Ingredients are mixed including roasting and grinding the wheat as well as steaming the soybeans. From here, koji starter is added (something akin to sourdough starter).
This koji is cultivated. The mixture spends three days in a warm and humid koji room, a process that is critical to the final color, aroma and flavor.
A brine solution of salt and water are mixed with the koji. Moromi mash is made of brine and koji. Moromi is fermented in controlled tanks with several air agitations.
Moromi continues to change in the tank. Enzymes, yeast and microorganisms such as lactic acid bacilli, produced from koji, work actively in the tank.
Decomposition of ingredients during the fermentation process makes Moromi tasty by producing various important components for soy sauce. Flavor, color and aroma of soy sauce are generated and improved slowly during this time. Experts at the factory stir Moromi with fresh air in order to create a favourable environment for the microorganisms.
After the aging of Moromi is completed, Moromi is wrapped in a cloth and squeezed slowly for as long as three days. This is called RAW soy sauce.
From here, we sterilize and package up our shoyu to get it ready for distribution all over America.