A Sake Made From Moth Poop That Tastes Of Sakura Mochi?! We Taste Test Haccoba's Secret Spring LAB No. 48 Chuhicha Insect Secret Tea (はっこうば 虫秘茶 クラフトサケ)

Where traditional Sake has been brewed for over 2,000 years - Ginjo Sake as we know it, dates back to the early 1900's - craft Sake has really only emerged proper in the last half a decade or so, and has of course evolved incredibly quickly, going from one form to the next, with new styles created every year or so. That stark contrast has of course often spurred debates as to the merits of craft Sake, the relevance of traditional Sake, and certainly whether the two can co-exist side by side, and if such a world would be for the better. For what it's worth, some of the techniques applied by craft Sake makers, such as the unfiltered doburoku or the use of hops, are in fact ancestral Sake brewing methods that pre-date traditional clear Sake as we know it today!

A Sake made with moth droppings that tastes like Cherry Blossom mochi? This has to take the cake!

Nevertheless as with everything new and emergent, the question of whether innovation has gone "too far" is never really all that far away. And if there is a great candidate to put that question to the test, it surely has to be haccoba's Secret Spring Insect Secret Tea that was made as part of its experimental LAB series (it's LAB No. 48) that was made in collaboration with Chu-hi-cha, a Japanese tea specialist that focuses on tea leaves that have been consumed, digested and "dropped" (to put it gently) by moth larvae, which is then to be brewed and enjoyed by consumers. It's a collaboration of two incredibly innovative brands that look to approach respectively each of their chosen thousand year old categories with fresh eyes, pursuing new flavours without the restraint of dogma and tradition. This of course caught our eye and we were piqued at the result of this fascinating collaboration!

Spoiler alert: the craft Sake brewed with moth droppings of digested Sakura leaves was incredible and nothing like we've ever tasted!

Tsuyoshi Maruoka, a researcher who discovered that moths can ferment botanicals whilst digesting it to produce unique and enhanced flavours.

To introduce the concept, let's first take a look at what Chuhicha is. Chu-hi-cha, also known as 虫秘茶 in Japanese, literally translates to Insect (虫) Secret (秘) Tea (茶). Chuhicha was founded by Tsuyoshi Maruoka, a doctoral student at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Agriculture where he specialised in Chemical Ecology, and had taken a special interest in studying moths and their symbiosis with the plants they consume. As Maruoka writes, moths and plants have a continuously evolving relationship, where plants embody defensive features to prevent themselves from being eaten, whilst moths evolve to overcome these defences. As time progresses, both sides gain new features to better their chances against the other, with one such evolutionary adaptability being the moth larvae's ability to digest various chemical fragrances carried by plants. The scent of the Sakura Cherry Blossom tree is one such example. What might be perceived as fragrant and aromatic to us, is instead designed to ward off moths, and yet as it turns out, the moth larvae is able to not only digest these Sakura leaves, but even ferments them in the process! This leaves behind droppings that are at times enhanced from the original scent, and in other instances, completely change the aromatics of the plant. For Maruoka, realising this natural phenomenon meant the opening up of infinite possibilities of plant and larvae combinations, which he believes can create new ecological opportunities for sustainability, expressing of regional identities and the creation of new products. Beyond Cherry Blossoms, Maruoka has also begun working with Apple Blossoms.

Taisuke Sato, founder of leading craft Sake brewer haccoba.

Now, haccoba on the other hand, would prove to be the perfect collaborator for Maruoka's Chuhicha. Founded in 2021 by Taisuke Sato in the Fukushima Prefecture, haccoba focuses on producing craft Sakes through the use of co-fermentation and the application of craft beer brewing techniques onto Sake brewing. As such, haccoba often utilises a variety of local hops in their Sake brewing (hops were in fact used in Sake making in ancient times much in the same way it was used for beer making, where hop flowers were brewed with the barley or rice in order to help reduce its perishability in a time of long journeys and the lack of refrigeration), also often fermenting rice alongside fruits, flowers and spices, and the occasional use of alternative yeast cultures such as traditional Belgian Kriek yeasts. Through its various releases, haccoba has established itself as one of the most creative and innovative pioneers of the emerging craft Sake movement!

