Funky Packaging: Koimari Nomanne Porcelain One Cups

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Hello everybody, and welcome to Sake Revolution.
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This is America's First Sake podcast.
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I'm your host, John Puma From the Sake Notes, also the administrator over at the Internet Sake Discord, as well as the lead mod at Reddit's r slash sake community.
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And I am your host, Timothy Sullivan.
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I'm Sake Samurai.
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I'm the Director of Education at the Sake Studies Center, and I'm also the founder of the Urban Sake website.
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And John and I will be here tasting and chatting about all things sake and doing our best to make it fun and easy to understand.
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Hey, how you doing, Tim?
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I am doing good.
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How about you, John?
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Hanging in there.
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It's been, just been, uh, very busy lately and I'm just trying to like, keep just trying to.
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Hang on and get through it all.
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Welcome.
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Welcome to Modern Life in the Big City,
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Yeah, that's, I think that's exactly what I'm experiencing is like, wow.
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Uh, it's, it becomes a little overwhelming at a certain point, but, you know, we'll get through and, and, uh, and you know what helps me get through.
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What's that?
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Okay.
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Uh, no.
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I thought you were gonna say meditation and a healthy diet.
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Oh.
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Also now I honestly, I really enjoy doing the show.
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This helps relax me.
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Yes.
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I mean, come on.
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A good glass of sake after a long day at work is our recipe for happiness and definitely our hobby as well, right.
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Mm-hmm.
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And, and you know what they say?
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It is all things in moderation.
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For sure, and I think we have a fun episode planned for all our listeners today.
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We're going to get funky, but kind of in an upscale way, wouldn't you say?
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Um, yeah, I would, I, I wanna say Tim, I don't know, you know, at first when, when I was presented with this, uh, with this sake and I, and you said that you wanted to do a.
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A funky packaging on this.
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I was like, Tim, I do not know if this is funky packaging.
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It is very elegant.
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It's elegant packaging.
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And, and do we have, you know, I don't wanna make a new series on elegant packaging, so I guess we'll just roll with it.
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Yes,
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So I guess anything that's, anything that's unusual is funky.
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Right?
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That is the, that's that's how we're doing this.
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yes, this is under the umbrella of, maybe it can be fun and funky.
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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Alright.
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We're not renaming it though, but
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No, we're not.
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We're not gonna go back and redo all the episodes and be like, it's actually a fun and funky packaging.
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No, this is
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no.
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funky packaging.
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So, um, yeah, we've, we've teased long enough, Tim, we've
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Yes.
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So we are gonna be featuring a one cup sake, which doesn't sound too out there or too crazy, but this is actually a one cup sake that is in a porcelain one cup.
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See, this is why I say elegant, and you say funky.
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Yes,
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But it is unusual.
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I don't think I've ever seen a porcelain, um, one cup apart from the, apart from this, uh, this series that we're gonna be, um, talking about today.
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So, Tim, before we get into the question of who is making Porcelain one Cups, I need to, uh, indulge my, my inner Stan Lee and say that every episode might be somebody's first episode and ask you.
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What is a one cup for our new listeners at home?
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Well, Stan, a one cup is, just what it sounds like.
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It is a.
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Cup of sake that is sold in a preportioned 180 ml size, and it usually has like a pull tab, foil cover on it.
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And usually they're made of glass and it's like a grab and go thing.
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You can get at the convenience store or at the train station, you peel off the top and you can drink right out of the cup.
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A single serving.
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And these became popular from the sixties and.
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They're viewed as very utilitarian styles of sake.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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I'd say that's right and I think that, yeah, for me, I always associate it with those like long.
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Train rides those long Shinkansen rides.
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Uh, and, and I'd say the popularity and the growth of the One Cup has probably coincided with that, with that rail system, as you mentioned the sixties, I was like, yeah, that really does line up a little bit, doesn't it?
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That's very cool.
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Yeah, so to have a one cup made out of fine Japanese porcelain is not usual.
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And dare I say funky.
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So we're gonna dive into this really unique packaging today to see what it tastes like and to talk a little bit about the brewery and the design series that they came up with to promote this porcelain beautiful porcelain one cup.
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Uh, you can buy here in the States.
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So, uh, it's gonna be a great, great topic to talk about today.
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Excellent.
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Excellent.
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Great.
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So who is this guilty party that's using ceramic in their one cups?
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Tim?
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Yeah, so the brewery is called Koimari Sake Brewery, and they're located in Saga.
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If you've ever heard of Imari before, if that rings any kind of a bell for you, uh, you may be into porcelain, uh, because there's a very famous porcelain called Imari porcelain in Japan.
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It's the same area of Japan as Arita porcelain as well.
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I think we've talked about arita porcelain on the podcast before when we've done episodes on Saga Prefecture, right?
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Yeah.
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We actually talk about saga.
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Weirdly often, I think.
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Um, so, uh, if you wanna go and talk about, uh, if you wanna go and listen to us talk about, uh, about Saga porcelain, you can go back to episode 29, the Saga of Saga Kuras, which inspired naming on that one.
