TWTT - (Taste with the Toji)

In this episode of TWTT, Simone and Julian chat with Giulia Maglio.

Giulia was born and raised in Italy and moved to Japan in 2015. From then she worked in the tourism industry focusing on Japanese food culture which led to her growing interest in sake. 

She went on to receive qualifications in sake from SSI (Sommelier of Sake - International kikisake-shi) and the SEC (Sake Education Council) and also became a certified SSA Sake Educator. 

Wanting to further her knowledge and understanding of sake, she worked at Itakura Shuzo, a sake brewery located in the Shimane Prefecture for 4 seasons and is now brewing at Konohanano, a small craft sake brewery located in Asakusa, Tokyo. 

We chat to Giulia about her time at Itakura Shuzo, her work at Konohanano, making doburoku, the craft sake world and Singapore's first sake brewery: Orchid Craftworks.

We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.

Follow Giulia on Instagram: @jijisake

TWTT Podcast ⁠⁠@tastewiththetoji⁠⁠

Our hosts:

Simone ⁠⁠@sakemistress⁠⁠

Julian ⁠⁠@sakeadvocate⁠⁠

Maki ⁠⁠@sake.amata⁠⁠

This episode was recorded on 22 August, 2024.Thank you to our subscribers at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

More information about Taste with the Toji - The Podcast and The Project can be found on our website: ⁠⁠https://tastewiththetoji.com/⁠⁠

Music by Kazuyoshi Sato (Koikawa Shuzo)

Thanks for listening!

Some useful links from this episode:

Itakura Shuzo - Tenon

Konohanano

Orchid Craftworks

SSI

SSA

SEC

Hozuki fruit

In this episode of TWTT, Simone and Julian chat with a guest who needs very little introduction to those who are in the sake industry... Mr. John Gauntner.

Hailing from the U.S, John Gauntner is recognised as the world’s leading non-Japanese sake expert.

A resident of Japan since 1988, he is well known in the sake industry as the window to making sake understandable and popular outside of Japan. He has been writing and teaching about sake since 1994.

There is so much accessible information about John online that we decided to skip the back-story in our chat, (and in our show notes), and just have a good chin-wag and catch up while talking all things 'sake'.

A huge advocate in the sake world, and a huge influence & mentor for many - we hope you enjoy our chat with John as much as we did!

Useful links:

Sake World by John Gauntner

Sake Today Magazine

Sake Industry News

Sake On Air Podcast

Sake Confidential (book)

The Sake Handbook (book)

SPC - Sake Professional Course

SEC - Sake Education Council

JSS - Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association

Follow John on Instagram: @johngauntner

TWTT Podcast ⁠@tastewiththetoji⁠

Our hosts:

Simone ⁠@sakemistress⁠

Julian ⁠@sakeadvocate⁠

Maki ⁠@sake.amata⁠

This episode was recorded on 11 July, 2024.Thank you to our subscribers at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

More information about Taste with the Toji - The Podcast and The Project can be found on our website: ⁠https://tastewiththetoji.com/⁠

Music by Kazuyoshi Sato (Koikawa Shuzo)

Thanks for listening!

In this episode of TWTT, Simone and Julian chat with Marcus Consolini, CEO of Daimon Shuzo in Osaka.

Marcus hails from New York but has held strong business connections with Asia through his many years of working in finance. The story of how he came to be a non-Japanese CEO of a Japanese Sake Brewery, (a very rare thing indeed), has been told many times in print and on other podcasts. 

We initially wanted to catch up with Marcus to talk about the internship that Daimon Shuzo offer, as sake brewing experiences has been a little bit of a theme for us lately, but it has also been some time since Marcus appeared on TWTT The Project, (our Zoom room series and where TWTT, as a whole, began).

Marcus was our special guest in the Zoom room for TWTT The Project back in February 2021, right in the heart of COVID lockdowns and border closures. He presented a wonderful virtual tour of the incredible space that is Daimon Shuzo, we got to see inside the brewery and the restaurant, and we were also joined by 6th generation, Yasutaka Daimon and his son Kohei for that session.

A lot of changes have happened at Daimon since we last spoke to Marcus, so we thought we'd touch base and hear about the recent happenings and changes at Daimon, as well as a little about the internship they offer.

We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it, and if you are curious to hear or read more about Marcus and Daimon after listening to this episode, we have shared a few links below of interviews and articles from others that you might find of interest.

Sake Today article by John Gauntner from 2020

Japan Eats podcast episode from 2021

Sake Revolution podcast episode from 2022

You can follow Daimon Shuzo on Instagram @daimonbrewery

TWTT Podcast @tastewiththetoji

Our hosts:

Simone @sakemistress

Julian @sakeadvocate

Maki @sake.amata

This episode was recorded on 4 June, 2024.Thank you to our subscribers at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

More information about Taste with the Toji - The Podcast and The Project can be found on our website: https://tastewiththetoji.com/

Music by Kazuyoshi Sato (Koikawa Shuzo)

Thanks for listening!

