JOURNAL / JAPAN etc.（English）

JAPAN ［Saitama］

Japanese Ingredients for the World’s Top Kitchens ＃13
KOMBUCHA MADE IN JAPAN

Fizzy, Sweet and Tangy: Just in Time for Spring

2022.02.28

日本［埼玉］国産のお茶で安心安全の健康飲料を未来に届けたい日本の食材＃13コンブチャ

text by Michiko Watanabe / photographs by Daisuke Nakajima / English text by Susan Rogers Chikuba

Though the times are always changing, there are certain timeless ingredients from Japan that will never go out of style. Yukio Hattori, president of Hattori Nutrition College in Tokyo, introduces unique labors of love—items grown and produced with care and integrity by hardworking suppliers across the country.

A tonic rich in active enzymes, polyphenols, vitamins, and acetic and lactic acids, kombucha is enjoyed worldwide these days, although not everyone knows that this lightly carbonated, fermented drink has nothing to do with kombu seaweed. At Oizumi Kojo, brewmaster Yuji Shimada uses a blend of green and black loose-leaf teas for the base (photo right below), and makes the SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast/photo left below) mother in-house.

日本の強みを生かした新しいコンブチャ作り。コンブチャ作りを支えるスコビー（写真左）に加え大切なのがベースのお茶だ。大泉工場では、国産の緑茶と紅茶を使用。濃く出すとエグミが味のバランスを崩すため、抽出は薄めに。長いお茶の文化を持つ日本の強みを生かしたコンブチャ造りに今後、益々期待が集まりそうだ。

（写真左）菌に健全な仕事をしてもらうため、人間の仕事の９割は衛生管理。現在２名のスタッフで回している。（写真右）醸造にはアメリカで自家醸造用に使われているタンクも活躍。

(photo left) Microorganisms may be the hardest workers at the plant; humans just ensure they have clean, optimum conditions.
(photo right) The brewing tank, made for beer brewing at home, was imported from the U.S.

Shimada starts with water that’s been filtered six times. He puts freshly brewed sweetened tea through a heat exchanger to drop its temperature to 26 to 28ºC, a comfortable range for the microbes to begin oxidation. Fermentation lasts for one to two weeks, and the alcohol strength is kept below 0.3 percent—no second fermentation is conducted. You can taste the result at the Saitama taproom and the Tokyo café in Nishi-Azabu.

（写真左）発酵にはドイツ製のワイン用タンクを使用。布をかぶせ、開放した状態で１～２週間ほど発酵させる。（写真右）国産の緑茶は海外から視察に来たコンブチャ関係者から、よく製造元を聞かれるそう。

(photo left) The fermentation equipment hails from Germany and was designed for wine.
(photo right) A blend of organic tea leaves from Uji (Kyoto), Kakegawa (Shizuoka) and Oita is used.

Seasonal kombuchas are flavored with hibiscus, lemongrass, and yuzu.

（写真左）樽詰めにして、飲食店への卸しも少しずつ増えてきた。（写真右）工房のある敷地内では、毎月第２土、日曜に行われるファーマーズマーケットでコンブチャが飲める。

(photo left) Casks of kombucha await shipping to clients.
(photo right) A farmers’ market is held at the Saitama plant every second Saturday and Sunday.