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I really like that.
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And then, uh, Koimari actually got, got mentioned and sipped on when we had Jessica Jolie on the show talking about saga sake in episode 119.
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So back there and, and look into this, uh, when you're done listening to this episode.
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Yeah.
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So Koimari Brewery, there is a port town of Imari and that's where this porcelain was shipped all around Japan and later shipped to the wider world.
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Um, and they named a series of sake after.
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This very famous porcelain from their hometown.
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And this brewery was founded in 1909, but today it's still a relatively small brewery, uh, making about 700 Koku a year.
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Oh, wow.
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Yeah.
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That is small.
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Could you, um, could you remind everybody at home what a Koku is?
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Yes, A koku is a measurement of volume for the production of a sake brewery, and one koku equals 1,800 liters.
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And what does that translate into for like bottles?
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do you know the, the 1.8 liter Isshobin party size bottles?
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I sure do.
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You sure do.
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Well if you have 100 of those, imagine that stacked up on a pallet that is one koku, and then they make 700 Koku.
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So, uh, that gives you an idea of how many bottles, not huge production, I think for Japan, it's on the smaller side, uh, but they export their delicious sake to the states.
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So, uh, all listeners here in the States can enjoy these sakes as well.
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Very cool.
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I'm, I'm glad that they are, getting their, you know, little by little, I've been seeing more of their stuff in the States and it's been a lot of fun, to see them, grow their, their export.
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Yeah, so if you'll indulge me, I just want to talk very briefly about the.
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Imari porcelain that inspired these one cups.
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Just a little bit of background.
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We talked about Aritaware in the past, and Imari is a same region, very similar.
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I think that, uh, Porcelain falls under the umbrella of the arita region.
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They're very, very closely related.
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This is one of the first types of porcelain to be exported out of Japan for the European market.
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And that was way back in the Edo period.
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So in 16 hundreds, little little bits of this porcelain started trickling out, being traded.
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It's known for very vibrant colors, usually on a white background.
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And the designs are influenced by a lot of the popular Chinese porcelain that was available around these times.
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Brocade patterns are very, very popular and, yeah, it's just very, very classic.
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We're gonna include some photos of.
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Koimari porcelain in our show notes.
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So if you'd like to see some really classic examples of what this particular type of porcelain looks like, check out our show notes for sure.
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And we'll also post photos of these beautiful one cups that are inspired by this traditional designs of the classic porcelain.
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And I'm glad we are because I think it's kind of hard to, uh, explain or hard to have people picture what this looks like without having actual, um, images of it.
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So remember guys show notes.
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Yes, this is, here we are again with another VIS visual episode.
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Uh, trying trying
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happens a lot here on Sake Revolution.
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But you know, I, I'm sure people, uh, enjoy checking out the show notes.
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Yeah, it happens a lot with the funky packaging episodes because we're talking about the visual appearance of the packaging a lot.
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So, uh, definitely check out the show notes to see the pictures.
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Very cool.
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So, uh, let's get into these cups and, and we'll talk about what we've got in our hands, talk about what they look like, and then after that we'll talk about what they taste like.
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Yes.
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So, uh, John, you and I both have.
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One of the, uh, koimari cups
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do.
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and we have different designs.
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Yes.
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Yes, though there, there, it looks like there are quite a few different designs.
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I'd say at least.
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Whether there at least five or is it just five?
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yeah, there are five classic ones and they just launched two additional ones that are not exported yet.
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So,
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We're always one step behind here in the us.
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yes, so, I am going to introduce mine first.
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So it comes in a, a black gift box and the design, there's a little sticker on the front that shows you which of the five designs is the cup inside, so you don't have to open it up to see which of the five designs you have.
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No, and I see you're saying this is not a a gotcha.
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We don't have
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this is not
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buy, you have to buy all.
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You have to keep buying them over and over again and hope you get all of off the whole set.
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So when we open it up, uh, there is a full sheet folded in there with a front and back color sheet that talks all about this design series and talks all about the, different designs and what they mean.
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It's in Japanese and English.
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So this is absolutely perfect and it's gonna help us a lot today.
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And then you pull out the cup itself.
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Oh wow.
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That is really nice.
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Yeah.
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And, and you know, for people at home who have had one cups before, you might think like, well, wait a minute.
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A box.
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A box for a one cup.
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And you know, number one, funky packaging.
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Number two.
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since these are porcelain, they are, you know, probably a little bit more fragile than your average one cup.
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So they wanna make sure these, um, can stand some, some wear and tear.
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Yeah.
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And I have a strong, strong suspicion that these are often gifted
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Mm.
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as, you know, a type of a gift or omiyage and having the beautiful, uh, small box to hold these,, porcelain ceramic one cups is really, really a nice touch.
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So do you have yours out as well, John?
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I
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I do, I do.
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So, um, tell me about yours.
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Okay, so mine is a very beautiful blue and white design, and it is called in, it is called in Japanese Fuyode Fuyode, and that means the lotus hand.