In this episode, the TWTT gang chat all things sake to sandwiches with Australian chef, Michael Ryan.

Michael Ryan is the owner/chef of two-hatted restaurant, Provenance, in the delightful town of Beechworth, Victoria.

Ryan opened his first restaurant, Range, in 2006, winning a succession of awards, including The Age Good Food Guide’s two-hats and Country Restaurant of the Year in 2008. Provenance opened in early 2009 and has gone on to receive two-hats every year since. In 2013, Provenance won Best Regional Restaurant and Ryan was named Chef of the Year.

Ryan has a long-term interest in Japanese sake, cuisine and culture. His influences are reflected in the techniques and flavours he uses in his dishes and sake is always a feature on the restaurant’s extensive beverage list.

Ryan also hosts small-group guided culinary tours to Japan and is the author and co-creator of the book ‘Only in Tokyo’.

We could easily have chatted twice as long as we did with Michael, who is always a joy to speak with and always has some great stories to share.

If this episode inspires you to seek out some great places to eat and drink in Tokyo, be sure to seek out Michael and Luke’s book, Only in Tokyo.

Also, if you ever find yourself in Beechworth, Victoria, be sure to pay a visit to The Provenance, and be sure to include sake in your experience!

We’ve put a few links in the episode notes and we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed chatting with Michael.

You can follow Michael on Instagram...

@theprovenance

@beechworthbittersco

and our podcast and hosts...

TWTT Podcast: @tastewiththetoji

Simone: @sakemistress

Maki: @sake.amata

Julian: @sakeadvocate

This episode was recorded on 16 Apr 2024

A huge thank you to our subscribers at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

More information about Taste with the Toji - The Project can be found on our website: https://tastewiththetoji.com/

Music by: Kazuyoshi Sato (Koikawa Shuzo)

Useful links from this episode:

The Provenance Restaurant

Beechworth Bitters Co.

Black Market Sake

Sakenet

Luke Burgess

Only in Tokyo

Epicurious Travel

Gem by Moto (Mizunotori)

Eureka

Yoramu

Moriki Shuzo

Pizza Marumo

Shizen Restaurant

Kome Kome Sake Bar

Restaurant Kabi

KokoroMai

Camelback Tokyo

In this episode, Maki and Simone chat with good friends, and fellow TWTT community members, Arline Lyons and Cindy Bissig.

Both women are doing remarkable sake-related work - from tours to translations, and we could've easily done a complete episode with each of them, simply chatting about their involvement with the sake world. However, we wanted to focus on the theme of 'sake brewing experiences' for this particular episode.

Arline, (born in Ireland, residing in Switzerland), and Cindy (born in Switzerland, residing in Japan), are no strangers to many amongst the TWTT community and it was a delight to sit down and chat with them about two places that are currently offering these 'sake brewing experiences': GakkoGura (Niigata) and Kurabito Stay (Nagano).

Arline chats with us about her 2 separate experiences at Kurabito Stay, while Cindy takes us to Sado Island and shares her experience of attending GakkoGura.

GakkoGura and Kurabito Stay are possibly the 2 most well know of the venues offering these types of hands-on brewing experiences, although we know there are others currently offering short internships and some form of hands-on learning. We have also heard whispers of a few more places planning to run brewing experiences or 'courses' that may become accessible in the near future. We hope to come back to this topic in future episodes and chat with other people who have been involved in some of the other brewing experiences out there.

But for now, we hope you enjoy listening to Cindy and Arline chat about their sake brewing experiences as much as we did - and we hope their stories might inspire others to explore this 'behind the scenes' way of learning more about sake.

You can follow our guests on Instagram...

Arline: @tastetranslation

Cindy: @sakenomad

and our podcast and hosts...

TWTT Podcast: @tastewiththetoji

Simone: @sakemistress

Maki: @sake.amata

Julian: @sakeadvocate

This episode was recorded on 3 Apr 2024

A huge thank you to our subscribers at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

More information about Taste with the Toji - The Project can be found on our website: https://tastewiththetoji.com/

Music by: Kazuyoshi Sato (Koikawa Shuzo)

Useful links from this episode:

GakkoGura

GakkoGura flyer (ENG)

Kurabito Stay

Sake on Air

Sake Unplugged

Taste Translation

Sake Nomad

The TWTT Podcast team is back for a new year after a 2 month break.

In this episode Julian, Maki and Simone are kicking-off the TWTT Podcast for 2024 with a casual chat about what each of them have been doing since they last caught up in December last year.

