Koji & Fermentation Archives

Drink

Yuzu, Miso and Koji in a UK Cocktail Trends Report｜How Much of Their Provenance Travels with Them?

A UK cocktail trends report lists yuzu, miso and koji among the flavors to watch, yet the article introducing it does not group them as ingredients connected with Japanese food culture. This piece looks at how the report categorizes them and what it cites as signs of quality, with three Japanese beverages as examples of the provenance behind the names.

Drink

Kimoto vs. Yamahai: Why Was It Possible to Eliminate the Rice-Mashing Process?

Why could yamahai omit rice-mashing? Explore koji enzymes, lactic acid bacteria and kumigake, then distinguish brewing methods from rice varieties through a Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute product.

Drink

Is Amazake a Winter Drink?｜From Seasonal Festivals to Year-Round Shelves, and to a Clear Bottle

In haiku, amazake is a word for summer. Today its sales peak in both winter and summer. This article separates sake kasu amazake from rice koji amazake, looks at how amazake is reaching shelves abroad, and introduces KOJI CLEAR, a clear amazake from Akita.

Food

Purpose Before Preservation｜Kitchen Circularity at Baan Tepa

From fermented ingredients to garden compost and tabletop objects, Baan Tepa describes different uses for kitchen materials. An exploration of the decisions that come before processing.

Drink

Awamori in 30 Seconds: Understanding Okinawan Brewing Through Thai Rice

Explain awamori through Thai rice, black koji, all-koji preparation and distillation. Distinguish the history of rice imports from the arrival of distillation techniques, and read the three-year kusu labeling standard.

Getting Started

Introducing Bacchus Journal｜Exploring Japanese Sake and Traditional Spirits Through Ingredients, Culture, and People

Introducing Bacchus Journal: stories of Japanese brewing and distilling through ingredients, culture, and people. Learn what the journal covers, its planned twice-monthly English features, and how to explore the archive.

Bar

When Soy Sauce and Mirin Become Cocktail Ingredients: A Case Study from Tokyo International BarShow 2026

At Tokyo International BarShow 2026, one cocktail paired charred soy sauce and brown rice mirin with barley shochu. A look at what each seasoning contributes and how both trace back to koji.

Drink

Fermented Shrimp Paste in Dessert｜How an Ingredient’s Role Redefines Flavor

Fermented shrimp paste in dessert and miso in cocoa cake reveal how an ingredient’s role shapes finished flavor. Consider umami, sweetness, saltiness and the characteristics of sake and shochu.

Drink

Mugishiru Wins the President’s Prize at Kura Master 2026｜Grain and Toasted Bread Aromas

Mugishiru received the Kura Master 2026 President’s Prize in Honkaku Shochu & Awamori. Explore the jury chair’s grain and toasted bread descriptions, barley koji, atmospheric distillation and unfiltered finishing.

Drink

Taming the Bubble: The Technical Evolution of Champagne

How Champagne makers learned to control fermentation, bottle pressure and sediment. Bruno Paillard Dosage Zero illustrates the distinction between sugar for bubbles and sugar at finishing.

Drink

Shichiken “Hoshi no Kagayaki” Honored with the President’s Prize at Kura Master 2026｜Sparkling Sake Born of Hakushu

Shichiken Hoshi no Kagayaki received the sake competition’s President’s Prize at Kura Master 2026. Trace Hakushu’s water, local rice farming and secondary fermentation in the bottle.

Drink

From Cherry Blossom Yeast to Katsuobushi: The Okinawan Ingredients and Craft Behind LEQUIO

Awamori, liqueur, and rum follow distinct paths of creation. Tracing how they are made reveals shared ingredients and the work of the people behind them.

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