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So it's the lotus hand pattern, and it's a design that originated in China.
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Oh, and that, that's a, that pattern, that, that style is something that I've seen, you know, many times over the years.
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I'm sure that a lot of our listeners have seen this style before, probably on like, um, a.
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Uh, maybe on teacups and stuff like that.
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Yeah, it's a classic indigo, blue and white.
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Uh, it looks like old school.
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Porcelain.
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There's like a key design around the bottom and some flowers that are meant to invoke, uh, lotus flowers, and it's absolutely beautiful.
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I really, really love it.
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So that's the story of mine.
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Blue and white, classic old school porcelain.
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Which design did you get, John?
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So I've got the, uh, Tachibana, it's listed as being a Nabeshima style Tachibana, and mine has, Kind of a yellow citrus fruits on it, on a, on a tree.
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It's a nice little drawing of, trees with, with citrus on it.
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And I went and took a look at some of the language on this, and it says that the, the tree is bearing fruit of everlasting life.
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Oh
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Yeah.
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yeah,
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So it's not just any fruit.
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This is some qual high quality fruit.
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You, you can't get that fruit at Whole Foods, I
00:14:13.629 --> 00:14:14.590
No, I don't think you can.
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Yeah.
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Tachibana is an ancient variety of citrus.
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So I, I read it's like a old version of like a, a tangerine or something
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Probably, yeah.
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Yeah, so we have the Tachibana.
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Ancient citrus and we have the lotus hand in my
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Mm-hmm.
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and they're both really beautiful.
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So your design has like yellowish orangeish, citrus fruits on a tree with green leaves in the background.
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The one thing that's common among both of all these cups is what I mentioned about.
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The, co imari porcelain in general, which is kind of vibrant colors on a white background.
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I think that's something that is indicative of the style.
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So we both have that, a beautiful white background that really makes the design pop, doesn't it?
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It does, it does, it looks great.
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Um, you know, they, they didn't mess around here.
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They, they made something really beautiful.
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Yeah.
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Now looking at the bottle, I noticed that there's something that is a little incongruous with, uh, ancient.
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Designs, which is a few, a few QR codes here on the back.
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You know, I got a blend of old and new.
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yes.
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So the first QR code is called The Saga, and this is a sticker that they put on the back here.
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And this QR code goes to the saga sake Brewers Association and just is kind of a home base for their, you know, their, regional.
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Style and, a homepage for, what they want to promote as far as what saga sake means.
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And I think that's really great.
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So they're working hard to promote their regionality and their Prefecture in their regional style.
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So that's one QR code.
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And then there's the traditional.
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It, uh, distributors label on the back as well.
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And this is distributed by New York Mutual Trading here in New York, LA Mutual trading on the West coast.
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And this has a QR code as well, so you can also get the stats and the tech sheet for this product.
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Um, and it's got like the alcohol and the volume, size, et cetera, et cetera.
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Yeah, so a couple QR codes along with our, our ancient porcelain.
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I love that.
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You know, it's, uh, you know, gotta gotta bring that, uh, modern touch the saga.
00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:42.129
That's a, that's a great name for it.
00:16:42.129 --> 00:16:42.849
Oh yeah.
00:16:42.849 --> 00:16:47.979
And then on top we have another, we have another modern bit, uh, sticker that says GI Saga.
00:16:47.979 --> 00:16:50.994
Another one of those geographical indicators.
00:16:51.849 --> 00:16:52.479
You got it.
00:16:52.479 --> 00:17:05.898
So saga sake is protected by that GI certification and yeah, so they've got this labeled on all sides, making sure we know this is from saga, if the porcelain wasn't a dead giveaway.
00:17:05.898 --> 00:17:08.952
And on top of that, there is a plastic cover.
00:17:08.952 --> 00:17:18.282
On this, which means that if you open the sake and wanna seal it back up, it comes with this removable plastic cap that you can use.
00:17:18.282 --> 00:17:21.942
I think we talked about this cap before when we talked about one cups.
00:17:22.782 --> 00:17:32.678
we have, and while the cap is very surprisingly good at keeping the sake inside, I would say maybe.
00:17:32.678 --> 00:17:37.813
Don't 100% say, oh, well it's sealed now it's, it's covered.
00:17:37.813 --> 00:17:42.863
But sealed is, is a strong word, and I would kind of treat this as a little bit open once it's opened.
00:17:43.615 --> 00:17:45.050
let's take off the plastic cover.
00:17:45.050 --> 00:17:46.645
All right.
00:17:46.645 --> 00:17:49.165
Yeah.
00:17:49.165 --> 00:17:50.605
And there's the foil pull tab.
00:17:50.861 --> 00:17:51.161
Yep.
00:17:51.161 --> 00:17:57.861
Now in the, in the states, a lot of cups, we have the little tab, like a, like a beer tab, and then it just opens up a small hole.
00:17:57.861 --> 00:18:05.730
In Japan, generally speaking, with, sake, you've got the pull tab where it takes off the entire top of the, uh, the entire top covering.
00:18:06.071 --> 00:18:06.551
That's right.