The perfect collaboration between two creative forces upstarting their respective thousand year old crafts.

And so with the haccoba Secret Spring LAB No. 48 Chuhicha Insect Secret Tea craft Sake, the Chuhicha was co-fermented with rice from the local Nemoto Organic Farm in the Fukushima Prefecture that was polished down to a gentle 90% rice polishing ratio! This came as a result of a chance encounter between a former haccoba staff member and Marouka where upon tasting the Chuhicha tea, she was so impressed by its aroma and taste that it was decided there and then that a collaboration had to happen. The specific Chuhicha, or moth droppings, used here is that of Oshima Cherry Blossom leaves that have been digested by the Lunar moth larvae, which was then aged for 6 months. Now, many might already be familiar with Japan's famous Sakura mochi, but it's worth pointing out that traditionally it is in fact the Oshima Cherry leaves that are pickled in salt and used to wrap these Sakura Mochi! Oshima Cherry is a wild cherry that's one of the 10 original species of cherry trees, and the Matsuzaki Town of Shizuoka Prefecture where the Chuhicha is harvested is in fact the most famous source of Oshima cherry trees and one of the most popular places to go Sakura chasing during the blossom season! And so by using the Oshima Cherry Blossom Chuhicha, haccoba is in fact putting the Sakura leaves through two fermentations - once via the moth larvae, and a second time as it is co-fermented with rice for Sake brewing - which has then the effect of concentrating its flavours!

With that said, it's time to give it a go!

PS. This was brought over to Singapore by the one and only OMU NOMU Craft Sake & Raw Bar, which is really the place to go in the city for not just delicious but also incredibly unique and fascinating craft Sakes! You won't leave the bar with just Sake, be ready to leave with great stories too! 

Sake Review: haccoba Secret Spring LAB No. 48 Chuhicha Insect Secret Tea はっこうば 虫秘茶 クラフトサケ

Tasting Notes

Color: Deep Hazy Straw

Aroma: Green, citrusy and lightly floral. Opens with a tea-like leafiness and slightly confectionary tone of sakura mochi aromatics, led by cherry blossoms, elder flowers combined with savoury-sweet scent of salted sakura leaf. A delicately leafy background of Baihao Yinzhen tea buds (白毫銀針), light lime leaves with just-as-present sweet citrus, bitter lemon Schweppes, muscat grapes, lemon peels. A slightly rustic background of dry rice with a clean mineral stoniness. 

Taste: Flavourful and dense though with an easy-drinking spring water like texture. Full bodied honeyed yuzu with a distinctive sweet-salty-floral sakura mochi flavour upfront, it’s confectionary-like but not to the point of being syrupy. Carries on with continued clean rice cake sweetness that develops into a rounded umami impression and nutty green bean filling. Then some green tea warabi mochi, continued matcha complexity. Light salinity towards the back with pleasant dry wood spiced tone. 

Finish: Clean and lightly drying. Lightly sweet-oxidative notes of persimmon. Continued leafiness, coconut water and steamed pandan with a dry spiced tone in herbal honey. 

Our Thoughts

A highly enjoyable, layered and memorable haccoba that once again justifies the position of kurafuto sake in the Japanese sake scene. It’s expressive, immediately enjoyable and evolves quite a bit in the mouth, with both confectionary notes and green leafiness It’s fairly substantial in mouthfeel, with that recognisable lemonade-lactic tone that often accompanies many of these craft sakes. The use of Chuhicha is not mere novelty – those sakura mochi / cherry leaf notes certainly comes through in high definition and harmonise very well with the inherent umami of the sake’s inherent ricey character.

@CharsiuCharlie