Three smiling people, two men and a woman, standing behind a table with large bowls, in front of a plain white wall.
A small glass bottle of Moromi soy sauce with a gold cap and a minimalist white label featuring a yellow circle and black designed elements

About Moromi

Moromi was founded by Bob Florence, James Wayman, and Debbi Michiko Florence, who teamed up to create handcrafted soy sauces, miso, and hot sauces based on traditional fermentation techniques using koji and our natural microbiome to transform a variety of local ingredients into unique sauces, seasonings, and condiments. At Moromi, we’re dedicated to developing unique and flavorful food ingredients that help home and professional cooks create distinctive meals for their families and guests. Mystic Koji, LLC is based in beautiful, coastal southeastern Connecticut.

A woman with glasses and long brown hair smiling outdoors among trees with sunlight filtering through the leaves.
A smiling man wearing glasses, a gray cap with a yellow logo, and a blue T-shirt with text in a foreign script, leaning on a wooden counter in front of a wooden wall.
A smiling man with a beard and disheveled hair wearing a black shirt and a striped apron outdoors, with a house and trees in the background.

  • As a chemist, Bob has had a life-long passion for creating. Bob left the corporate world to found Moromi and focus on developing unique, hand crafted seasonings including soy sauce, miso, and fermented hot sauces based on traditional fermentation techniques using locally sourced agricultural products. Bob studied the art of shoyu making under the guidance of his mentors at Chiba Shoyu in Japan. He lives in Mystic, CT with his wife, award-winning author and Moromi partner, Debbi Michiko Florence, their rescue dogs Kiku and Ponyo.

  • Chef, creator and partner in Nana's Bakery and Pizza, Nana's Westerly, Stonemill Bakery and Moromi. James has been cooking professionally for over 35 years. He is passionate about food sourced from local farms, foraging, gardening, fermentation, and cooking over wood fire. James has been featured in Saveur, Food and Wine, the NY Times, Forbes and more. Last year Nana's Bakery and Pizza was rated as one of the best new restaurants in America by Esquire Magazine. He lives in North Stonington, CT with his wife Heather, son Alder, daughter Juno, and twelve chickens.

  • Debbi Michiko Florence is a third-generation Japanese American who grew up in California and spent many childhood summers eating her way through Japan. She is the acclaimed author of over 20 children’s books. Food and Japanese culture play an important part in her books as in Jasmine Toguchi Mochi Queen and the picture book biography on Chef Niki Nakayama that she co-authored. Debbi loves to eat delicious food and travel (especially to Japan).

 

Moromi & Chiba Shoyu.

This is our friend and mentor, Kyosuke Iida, President of Chiba Shoyu in Japan. Friendship is how most stuff gets accomplished in this world, and we couldn't have done any of this without our friends and partners!

Congratulations to Chiba Shoyu for winning the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Award at the 52nd National Soy Sauce Competition in Japan in October 2025!