Wagyu Demand

Wagyu beef achieved global popularity between the 80s and 90s thanks to foreigners living in Kobe who were in awe of the texture and deliciousness of what they called Kobe beef.

In 1853, during the Meiji Era, Japan opened its borders due to pressure exerted by the United States.

Kobe used to be one of the main ports open to international trade in Japan, attracting people from different nationalities, mainly westerners (Americans and Europeans), to settle down, creating a virtual bridge between the two cultures.

The fact that beef could melt in your mouth, especially when compared with the cheaper and tougher meat produced in western countries, created such a demand that in 1990 Japan began to export it as premium beef.

People around the world were enjoying this special beef coming from Japan until one day in the year 2000 bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) occurred, more commonly remembered as the “mad cow disease”.

It gained its name because the cattle infected with the disease would experience deterioration of their brain and spinal cord, eventually exhibiting behavior that made it look as though they went mad.

It was soon discovered the disease could be transmitted to humans if they consumed the infected meat. To avoid a pandemic, the importation of beef was banned in the U.S. and Europe.

Then, one day in 2012 the United States, confident enough that the disease has been contained, decided to remove the ban and allow the importation of beef again. Soon followed in suit by the EU in 2013.

Since then, the demand for Wagyu has grown exponentially, and unfortunately, along with that growth, the occurrence of scams and misleading advertisement has increased.

Wagyu Demand

As a way to assist you in your wagyu selection process we have created the following checklist, identifying what to look for when buying wagyu beef online.

1. BMS

Beef Marbling Scale, is the most important characteristic to look for. For a beef to be graded as A5 it must have a BMS between 8 and 12.

  If a company offers you an A5 Wagyu with a BMS of 8, it is not entirely false advertising, but the price shouldn’t be the same as one with a BMS of 12.  

BMS 10 is good enough to experience the melt-in-your-mouth sensation without been too oily.

Beef Marbling Scale - BMS

2. Certificate of Authenticity

Technically, Wagyu is only Japanese beef, the beef coming from any of the following Japanese breeds: black, shorthorn, brown and polled.

  However, countries like the U.S. and Australia have been crossbreeding Japanese breeds with their respective local ones giving origin to American and Australian Wagyu.

  In order to avoid been mislead, the authentic Japanese Wagyu comes with a certificate of authenticity which must include the cattle ID number.   

This cattle ID is like the social security number for cows, it will throw information like the place of birth, farm, and the slaughtered day.

  There are 2 kind of certificates, the one with the nose print of the cow, and the one without it. As long as you have a cattle ID you are good to go.   

Wagyu Certificate of Authenticity

If you are aiming for Kobe beef, the meat must have the Nojigiku stamp, provide a Certificate of Kobe Meat, and the vendor must hold the following Kobe beef statue, even if you are just eating it in a restaurant:  

Kobe Beef Statue
Nojigiku stamp

One of the new players, Ozaki Beef, has a small production compare to the cool kids, but the quality and unique method to raise cattle and refined oiliness of Wagyu has granted them the privilege to be selective with their partners, and only the ones who hold this plate are authorized distributors  

Ozaki beef- authorized distributor

For verification purposes, you can insert your cattle ID number in the official Japanese Search Service of Individual Identification of Cattle
Scroll down and click Agree, you will see this page after:
Verify your wagyu beef

3. Brand

There are more than 300 Japanese Wagyu brands in the market, and only 3 are the most popular, it doesn’t mean they are the best, just more reliable.

Outside of Japan the most popular brand is Kobe beef, but in Japan is Matsusaka beef, followed by Ohmi Beef.

Thanks to capitalism, organic marketing and geographical location Kobe beef has become the most desire wagyu brand not only in Japan, but around the world.

Wagyu brands are mostly named after the farm’s location where cattle are raised, names can go from town, city or prefecture.

Except Ozaki Beef, which is the only Wagyu branded after a family name, Mr. Muneharu Ozaki. 

Tajima beef is one of the oldest wagyu brands and it’s considered to be root of all wagyu beef. Tajima used to be a province in Japan, where today is Hyogo Prefecture.

Kobe is located in Hyogo, and all Kobe beef is 100% pure Tajima Beef, which comes from the Japanese black cattle.

All wagyu, genetically speaking, can be traced to Tajima Beef and it’s considered the root of wagyu beef.

Some honorable mentions are Miyazaki, Yamagata and Hida wagyu. All of them are symbol of quality.

While there are some differences in texture and flavor between the brands, for most of the people is almost imperceptible to distinguish those differences. Unless you are comparing side to side.

That and the fact that the cooking process also affects or improves the flavor, depending on who is cooking.

In other words, any Japanese Wagyu with a BMS between 10 and 12 will stimulate the dopamine in your brain, where happiness will explode in slow motion bite after bite.

Or in plain English, any A5 wagyu from Japan will do it as long they have this logo:

4. Cut

Everybody has their favorite cut, but ribeye and New York Strip, also known as strip loin, are the most marbled ones, those will melt in your mouth.

