Our Story…

We’re so glad you’re here!

Here is a little background of how umamiso™ started here in Vermont.

My name is Yoko Tarrant, and I’m the owner and founder of umamiso LLC. I grew up in Kyoto, Japan. My husband is a Vermonter and we moved to Montpelier, Vermont in 2009. When I got here, there were some restaurants where we could find Japanese food and some stores selling Japanese food products; however, it was often hard to find that precise taste of home and it is still hard to this day. While some of it was acceptable, it was rarely right on.

One of the most challenging things for me, personally, was finding good miso paste. If you walk into any store or supermarket in Japan, you’ll find numerous types of miso paste. I was able to find a few types in Vermont, but, for me, none of it was what I was looking for. I had never eaten homemade miso before, let alone made my own before moving to Vermont. So years later, that became my purpose–to make and share the authentic taste of home that I had been looking for. To share with my new home a taste of my old became my focus.

All of our miso is made from scratch, with simple, quality ingredients, using traditional Japanese methods. To me, that’s the key. Our product is not ultra-refined. It is handmade. It is naturally fermented for at least 8 months to a year, allowing it to develop that richer, deeper, umami flavor which partially inspired our name. To me, what’s so exciting about it is that you can feel and taste the miso in a way that you may not experience with other pastes.

I have such a deep respect for those who have come before me, developing over the years the culture that has become Japan. It’s important for me to authentically represent that in what I do–not only what I make, but how I make it. It’s an honor to be able to be a bridge between Japan and America, and bring that taste here.