Welcome to the Sake Set Store

The Sake Set Store is a specialty website offering our collection of Sake Sets, Sushi Sets, and Asian Tableware. We are owned and operated by Uncommon Treasures, located in Towson Maryland.

You can order online 24 hours a day. If you need some help, or would like to speak with us we are available Monday - Saturday from 10am to 6pm Eastern Time. Give us a call, we would love to hear from you.

Rust Poem Sake Set $41.95 This is a five-piece sake set, comprising of a rectangular bottle and four cups. The ceramic items have an oxidized earth tone finish, with a shiny glaze. Poems written in fine black Japanese characters are on the cups, and on each facet of the bottle. Sake bottle is approximately 6.5 inches... cups are 1 7/8 inches tall. Comes gift boxed. Handcrafted in Japan.

Dragonfly Sake Set for Two $31.95 The Dragonfly Sake Set for two people comprises of a jug and two cups. The jug has a convenient pouring spout and is ergonomically shaped to be comfortable in your hand. The cups are round, and bulge out in the middle. All three items have a terracotta color scheme, and feature white dragonfly motifs. Sake bottle is approximately 4.75 inches tall ~ cups are 1.75 inch tall by 2 inch diameter. Comes gift boxed. Handcrafted in Japan.

Gray & White Lines Sake Set for Two $26.95 This is a very natural-looking sake set for two people, comprising of a bottle and two cups. The bottle is deliberately uneven and slightly asymmetrical, as are the cups. The whole set has a natural, rustic look about it. All the items are gray, with uneven vertical white lines. The ceramic items have a glossy glazed finish. Sake bottle is approximately 6 1/4 inches tall ~ cups are 1.75 inch tall by 2.5 inch diameter. Comes gift boxed. Handcrafted in Japan.

Dream Sake Set $31.95 The Dream Sake set comprises of a bottle and four cups. The bottle has a very elegant, traditional design, with a dark brown and creamy oxidized yellow color scheme. The cups all have shiny dark brown surfaces, with a creamy light patch. The bottle has a large white engraved Japanese character, meaning, “dream”. Sake bottle is approximately 8.25 inches tall...cups are 1.75 inches tall. Comes gift boxed. Handcrafted in Japan.

Cherry Blossom Sake Set $34.95 The Cherry Blossom Sake Set comprises of a bottle and four cups. All the items are handcrafted white ceramic, featuring a traditional cherry blossom motif. The items all have simple, elegant shapes, and the cherry blossom decoration gives them a traditional feel. Sake bottle is approximately 7 inches... cups are 1.75 inches tall. Comes gift boxed. Handcrafted in Japan.

Sake is the traditional rice wine of Japan. It comes in several different varieties, and was first made at least 2,000 years ago. Since then, sake has played an important role in Japanese culture and history. From its origins as the "drink of the Gods" to its current status as one of the most popular drinks in the country, the history of sake is steeped in tradition, innovation, and custom.

Sake was first brewed in Japan after the practice of wet rice cultivation was introduced in that country around 300 B.C. Though the origins of sake can be traced in China as far back as 4,000 B.C., it was the Japanese who began mass production of this simple but delicious rice concoction.

Sake has basically four ingredients. The first and perhaps most important is rice, and there are approximately 46 types of rice used to produce sake. That may not seem remarkable until you consider that there are more than 120,000 different varieties of rice in the world. Sake rice is selected because it is has a larger kernel, and also because it is easier to work with than other grains. In the first step of the brewing process, the rice is "polished:" machines mill the grain of rice to eliminate the outer layers, leaving only the starch-rich "packet" in the center of each grain of rice. Interestingly the milling process was once completed by hand, or rather by mouth. Ancient sake production saw "chewing parties" as part of a Shinto fertility rite: a whole village would chew the grains of rice with nuts and spit the chewed product into a large tub. Fortunately for quality control standards and hygiene, this practice of producing kuchikami no saké ("chewing in the mouth saké") has long since been discontinued.

The polished rice is then steamed, and "koji" is scattered folded into the steamed rice. Koji is a yellow mold (also known as Aspergillum oryaze) that is grown very carefully by the brewmaster (toji) in a dark place. The koji grows on the steamed rice, and converts the starch in the rice into sugar. Yeast and water are then added to the mixture, and the quality of both of these ingredients plays a major role in determining both taste and quality. The yeast most commonly used is known as Saccaromyces cerevisiae, but the experienced toji often experiment with other types of yeast. The type of water used ranges from mountain spring water to desalinated water from the ocean – the important factor in both is mineral content, and of course water that has not had chemicals like fluoride added is essential. The mixture of yeast, rice, koji, and water (known as "mash") is then allowed to ferment for between 18 to 35 days. The temperature the mash is kept at helps to determine the strength and dryness of the sake produced.

Once the mixture has fermented, it is "pressed" to separate the liquid from the mash. Traditional preparation methods included placing the mash in canvas bags and then squeezing the liquid out of the bags using a wooden box known as a "fune." Modern methods use a machine that looks a little like a giant accordion. The extracted liquid is then filtered, and is often pasteurized to kill off unwanted bacteria. Most sake is then aged for up to six months to increase its potency and flavor, and then more water is added to increase the yield and lessen the alcoholic content.

The resulting product is then sold to the consumer, and can be served alone or in cocktails. Most sake is best consumed fresh, rather than leaving it to age any further. There are more than 10,000 different varieties of sake, and though there may be slight changes in the brewing process, the steps outlined here form the basis of all sake production.