If you prefer a cleaner taste and still enjoy the benefits of wagyu, then Chateaubriand is your guy.

This is intended to guide people who know nothing about meat, if you differ from our opinion we exhort you to participate in the poll created by one of the members in the A5 Club.

Your opinion is very important.
What is the best A5 wagyu cut to try as a first timer?

5. Quantity

This is the tricky part. How many pounds of Wagyu should you get? Well, it depends on the occasion.

Some shops are good for small quantities and others for more.

Bear in mind that some shops have free shipping if you spend above $250 USD for instance. 

If money is not a problem, we recommend to get free shipping, after all Wagyu can stay up to 1 year in the freezer… but let’s be honest, it won’t last more than 1 month.

If you just want to celebrate with your partner 1 pound is more than enough.

In extreme cases, 1 pound, or 16 oz, can feed up to 4 people.

Wagyu is very rich, and eating too much can make your stomach upset due to all that healthy fat that makes Wagyu delicious, specially if it’s the fist time you are eating it.

Basically, it’s like alcohol, your body has to get used to it.

There have been cases where people gets diarrhea or nausea, which can be confused with food poisoning, but in reality is just your body reacting to the excess of amino acids.

Our advice, listen to your body.

6. Delivery time

All wagyu shops use fedex or UPS to ship wagyu to your door, at least in the US. Your Wagyu shouldn’t be in transit for more than a night.

For some shops, once the meat is out for delivery they are not responsible for the conditions in what the wagyu is delivered.

A good wagyu shop will care about its costumers and there are cases where meat arrives already thawed. Under this circumstances a few companies would be able to give you a refund, just breath in and email them including some pictures.

Just make sure to read the terms and conditions before making a purchase or complaining.

Normally it takes 2 days to get wagyu delivered to your home, one day to receive your order, make sure your payment has gone through, and one day to send it out.

I would avoid the shops that overcharge for a next day delivery, specially because all of the companies are already doing that free of extra charges.

7. Location

This might be the less important point, but if you care about quality, you want your meat to be delivered as fast as possible, after all it’s a perishable product.

In case the delivery company delayed or messed up with your package, it means your Wagyu has started to defrost. If your meat arrives partially thawed and still cold there is no doubt that it’s still good, it might have lost a little bit of flavor, but not biggie.

Once your Wagyu is delivered and you are not planning to eat it right away, then it should be placed in the freezer, otherwise just put it in the fridge.

If your package has to be delivered from coast to coast, make sure the packaging is the proper one.

Generally, the wagyu shops adapt the packaging accordingly depending on distance. But delivery companies are not perfect, and there is always a margin of error.

  Be aware that this point is related to probabilities, in most cases your Wagyu will be delivered in perfect conditions, no matter the distance.   

If you want to minimize the margin of error, choosing a closer wagyu shop would be a smart choice.

8. Reviews

Nowadays it is hard to differentiate fake reviews from real ones. The real reviews will show you a badge saying that the review is coming from a verified buyer, or something similar.

Verified purchase badge

  Since it’s normal for an average person to have multiple emails sometimes they don’t type the email they made the purchase with and the system can’t match and verified the review. Which leave the door wide open to fake reviews.   

A5 Club wants to be a place where real buyers help, guide and/or warn each other.

  Wait a second, what if it’s a totally new wagyu shop? They won’t have any review. You are right! In that case we encourage to follow this checklist, make sure they have presence in the mainstream social media, and if they don’t have the information you can always shoot them an email and TOFTT.

9. Packaging

Pay close attention to the way your wagyu is packaged.

  If you are buying from a reliable and well known wagyu shop you have nothing to worry. They have been doing that for years and they know how to deliver.

If you are just trying a new shop, make sure that:

The meat is delivered frozen. .
Vacuum package, the air is taken out from the container. This helps your meat to last longer thanks to the absence of oxygen and bacteria. 
It has a cooling system, it could be gel packs, dry ice, or both. 
It might come inside an Insulated box, foil bubble or styrofoam to contain the cold expelled by the gel packs or dry ice.

10. Rewarding Program

Last but not least, save some money! Many shops online are rewarding loyal customer for sharing, referring, promoting or making points in order to get access to certain discounts.  

In order to get discounts you might be required to share or tag the shop in your social media, in other cases you are required to invite friends and get a discount for every purchase made by one of your friends. Or just by simply making points for every purchase you made.

  If you believe you can be a frequent client of a wagyu shop, look for the existence of loyalty, reward or referral programs. This is a win-win for you and the shop.

  Beware of discounts, specially in food, there is a close expiry date or low quality behind every big discount. However, it’s not a rule, some companies do it as a marketing strategy and it’s a way to try and engage with new products.

This checklist was created based on our experience trying many online wagyu shops in the U.S.  Is it the same in your country? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments.