【Reading】せいまいぶあい

【English Name】Rice Polishing Ratio

Seimai-buai (rice-polishing ratio) is an indicator showing the proportion (by weight) of white rice remaining after brown rice has been polished, formally defined in a 1989 National Tax Agency notification. A smaller value means more is shaved away, which reduces off-flavors from the outer components of the rice (minerals, fats, amino acids) and tends to produce a clean sake quality. On the other hand, some sake brewing aims for a rich, complex flavor by leaving the outer layers. The standards for each type are: daiginjo-shu 50% or less; ginjo-shu, special junmai-shu, and special honjozo-shu 60% or less; honjozo-shu 70% or less; and futsu-shu (ordinary sake) has no regulation (around 73–75% is common). For junmai-shu, the regulation was abolished in 2004. There are three measurement methods: weight-based, apparent, and true rice-polishing ratio; the true rice-polishing ratio is a precise method calculated from the weight of 1,000 grains of rice and is emphasized for daiginjo and the like.