It's been a busy start to the year with sake events already in full swing for 2024, not only in Japan, (where Julian and Maki are based) but also in Australia, (where Simone is based and has recently been hosting some fun sake focused events to kick off the new year).

Julian talks a little about his visit to Shoryaku-ji Temple, known as the 'birth-place' of modern sake. Maki shares her experiences from some recent Tokyo-based sake events and Simone chats about her January visit to Sydney, where she was involved in a number of events with special guest from Tokyo, Marie Chiba.

It's a short and sweet episode from us this time round. We're a little rusty, after the 2 month hiatus, but it was great to get back together via our laptops and have an enjoyable chat about some fun sake events and hear what each of us has been up to. 

When we look back to when the whole TWTT Project & concept began - in the depth of COVID, lockdowns and border closures - it's wonderful to see sake events in Japan, and other parts of the globe, back in full swing.

We hope you enjoy listening to our sake banter, and wherever you are in the world, we hope there is a fun sake event headed your way soon!

This episode was recorded on 14 Feb 2024

A huge thank you to our subscribers at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

More information about Taste with the Toji - The Project can be found on our website: https://tastewiththetoji.com/

Music by: Kazuyoshi Sato (Koikawa Shuzo)

Useful links from this episode:

* Donate to Noto Peninsula Earthquake Relief

* Shoryaku-ji Temple

* Bodaisen Bodaimoto

* Bringing Sake to the Table

* Australian Sake Festival

* Eukeka! Tokyo (Instagram)

* Gashue Sake Pub, Tokyo

* Ikkon no Keifu, (documentary)

* Miwa Shuzo, Gifu

In this episode, the final episode for 2023, Maki, Simone and Julian reflect a little on some of their sake moments from this year.

They also chat with Chris Hughes and Harald deRopp and hear a little about their sake year of 2023.

Chris and Harald are no strangers to those who have attended Zoom room sessions of the TWTT Project.

Both Chris and Harald, alongside Maki, have been the dedicated TWTT Translation Team of 2023.

Chris is known for his work with JSS and Sake on Air Podcast, he is also a WSET Sake educator and has worked with a number of sake breweries in various roles.

Harald has a day job that is unrelated to sake, but once he is off the work clock, he is well and truly on a mission to fly the flag high and hard for sake! He's a loved member amongst the TWTT community and greater sake community and if there's ever a sake festival or event happening in Japan, it's usually on Harald's calendar!

We really enjoyed our chat, reflecting on some enjoyable sake moments from 2023, and it was a lovely way for us to sign off on the TWTT Podcast for this year.

We hope you enjoy listening to our chat as much as we enjoyed having it.

A huge thank you to everyone who has listened to our little Podcast and to everyone who has supported TWTT.

To all our sake family and friends, and to everyone...

Take care 

This episode was recorded on 12 Dec 2023

A huge thank you to our subscribers at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

More information about Taste with the Toji - The Project can be found on our website: https://tastewiththetoji.com/

Music by: Kazuyoshi Sato (Koikawa Shuzo)

Useful links:

https://yamaguchisake.com/author/admin1204182/
https://www.gokyo-sake.co.jp/
https://www.instagram.com/kiichimatsushiro/
https://www.chiyomusubi.co.jp/about/index_eng.html

https://iinumahonke.com/

https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/21/

https://sakeworld.com/sin/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natsuko_no_Sake

https://www.kodamajozo.co.jp/en/company/

https://shinkame.com/

http://fumigiku.co.jp/

https://www.sake-toko.co.jp/en/company/
https://sakeonair.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers

https://www.prowein.com/https://www.sake-toko.co.jp/en/company/

In this episode Simone and Julian catch up with their good friends Etsuko Nakamura and Jason Adamson, from Sake Tours Japan.

Etsuko Nakamura - Sake Tours Founder / Tour Leader

Etsuko Nakamura is a Sake Samurai, Advanced Sake Professional certified by The Sake Education Council and a Government Certified Bilingual English Guide [Registration Number: EN02400]. Etsuko owns and operates sake tours under enakamura Inc, Registered Travel Agency No. 3 – 7490 approved by the Government of Tokyo.

Etsuko began Sake Tours in 2008 and believes in giving guests an experience rather than just a tour. She has toured more than 300 sake breweries around Japan and enjoys creating and leading customised tours for special interest groups.

Jason Adamson - Tour Leader /Marketing / Photographer

Jason has been living in Osaka, Japan since 2011. He has a Masters in Gastronomic Tourism from Le Cordon Bleu and is an Advanced Sake Professional having studied under John Gauntner and the Sake Education Council. Jason takes care of all the website, photos and marketing at saketours.com and when not travelling around Japan drinking sake and eating food - he is curating new tours, taking photos, making videos and feeding the internet. He also is part of the team at Sake Industry News.