00:18:06.551 --> 00:18:07.932
So that's what we have here.
00:18:07.932 --> 00:18:09.372
The pull tab is like.
00:18:09.372 --> 00:18:17.711
Off to the side and when we pull on it, it's gonna pull the foil off the entire top of this cup.
00:18:17.711 --> 00:18:19.701
So are we ready to do that?
00:18:19.701 --> 00:18:20.602
Should we pull the trigger?
00:18:20.696 --> 00:18:23.487
I think we are ready to pull the trigger, or at least the pull tab.
00:18:24.372 --> 00:18:24.912
Alright.
00:18:24.912 --> 00:18:26.622
Okay.
00:18:29.332 --> 00:18:31.557
Ooh, there we go.
00:18:31.557 --> 00:18:39.317
This is, this cup looks like, it looks like somebody poured me a sake in a very fancy porcelain cup.
00:18:39.317 --> 00:18:43.337
When I look in, when I put it down on my table and I look at it, I was like, ah, look at that.
00:18:45.063 --> 00:18:46.413
Yeah, so.
00:18:46.413 --> 00:18:55.682
The, the walls of this cup are relatively thick, so this, this looks like, to me, this looks like a, a tall slim teacup or
00:18:55.992 --> 00:18:56.413
Mm-hmm.
00:18:56.413 --> 00:18:57.012
Yeah.
00:18:57.242 --> 00:19:07.502
Um, it's very beautiful and I wanna note that the lip of the cup is also slightly rounded so that the metal has.
00:19:07.502 --> 00:19:12.962
The metal of the, uh, foil can wrap around and really seal this in.
00:19:12.962 --> 00:19:19.083
So there's a little, uh, lip to the edge of this cup, and I'm sure it makes it very pleasant to drink out of as well.
00:19:19.383 --> 00:19:19.682
Yeah.
00:19:19.682 --> 00:19:21.873
You know, maybe, maybe I was wrong about this lid.
00:19:21.873 --> 00:19:23.403
Maybe it will do a little more than I thought.
00:19:23.942 --> 00:19:24.482
Hmm.
00:19:24.482 --> 00:19:25.712
All
00:19:26.087 --> 00:19:35.958
Um, we, I think we need to stop here though 'cause we're getting perilously close to the idea of drinking the sake and we cannot do that until we have talked about what is in the cup.
00:19:35.958 --> 00:19:44.595
So this is a, Junmai from, koimari, brewery over in Saga, prefecture.
00:19:44.595 --> 00:19:51.295
Um, it uses saga no Hana rice, which i'm going to, give my amateur opinion and say that probably means.
00:19:51.295 --> 00:19:53.109
Flower of saga.
00:19:53.109 --> 00:19:57.210
it has been milled down to 65% of his original size.
00:19:57.210 --> 00:20:08.394
It's using yeast 7 0 1, um, relative to the old seven and s meter value of plus two, that net, meter of dry to sweet.
00:20:08.394 --> 00:20:09.384
So expect something.
00:20:09.384 --> 00:20:12.625
Very, very slightly dry acidity of 2.5.
00:20:12.625 --> 00:20:17.785
Tim, I could be mistaken, but acidity of 2.5 is, is a touch on the high side, is it not?
00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:21.204
A little on the high side, but let's, let's reserve our judgment
00:20:21.535 --> 00:20:23.785
mm We're just talking about the numbers, Tim.
00:20:23.785 --> 00:20:23.994
That's
00:20:24.099 --> 00:20:24.430
Yep.
00:20:24.430 --> 00:20:26.049
That's crunching the numbers.
00:20:26.305 --> 00:20:27.295
this crunch of the numbers.
00:20:27.295 --> 00:20:31.255
Um, and then of course, uh, the alcohol by volume is 15%.
00:20:31.255 --> 00:20:34.105
Sounds like a nice thing to have on a train,
00:20:34.288 --> 00:20:34.979
Yeah.
00:20:34.979 --> 00:20:38.878
Uh, this would be, this would be for the first class car I think.
00:20:39.374 --> 00:20:40.034
exactly
00:20:41.586 --> 00:20:42.365
All right.
00:20:42.365 --> 00:20:50.226
Well, the, uh, well, one other thing we should make clear is that the five different designs, I think they all have the same sake inside.
00:20:50.226 --> 00:20:56.256
So John and I are tasting the same sake, even though we have different designs on our glasses
00:20:56.361 --> 00:20:56.570
Yeah.
00:20:56.570 --> 00:21:02.151
It would be interesting if the cups actually changed the way the sake tasted because of what they print on the outside, but I don't think that's gonna be the case.
00:21:03.185 --> 00:21:03.965
All right.
00:21:03.965 --> 00:21:04.326
Well.
00:21:04.326 --> 00:21:06.486
Here we go.
00:21:06.486 --> 00:21:06.665
I'm
00:21:06.770 --> 00:21:08.240
Well, let's get a, let's get the nose.
00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:10.851
It's hard to get, hard to get the nose on a one cup.
