TWTT - (Taste with the Toji)

In this episode, Maki, Simone and Julian are all together again - for the first time in a long time! We've used this as an opportunity to catch-up with one another and see what's been happening, sake-wise, in each other's lives since we were last able to catch-up. Maki chats a bit about some recent sake events held in Tokyo, Julian tells of his recent sake tasting adventures, whi

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 Educat

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

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 podca

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 Yea

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 's

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

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 t

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 operat

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