In the early days of TWTT The Project, Etsuko and Jason were regular Zoom room attendees, as COVID and border closures had put a stop to sake tourism. We don't see them much in the Zoom room anymore, and all for good reason...

Now Japan's borders are open again and sake tourism is growing in popularity and demand, which means these guys are busy planning and running sake-focused tours to some amazing destinations all over Japan.

We chat a little about their own personal sake journeys as well as the birth and evolution of Sake Tours, and sake tourism in general, as well as their future plans for their tours.

We hope you enjoy listening to our chat with Etsuko and Jason as much as we enjoyed having it.

This episode was recorded on 23 Nov 2023

You can follow Sake Tours on Instagram @sake_tours or find her website in our links list below.

A huge thank you to our subscribers at ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠

More information about Taste with the Toji - The Project can be found on our website: https://tastewiththetoji.com/

Music by: Kazuyoshi Sato (Koikawa Shuzo)

Useful links:

https://saketours.com/

https://www.chiyomusubi.co.jp/

https://kaiunsake.com/english

https://rihaku.co.jp/

https://sake-world.com/sin/

https://sake-world.com/sake-professional-course/

In this episode, Simone and Maki catch up with Hannah Kirshner and see what's been happening since they visited her in Yamanaka Onsen in September 2022.

Hannah Kirshner is author and illustrator of the beautiful book titled Water, Wood, and Wild Things: Learning Craft and Cultivation in a Japanese Mountain Town. Her reporting has appeared in publications including The New York Times and Food & Wine, and on the Proof podcast from America’s Test Kitchen. She’s a Solutions Journalism Network Climate Initiative fellow, and winner of an International Gourmand “Best In The World” award for writing on Japan. Kirshner grew up on a small farm outside Seattle, studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Hannah was introduced to the TWTT community during the second season of TWTT - The Project, for session #33. The feature brewery for that session was Matsuura Shuzo, where Hannah currently works as a part-time seasonal kurabito.

Hannah also featured on TWTT's sister project, Meet the Artisan, where she introduced the audience to local Yamanaka woodturner, Takehito Nakajima.

Hannah spends her time between Yamanaka Onsen, where she is currently renovating two houses, and New York, where her husband's business is situated.

Through her process of writing Water, Wood and Wild Things, (where she got to know many of the local artisans and craftspeople), working at the local sake brewery, and tackling the process of renovating not only one, but two houses in the town, Hannah has made Yamanaka more of a home, rather than a home away from home, and has become a member of the community in this small rural town.

We hope you enjoy listening to our chat with Hannah as much as we enjoyed having it.

You can follow Hannah on Instagram @sweetsnbitters or find her website in our links list below.

A huge thank you to our subscribers at ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠

More information about Taste with the Toji - The Project can be found on our website: https://tastewiththetoji.com/

Music by: Kazuyoshi Sato (Koikawa Shuzo)

Useful links:

https://hannahkirshner.com/

https://shishinosato.com/en/

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/podcasts/proof

https://www.ishikawatravel.jp/en/spots/yamanaka-onsen/

https://www.instagram.com/washubar_engawa_yamanakaonsen/

http://takehitowoodworks.com/

https://kyotofoodie.com/how-to-make-hoshigaki-japanese-dried-persimmons/

In this episode, the TWTT team catches up with good friend Justin Potts.Justin was our special guest for Episode 4, back in December, 2022, when he had just started a job that saw him pack up his Japan-based family and move back to his native US to begin an epic new adventure, playing a leading role in setting up a new American sake brewery, and Arkansas's first ever sake brewery, Origami Sake.We heard a little about the beginning of that journey in Episode 4, but having been in semi-regular contact with Justin since then, and also following the progress of Origami Sake, we wanted to touch base with him to chat about where things are at one year on from his first day with Origami Sake.When we last spoke, the brewery was basically a shell.... Now, they are an operational brewery and have released their first 2 sake to the people of Arkansas. We spoke a little about what has happened since we last caught up, Origami's first products and their process, the brewery's short term goals and vision for the future... and more.It's always an absolute joy to chat with Justin, and no doubt we will want to do so again in the future to hear more about this progressive journey of his, and to share some of that journey with you!We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed chatting with Justin!

A huge thank you to our subscribers at ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠

More information about Taste with the Toji - The Project can be found on our website: https://tastewiththetoji.com/

Music by: Kazuyoshi Sato (Koikawa Shuzo)

Useful links:

https://origamisake.co/

https://www.kidoizumi.jp/en/about/

http://isbellfarms.com/

https://sakeassociation.org/

https://sakerevolution.com/episode/live-the-american-craft-sake-festival-2023-whitney-isbell-jones-of-isbell-farms/