Wagyu Guide
What is A5 Wagyu?
The highest grade that exists for Japanese beef — and why it completely changes how it looks, is cut, and is enjoyed.
View the collectionNot all wagyu beef is the same
In Japanese, “wagyu” (和牛) literally means “Japanese cow.” It is not a farming method or a brand: it is a specific genetic line, that of Kuroge Washu cattle, which accounts for more than 90% of all wagyu in existence.
This genetics does something no other breed achieves naturally: it infiltrates fat into the muscle, not around it. The result is that white veining running through the meat — marbling — which melts at a low temperature instead of remaining at the edge of the cut.
Outside Japan, many products are marketed as “wagyu” even though they are crossbreeds with other cattle. Our 100% Japanese Wagyu collection is purebred, born and raised in Japan.
The grading system: a letter and a number
Every piece of wagyu in Japan is assessed by an official committee on two independent scales.
The letter measures the animal’s meat yield — how much usable meat is obtained from the carcass. A is the highest level.
The number measures the quality of the meat according to four criteria: marbling, color and brightness, firmness and texture, and the color and quality of the fat. 5 is the highest score in all four at once.
First time trying A5? The Essential Box is made for exactly that: three different cuts to understand why A5 is valued so highly.
Marbling: the BMS scale
Within the quality score, marbling is measured using the Beef Marbling Standard, a scale from 1 to 12. The higher the score, the more fat is interspersed within the muscle.
Miyazaki: Japan’s most award-winning prefecture
The Wagyu we work with comes from Miyazaki, in southern Japan. This is not a random choice: Miyazaki is the only prefecture in history to have won the Zenkoku Wagyu Noryoku Kyoshinkai — the national Wagyu competition, known as the “Wagyu Olympics” — three consecutive times.
National champion in 2007, 2012, and 2017. No other Japanese prefecture has achieved this three times in a row.
The competition is held only once every five years and evaluates the genetics, breeding, and meat quality of all 47 prefectures of Japan. Winning it three times in a row is not luck: it is the result of a genetic selection system sustained over decades. If you want to try several Miyazaki cuts at once, the Tasting Box brings together four different varieties.
What you receive with every order
Try Miyazaki A5 Wagyu
Individual cuts or the Essential Box, designed to help you discover A5 without the hassle.