00:21:10.851 --> 00:21:11.361
I find
00:21:13.445 --> 00:21:14.330
I do smell something.
00:21:15.351 --> 00:21:15.830
me too.
00:21:15.830 --> 00:21:16.845
Hmm,
00:21:17.933 --> 00:21:23.983
So to me this smells, just a little bit creamy and a little bit, rice as well.
00:21:23.983 --> 00:21:25.463
This is, uh, gonna be.
00:21:25.463 --> 00:21:31.114
Yeah, gonna be a classic Junmai, so we're not getting much, tropical fruit here.
00:21:31.114 --> 00:21:39.824
I think this is going to be one of those more lactic or rice forward sakes, which is a pretty classic style to put in a one cup.
00:21:40.183 --> 00:21:40.874
I think so too.
00:21:42.523 --> 00:21:47.144
Yeah, so lovely little bit of cream or maybe butter
00:21:47.669 --> 00:21:48.328
Ooh, that would be
00:21:48.374 --> 00:21:49.153
on the nose.
00:21:49.153 --> 00:21:49.544
Yeah.
00:21:49.544 --> 00:21:54.584
And then some rice that saga No Hana sake rice.
00:21:54.824 --> 00:21:55.364
Hmm.
00:21:55.364 --> 00:21:57.703
All right, well,
00:21:58.003 --> 00:21:58.993
Smells good to me.
00:21:58.993 --> 00:22:01.003
It really, it really is a pleasant aroma.
00:22:01.903 --> 00:22:02.413
it is.
00:22:02.413 --> 00:22:13.711
It is, and I, yeah, there is that, that, that, that ricey-ness not like a, not a aggressively rice, but just like faint, subtle, pleasant, All right, let's, let's
00:22:13.756 --> 00:22:14.506
Let's give it a taste.
00:22:14.506 --> 00:22:17.574
Ooh.
00:22:18.848 --> 00:22:19.749
Oh, that was surprising.
00:22:20.844 --> 00:22:21.564
Oh my gosh.
00:22:21.564 --> 00:22:24.953
That acidity, that acidity is there.
00:22:25.269 --> 00:22:26.318
It's the very present.
00:22:26.483 --> 00:22:27.114
Boom.
00:22:27.683 --> 00:22:27.903
wow.
00:22:27.903 --> 00:22:28.743
It is.
00:22:28.743 --> 00:22:33.638
Um, it's a lot more, um, I'm gonna say more tart than I was expecting from the aroma.
00:22:34.994 --> 00:22:35.214
Yes.
00:22:35.375 --> 00:22:36.755
am shocked.
00:22:36.755 --> 00:22:39.755
I'm really legitimately shocked by this.
00:22:40.910 --> 00:22:42.920
It tastes good, but it's tart.
00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:46.279
You're right, it has this tart, a high acidity.
00:22:46.279 --> 00:23:00.063
Um, and I was expecting something much more down to earth basic with the, with the aroma, but it has this really bright acidity.
00:23:00.063 --> 00:23:01.563
Hmm.
00:23:01.563 --> 00:23:02.403
I like it.
00:23:03.153 --> 00:23:03.633
Me too.
00:23:03.633 --> 00:23:06.692
I just wasn't in any way expecting it.
00:23:06.692 --> 00:23:07.923
That's, I'm just like,
00:23:08.178 --> 00:23:09.077
Hmm.
00:23:09.542 --> 00:23:10.022
Hmm
00:23:10.097 --> 00:23:10.548
Oh, wow.
00:23:10.548 --> 00:23:11.448
That's really good.
00:23:12.633 --> 00:23:12.932
hmm.
00:23:12.932 --> 00:23:14.058
That's really nice.
00:23:14.522 --> 00:23:14.762
it.
00:23:14.762 --> 00:23:15.002
Ha.
00:23:15.002 --> 00:23:18.182
If you think about, do you remember Sweet Tarts, those candies?
00:23:18.617 --> 00:23:18.798
I two.
00:23:19.742 --> 00:23:21.992
It has a little bit of that.
00:23:22.577 --> 00:23:23.363
Of that tart.
00:23:23.807 --> 00:23:27.137
sweet, sweet tart candy hint to it.
00:23:27.137 --> 00:23:32.307
But, it's balanced with a grounding in like rice flavor.
00:23:32.307 --> 00:23:35.637
So 60, 65% rice polish.
00:23:35.637 --> 00:23:41.137
But the acidity of 2.5 really comes through and it's such an interesting sake.
00:23:43.178 --> 00:23:44.288
Yeah, this is fun.
00:23:44.288 --> 00:23:45.127
Uh, this is nice.
00:23:45.127 --> 00:23:53.738
So this is a one cup, and I'm gonna say, with the fact that it's a one cup combined with this fun acidity here, what do we think for food?
00:23:54.397 --> 00:23:55.657
Mm.
00:23:57.161 --> 00:24:01.516
I have some ideas, but I think that, but I wanna hear what you have to say.
00:24:03.921 --> 00:24:05.961
Well my, with this high acidity, my.
