smashing event and the rain in the forecast did not deter anyone from celebrating namas from around the world....

Female Frontrunners

Lauren Purvis of Mizuba Tea Co.

Mizuba Tea's Daily Matcha is something we've carried since the early days of Umami Mart. In fact, it has been since Lauren Purvis of Mizuba Tea Co. visited our store in 2014, so that's a whole decade of Mizuba Tea's matcha living on our shelves....

The Chronicles of Nara

Yucho Shuzo (Nara)

Visiting President Chobei Yamamoto at Yucho Shuzo in Gose City was one of the most educational brewery visits I’ve ever experienced. He invited me into his meeting room, where he had piles of very old books on Nara’s...

The Secret Ingredient

PINKBERRY DECRYPTED! (well, not completely, but this is as close as it gets without using crack/cocaine/heroin/chemical powder!)I went there 3 times last week, and each time, i was very careful to figure out what...

Umami Mart Holiday Shopping Guide

Our Holiday Shopping Guide has been updated this year! We first came out with this in 2021 when the world was coming out of the pandemic, and we wanted to make sure that our community of small retail businesses were being recognized during the holiday...