Our raw materials

We pay a lot of attention to the quality and origin of our raw materials. Therefore, we prefer to source directly from organic farmers in the region and all ingredients except rice and sea salt come from Germany.
We have always used organic products wherever possible and since the end of 2020 we have had almost all of our products certified organic. However, in some cases, special ingredients in the desired quality are only available from small producers who do not have official organic certification.
Here you can learn more about our raw materials:

Buckwheat

Even if the name suggests that buckwheat belongs to the grass family, buckwheat is not a type of grain, but belongs to the knotweed family. Buckwheat originally comes from Central and East Asia, but was also widespread in Europe for a long time because it thrives even on sandy, nutrient-poor soils and is an excellent bee pasture. In contrast to all other types of grain, buckwheat is alkaline, gluten-free and has a high biological value. Buckwheat is called soba in Japanese and gives its name to the well-known soba noodles as well as our Soba Shiro Tamari. Our Demeter buckwheat comes from Middle Franconia. It gives our products a particularly complex taste of floral aromas but also hearty, peaty notes reminiscent of truffles.

Einkorn

Einkorn is an ancient grain that, along with emmer, is one of the oldest types of grain. It was cultivated in the Middle East 10,000 years ago. As the name suggests, each einkorn ear has only one grain instead of two, as is usual with wheat. The einkorn grain itself is significantly smaller than that of wheat, which makes processing even more complex. The yield per hectare is also much lower than that of wheat, but einkorn is less demanding and more resilient. Einkorn has a higher mineral content than wheat, is rich in protein and has a nutty taste. As the name suggests, we use our einkorn from Upper Bavaria in our Einkorn Koikuchi Shoyu instead of wheat.

Black Emmer

Like einkorn, emmer is one of the oldest cultivated plants known to mankind. Emmer was already cultivated in Babylon and ancient Egypt and was found in most villages in the Neolithic period. Durum wheat and kamut developed from emmer. As with einkorn, the yield per hectare is significantly lower than with wheat. However, it is much less demanding and thrives on poor and dry soils, making it more resilient. Our black emmer from Upper Franconia is particularly flavorful and rich in nutrients and protein.

White lupins

According to historical records, white lupins were cultivated in the Mediterranean region 3,000 years ago. In addition to all essential amino acids, they have a high fiber content and few carbohydrates. Their high value for soil, animals and humans was recognized even before the great ability of legumes to bind atmospheric nitrogen with the help of bacteria in the root nodules was researched. They therefore supply themselves with the most important plant nutrients and also make nitrogen available to the subsequent crop. The lupin's taproot can penetrate deep into the lower layers of soil and thus survive longer dry periods. But there is a reason why white lupins are a niche crop. Cultivation is not an easy task and above all requires competent farmers in suitable locations. We use the lupins from Mecklenburg in our white soy sauces. There they give the shoyu a mild, hearty taste and leave the color golden yellow.

Salt

Salt is probably one of the oldest and most widely used ingredients that humans have used. Salt has a strong influence on the taste and is indispensable for fermentation and preservation. We use hand-harvested, unrefined sea salt from the Salinas d'Es Trenc. The salt pans are located in a nature reserve in Mallorca where the salt is dried naturally using sun and wind in a certified sustainable manner. The salt retains a certain amount of residual moisture and is particularly tasty and lively. This natural product is of course not mixed with iodine, fluoride or flow agents.

Soybeans

The soybean originally comes from East Asia. It was cultivated in Japan 5,000 years ago. Due to its high protein and oil content, it is now a globally valued crop of great economic importance. Soy has come under criticism because of its cultivation in the tropics and the resulting destruction of the rainforest. In addition, like all pulses and some vegetables, the beans contain isoflavones that are similar to human estrogens and are therefore also called phytoestrogens. The scientific situation as to whether isoflavones are harmful or particularly healthy is controversial at best. However, Japan, where a particularly large amount of soybeans is consumed, enjoys one of the highest life expectancies. In any case, we have always sourced our soybeans from Upper Bavaria - rainforest-friendly and GMO-free. Due to the sometimes very long fermentation times, the isoflavones in our products are largely broken down.

Water

When it comes to water - the elixir of life par excellence - we have relied exclusively on regional, ice-age spring water from the Rheinsberger Preußenquelle from the very beginning. It is organically certified water that is subject to significantly stricter quality standards than commercially available types of water. The supplier is also committed to sustainability, which makes working with them even more obvious for us. Its taste is very soft and pleasant and gives our soy sauces in particular a pleasant elegance and finesse.

Time

Time has a strong influence on the taste and consistency of the ferments and is therefore like an ingredient. We give the ferments plenty of time to develop their taste naturally. We let our products mature in wooden or ceramic barrels for months to several years so that they develop the right taste.