00:24:05.961 --> 00:24:11.510
Thoughts go immediately to something with citrus in it.
00:24:11.510 --> 00:24:20.691
So I was thinking like, if you've ever had a lemon chicken that is really lemony, I think like a lemon chicken would go really well with this.
00:24:20.691 --> 00:24:24.681
So rice, lemon chicken with that lemon sauce, that would be amazing.
00:24:24.681 --> 00:24:32.780
With this also a, a salad with a citrus vinegarette or, um, you know, those salads that have a little wedge of.
00:24:32.780 --> 00:24:41.685
Orange or grapefruit in them, something with a citrus, uh, and salad I think would be a great pairing as far as the weight is concerned.
00:24:41.685 --> 00:24:43.935
Like, um, nothing too heavy.
00:24:43.935 --> 00:24:44.596
That's my idea.
00:24:44.596 --> 00:24:45.435
What, what do you think, John?
00:24:45.770 --> 00:24:51.711
Um, for some reason, my, my brain immediately went and started craving tempura, uh.
00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:52.560
Hmm.
00:24:53.165 --> 00:25:02.246
I wanted something a little bit oily like, you know, I, I don't know exactly why, but, I feel like it's gonna cut through that a little bit nicely.
00:25:02.246 --> 00:25:07.046
However, one, you know, I am, I am also very sold on your, on your Citrus idea.
00:25:07.046 --> 00:25:10.405
That sounds wonderful and matches my cup as a matter of fact.
00:25:10.855 --> 00:25:11.096
Mm-hmm.
00:25:11.635 --> 00:25:17.155
But I can really go for something that's a little bit, um, you know, a little bit on the more oily side of things.
00:25:17.155 --> 00:25:23.185
So I think tempura, I think a little bit more of the, maybe your, your more oily fishes.
00:25:23.185 --> 00:25:26.786
Like fishes, you're more oily fish, like salmon or tuna.
00:25:26.786 --> 00:25:28.266
that sounds nice.
00:25:28.685 --> 00:25:39.962
Yeah, well my cup has the lotus root flour on it, so maybe I could do I could do Lotus root tempura and you could do the, Tachibana Citrus Salad.
00:25:39.962 --> 00:25:48.323
While we're enjoying sipping on this cup, I have a little kind of a, a description.
00:25:48.323 --> 00:25:52.347
Of the project from the brewery.
00:25:52.347 --> 00:26:07.587
Now the, the brewery is owned by the Maeda family and the current Kuramoto owner is, Kumiko Maeda, who is one of, she's a Toji owner and Kuramoto and,
00:26:07.698 --> 00:26:18.788
Togi and komoto and all in that, that's don't see that many of those, but it's, it's pretty great when they are able to handle all aspects of the, of the brewery, uh, it's pretty exciting.
00:26:18.788 --> 00:26:19.597
Double
00:26:19.613 --> 00:26:20.482
it's amazing.
00:26:20.482 --> 00:26:21.292
Yeah.
00:26:21.292 --> 00:26:29.282
And this project has a name, it's called Nomanne.
00:26:29.282 --> 00:26:36.938
And it was launched by Kumiko, who's the fourth generation owner of Koimari Brewery.
00:26:36.938 --> 00:26:52.807
Uh, and the impetus behind this was to introduce the quality of Japanese sake and the traditional beauty of Imari and Arita porcelain to as many people as possible.
00:26:52.807 --> 00:26:58.688
So the name Nomanne means lets enjoy a drink in the Imari dialect
00:26:59.299 --> 00:26:59.750
Cool.
00:27:00.994 --> 00:27:09.125
Um, this was inspired by a relatively recent trend in cup sake, which is normally produced in glass cups.
00:27:09.125 --> 00:27:21.184
And this is just a wonderful collaboration with a local pottery manufacturer to promote not only the sake of the region, but also the beautiful porcelain and ceramics that they have.
00:27:21.184 --> 00:27:25.835
So, uh, and they're also tying in the connection to the saga Prefecture.
00:27:25.835 --> 00:27:28.890
Appellation, using Sake Rice.
00:27:28.890 --> 00:27:30.990
A hundred percent grown in saga Prefecture.
00:27:30.990 --> 00:27:39.630
So they've got all, this is a full court press of promotion for Saga Prefecture, right.
00:27:39.845 --> 00:27:40.025
Yeah.
00:27:40.025 --> 00:27:41.644
They're putting it all, putting it all on the line.
00:27:42.035 --> 00:27:42.545
Oh my gosh.
00:27:42.545 --> 00:27:50.795
I'm finding myself like going back and sipping and sipping and normally when we're recording, you know, we'll take a sip and we'll go on blah, blah, blah.
00:27:50.795 --> 00:27:54.785
But I'm just finding myself just keep reaching back for this cup.
00:27:54.785 --> 00:27:59.615
It's so elegant to hold and the acidity is the surprising.
00:27:59.615 --> 00:28:01.894
Component of this sake.
00:28:01.894 --> 00:28:04.295
I was not expecting that at all.
00:28:04.295 --> 00:28:05.105
Oh my gosh.
00:28:05.450 --> 00:28:11.750
And I've had a couple of different sakes from koimari before, and not like this.
00:28:11.750 --> 00:28:14.390
This is not like anything else I've tasted from them.
00:28:14.390 --> 00:28:17.059
I've never known them to play with this high acidity stuff.
00:28:17.059 --> 00:28:19.339
And maybe, you know, maybe we just don't get.
00:28:19.339 --> 00:28:23.660
Their, um, you know, their, their junmais or what have you.
00:28:23.660 --> 00:28:26.150
But this is a super fun, interesting thing.
00:28:26.150 --> 00:28:27.200
I wanna see more of it.
00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:28.670
Like, it's really good.
00:28:28.670 --> 00:28:35.269
I think there's a, you know, I, they've been dipping their toe in the market here and I'm glad to see it, but I would love to see them do more.
00:28:35.269 --> 00:28:36.079
Like, this is great.
00:28:37.430 --> 00:28:46.670
And John, I don't think you'll be surprised by this, but this, koimari, no Nomanne Cup also won a prize for, uh.
00:28:46.670 --> 00:28:49.472
Attractive Japanese souvenir contest.
00:28:49.742 --> 00:28:50.192
Oh,
00:28:50.942 --> 00:28:51.633
Yes.
00:28:51.633 --> 00:29:00.932
In two, in 2007, this project won a prize as, uh, one of the most attractive Japanese souvenirs, and I think it's well deserved.
00:29:00.932 --> 00:29:02.403
I would give this as a souvenir.
00:29:02.403 --> 00:29:03.333
I love this thing.
00:29:03.873 --> 00:29:04.863
Yeah, absolutely.
00:29:05.042 --> 00:29:05.363
Yeah.
00:29:05.363 --> 00:29:08.573
So, this has been around for several years.
00:29:08.573 --> 00:29:12.153
This, Imari Cup, one Cup project, and.
00:29:12.153 --> 00:29:21.107
I think I bought one of these in Japan years ago, just out of pure curiosity, but I don't remember which one I bought.
00:29:21.107 --> 00:29:25.698
I don't remember what happened to the cup, but it is so wonderful that it's now coming to the states.
00:29:25.698 --> 00:29:30.228
Like that's the big difference is that these cups are now being exported to the us.
00:29:30.228 --> 00:29:32.387
You can, uh, buy them here now and.
00:29:32.387 --> 00:29:42.857
The description here says that when you're done drinking, you could use the cup as a vase or a pen holder.
00:29:44.559 --> 00:29:49.450
I mean, I plan to use this as a cup to drink sake out of when I'm done drinking sake out of this,
00:29:49.525 --> 00:29:50.515
Yeah,
00:29:50.710 --> 00:29:52.750
uh, because I think it's a really nice cup.
00:29:52.750 --> 00:29:57.910
Uh, but yes, I guess it could also be a pen holder if you were so inclined.
00:29:58.494 --> 00:29:58.555
yeah.
00:29:58.555 --> 00:29:59.065
Yep.
00:29:59.065 --> 00:30:02.575
I went through a phase where I collected one cups.
00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:03.700
Me too.
00:30:04.285 --> 00:30:05.934
Yeah, I, I think everyone does.
00:30:05.934 --> 00:30:07.585
I mean, they're so, they can be so cute.
00:30:07.585 --> 00:30:08.095
Right.
00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:15.910
And then you come up, you come to this place where you have way too many you realize you're not using them for anything except maybe decoration.
00:30:15.910 --> 00:30:20.785
And then at that point you still have too much for decoration and you need to make some decisions.
00:30:22.119 --> 00:30:41.862
Yes, I did a purge a few years back and I kept some sentimental one cups and I have, I do use a one cup as a pen holder on my desk, but it is the original hakkaisan, the old school Hakkaisan futsushu.
00:30:41.862 --> 00:30:45.797
One cup that they made years ago.
00:30:45.932 --> 00:30:46.531
Yeah.
00:30:47.027 --> 00:30:54.497
They've since redesigned it and changed it, but I have one of the original ones from almost 20 years ago that is the old school design.
00:30:54.497 --> 00:30:59.507
And just as a nod to my connection to hakkaisan, I have that as my pen holder on my desk.
00:30:59.507 --> 00:31:07.247
And then in my China cabinet, I have some one cups that I are just too cute to give away.
00:31:07.247 --> 00:31:08.176
Too
00:31:08.432 --> 00:31:09.271
I understand.
00:31:09.271 --> 00:31:09.961
I understand.
00:31:11.442 --> 00:31:13.092
There's some really cute ones out there.
00:31:13.451 --> 00:31:17.112
So will this one dethrone your Hakkaisan cup as the new pen holder?
00:31:18.082 --> 00:31:20.152
I don't think I'm gonna turn this into a pen holder.
00:31:20.152 --> 00:31:20.632
I'm with you.
00:31:20.632 --> 00:31:30.592
I wanna, I wanna use this to drink out of from time to time, and I love that it has the little lid, but you're right, the lid is not watertight.
00:31:30.592 --> 00:31:33.172
So this is just, this is just a gentle.
00:31:33.172 --> 00:31:34.467
Covering.
00:31:34.467 --> 00:31:39.477
But if you're keeping something chilled in the fridge and it's not gonna be jostled around, it's perfect.
00:31:39.477 --> 00:31:44.307
And, this is great, but do you know what the problem is?
00:31:44.307 --> 00:31:47.547
Is that now I want to collect all five.
00:31:47.547 --> 00:31:50.636
So this is a problem.
00:31:50.741 --> 00:31:51.071
See?
00:31:51.071 --> 00:31:51.311
Yeah.
00:31:51.311 --> 00:31:52.902
This is, this is where the issue lies.
00:31:52.902 --> 00:31:55.122
You see, you've, look what happened.
00:31:55.122 --> 00:31:58.182
You got you hand on one cup and you're already like, I need 'em all.
00:31:58.797 --> 00:31:59.096
Yeah.
00:31:59.561 --> 00:32:05.021
So we are very fortunate that this is actually not a gotcha, because then you would've bought like 25.
00:32:06.317 --> 00:32:07.457
This is a gotcha moment.
00:32:07.846 --> 00:32:09.886
Yes, the definitely gotcha moment.
00:32:09.886 --> 00:32:11.782
Wonderful.
00:32:12.140 --> 00:32:13.849
John, do you feel a little elegant?
00:32:13.849 --> 00:32:14.930
Do you feel Bonita?
00:32:16.325 --> 00:32:21.275
I do actually, and I have to say like, you know, uh, I still don't feel funky.
00:32:21.275 --> 00:32:22.115
I do not.
00:32:22.525 --> 00:32:22.815
Okay.
00:32:22.815 --> 00:32:23.575
Okay.
00:32:23.644 --> 00:32:29.525
stand, my ground and say, this is maybe not funky, but honestly, the sake ended up being the funkiest thing with that high acidity.
00:32:29.525 --> 00:32:30.724
It was really interesting and fun.
00:32:31.865 --> 00:32:40.714
Yeah, maybe this could be a, uh, secret, underground, funky sake episode, parading as a funky packaging.
00:32:40.835 --> 00:32:41.045
us.
00:32:41.045 --> 00:32:42.005
We had no idea.
00:32:42.005 --> 00:32:50.795
My favorite thing is when we, I love when we have the sakes, and neither of us have tasted them before and we're like, whoa, what the hell this is?
00:32:50.795 --> 00:32:51.755
It's always a lot of fun.
00:32:52.910 --> 00:32:53.450
Yeah.
00:32:53.450 --> 00:33:01.660
Well, uh, just one last reminder to all our listeners is that if you've been listening to us talk about these designs, be sure to check out our show notes.
00:33:01.660 --> 00:33:06.920
We'll have beautiful photos of all the designs and, you can check these out for yourself.
00:33:06.920 --> 00:33:09.109
'cause a picture is worth a thousand words.
00:33:09.109 --> 00:33:11.119
John, it has been.
00:33:11.210 --> 00:33:12.815
think we said a thousand words, so that's good.
00:33:16.234 --> 00:33:24.875
Well, John, it's been great to taste with you and I am so happy to try a sake that both you and I have never had before.
00:33:24.875 --> 00:33:28.035
Makes for very fun and exciting tasting.
00:33:28.035 --> 00:33:35.174
And, uh, this was just great and I really think this packaging is gonna be very successful here in the States.
00:33:35.174 --> 00:33:37.065
And I hope all our listeners check it out.
00:33:37.065 --> 00:33:45.500
I wanna, Say thank you to all of our listeners and especially our special community on Patreon.
00:33:45.500 --> 00:33:52.760
If you're enjoying Sake Revolution and you'd like to support this podcast, the best way to do that is join us on Patreon.
00:33:52.760 --> 00:34:03.230
You can visit patreon.com/sake revolution to learn about supporting our show and joining our monthly live happy hour, which is so much fun.
00:34:03.590 --> 00:34:04.250
It is.
00:34:04.865 --> 00:34:06.215
Yes, so please.
00:34:06.215 --> 00:34:06.965
Yeah.
00:34:06.965 --> 00:34:09.755
So please check it out and we hope you'll join our community.
00:34:10.610 --> 00:34:11.121
Yes.
00:34:11.121 --> 00:34:12.920
And, we want to hear from you.
00:34:12.920 --> 00:34:18.791
So you can contact us over at feedback@sakerevolution.com and give us that feedback directly.
00:34:18.791 --> 00:34:21.490
You can also get us on social media.
00:34:21.490 --> 00:34:27.530
Tim will happily take your, your dms, uh, over on, uh, Instagram and other platforms.
00:34:27.530 --> 00:34:30.981
So I hope everybody's got a, a cup handy.
00:34:30.981 --> 00:34:38.500
so until next time, please remember to keep drinking sake and Kanpai.