#umamimart

[hellogoodonpaper]

Japanify All Day / love my new recipe handbook and #sakegumi canvas bag from @umamimart from the the succulents and sake event @sunsetmag HQ / looks great next to our @umamimart poster 😍👌#sunsetsucculents #sunsetmag #umamimart #japanify #japanifyallday

[drinkingwoman-blog]

Umami Mart’s founders on curating sake

Here’s an outtake from our interview with Kayoko Akabori and Yoko Kumano, co-founders of Umami Mart. Kayoko and Yoko share what goes into selecting sakes for their Japanese bottle shop and how the milling process affects a sake's flavor.

How do you go into selecting what you’re going to carry in your bottle shop? 

KA: For the Japanese beer, it’s just whatever we can get our hands on. There can’t be much curation involved in the beer because there’s so little Japanese craft beer being imported into the States. 

YK: As for our sake, maybe it’s a little selfish, but everything on this shelf is something we like. So, it first has to pass our test. And we tend to have a lot of sakes that are great to drink with food. 

KA: That’s one of our criteria. It has to go well with food. 

YK: And sake is very deceiving, because you can have it on its own and it will taste a certain way, and when you have it with food--and of course it can depend on what you’re eating--it can really change. We do have a lot of unpasteurized sakes which means that they’re gonna be more fruity, a little yeasty. We also don’t discriminate. We’ll have these American sakes, and sakes from every region of Japanese.

What’s your favorite one to drink right now? Is that like asking who’s your favorite child? 

KA: No, no, we all have our favorites. Our house favorite is at a good price point. It’s a Tokubetsu Junmai which means it’s at least 60% milled, the rice that is, which is usually a more robust sake. Junmai’s are, but this is really smooth and easy to drink. It’s a little bit savory. And when you say "60% milled," you're referring to how much of the rice grains have gone through the milling process? 

YK: Premium sakes have to have the rice at least 70% milled. If there’s a 70 percent is left--we’re talking about 70% is left--you’re going to get a really rich sake. But if you mill down to 50% it’s gonna be a little more fruity or delicate, and that aroma is going to come out. At 50% it’s going to be more expensive because it takes longer to mill it. Yes, it is considered a little more premium. But they’re brewing for a specific note at that point. It’s not that one style is better than the other. If you use table rice not sake rice, that’s gonna change the grade a little bit. 

KA: At that point, it’s just preference. There are people who love to drink expensive Chardonnays all day. Or others prefer Champagne to Prosecco. 

YK: And at the start of the meal versus later. The ones that are very delicate and floral, they’re really good at the start of a meal or some kind of simple, a one-note appetizer. But once you’re eating steak, you can’t really drink those delicate sakes because you’re not going to get the flavor. So you want something that’s not milled as much. It’s going to give you more richness, more flavor.

[casapepe-blog]

Local Love: Umami Mart

Let me start by saying Kayoko and Yoko are the most adorable damn business owners, ever. Umami Mart in Old Oakland (pop-up hood) offers Japanese Kitchen and Barware. Beautiful, carefully crafted goods, cleverly and artistically displayed. I seriously, want, everything. And you will too. 

Lucky us! Last night's lease signing party marked the end of the Pop-Up era and the beginning of a 2 year permanent location! I for one couldn't be happier for them, for myself and for Oakland. YOU GO GIRLS.

Left to right: Yoko & Kayoko

Congratulations! Thank you for letting us be a part of the celebration.

Umami Mart started as a food and drink blog, featuring several correspondents around the globe, founded by Kayoko. Check it out here:

umamimart.com

or visit the shop @

815 Broadway, Oakland CA 94607  Tues-Fri 12-6 Sat 11-6 Sun 11-5

[appreci8you]

Ever want to be transported to another world? Oorutaichi may be the answer to your problems. Coming all the way from Osaka, Japan, their electro-pop sound,  spontaneous-musical tendencies and undeniable AZN flare will take you to a far and distant land where the rules of sound and shape do not apply.

Catch them at UMAMIMART on Tuesday, November 20th.

[kathrynyu]