Maison Kojira

Maison Kojira makes gourmet finishing salts in Bangkok, and the whole line traces back to one piece of ground. Co-founder Prakay Vichapa grew up in Isaan, in Northeast Thailand, on family land that sits above ancient mineral deposits beneath the Khorat Plateau. The fields rest most of the year. During the dry season, roughly late January through April, salt rises through the soil and crusts at the surface. Her family gathers that crust by hand, dissolves it in clay vessels, and reduces the brine over wood fire until crystals form. The crystals are lifted by hand, sun-dried, then finished with a controlled low roast — 130°C for 90 minutes — so they run dry and clean in a kitchen.

That salt is the base of all five products. Her co-founder Jacob came to food from a different direction: functional medicine, gardens, and years directing investment funds focused on long-term food and agricultural systems in Europe and Africa. The pair previously built Het Massagehuys, a wellness house in Amsterdam. The company is family-owned, with no outside parent and no investors listed anywhere in its materials.

The ingredient lists are the strongest argument for this brand. Every product is salt plus one or two whole ingredients, with exact percentages published on the product page: Artisan Mineral Salt is 100% mineral salt; Black Garlic Salt is 72% salt and 28% slow-aged black garlic; Preserved Lemon Salt is 84% salt and 16% six-month salt-cured lemon; Persian Saffron Salt is 99% salt and 1% whole-thread Super Negin saffron; Fermented Mushroom Salt names each mushroom by species and share (shiitake 15%, king oyster 6%, shimeji 4%). No anti-caking agents, no carriers, no "natural flavors." Origins are stated for each component, and every product carries a Thai FDA registration number.

Sourcing is specific rather than atmospheric. Salt from the family fields in Isaan. Mushrooms and black garlic from Thailand. Saffron from Iran, graded. Wild tea from the Chiang Rai highlands for the kombucha. The company states it pays smallholder growers promptly and declines to use AI-generated imagery for its food, farms, or people — an unusually concrete transparency commitment in a category full of vague provenance claims.

Two practical notes for readers. The salts ship worldwide by DHL Express from Bangkok, including to the US and Canada, but the kombucha and other fresh products are sold inside Thailand only. And the salt collection is currently on pre-order, with fulfillment beginning 1 October 2026.

Products

• Kojira Artisan Mineral Salt (90g) — wood-fired, sun-dried, unrefined inland salt
• Kojira Black Garlic Salt (90g) — 28% slow-aged black garlic
• Kojira Preserved Lemon Salt (90g) — 16% six-month salt-cured citrus
• Kojira Fermented Mushroom Salt (80g) — shiitake, king oyster, and shimeji
• Kojira Persian Saffron Salt (90g) — 1% Super Negin whole-thread saffron
• Small-batch kombucha (Thailand delivery only)

Why We List Them

• Family-owned and independently operated — no parent company, no outside investors
• Full ingredient percentages published on every product page, with named origins
• Primary salt harvested from the founders' own family land in Isaan
• Two-ingredient formulations with no anti-caking agents, carriers, or added flavorings
• Traditional processing only: fermentation, ageing, salt-curing, wood-firing, sun-drying
• Thai FDA registration numbers listed for each product
• Sells direct to consumers, ships internationally including the US