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From What is sake made?
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- It is mostly made from rice and water with the microbes called "koji" and sake yeast.
- To be exact, we only use well polished rice. Using well-polished rice is important for the quality of sake.
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What kind of rice is used for making sake?
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- Japanese rice can be roughly classified into two types. The first type is commonly used for eating, and encompasses a number of sub-categories depending on how and where it grows. The second type called Sakamai is exclusively used for sake-making.
- Sakamai is not only larger and softer than ordinary rice, but is also more expensive since it only grows in certain areas and entails more complex cultivation techniques.
- The ordinary rice can be used for making sake as well, but in general the Sakamai-based Sake has a higher reputation for its quality.
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What about water? Does the quality of water matter?
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- Yes. The quality of water is extremely important since the mineral content in water affects the taste of sake.
- Semi-hard water is the most suitable for sake-making since it has less iron and manganese.
- Japan has a high level of precipitation (1,500mm per year) and plenty of high quality ground water across the country.
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