Like with French wine or Belgian beers, miso [1] comes in numerous varieties, each with its own unique taste, colour and texture, and each reflecting the local culture, crops and growing conditions of different regions of Japan.

While sweet miso with few soya beans, less salt and more koji [2] and popular in the south of Japan, darker miso, often call aka or red miso, contains more soya beans and less grain koji, and traditionally comes from the northern part of Japan.

Clearspring range of miso includes the best of each type of miso, both dark and light, as well as pure soya bean and grain based varieties:

Sweet white miso [1] [3]
Also known as: Shiro miso, Mellow miso, Sweet rice miso
Made with: Soybeans, white rice, water, salt.
Description:
Sweet white miso is quite unique amongst misos; it is only fermented for 2-8 weeks, unlike the other misos which are fermented from one summer up to three years. As its name suggests, its colour is paler than other varieties, spanning from white through to yellow or beige. Creamy, rich and slightly sweet, sweet white miso is high in carbohydrates and koji, but lower in soybeans than the darker varieties.
Originates from: Kyoto
Particularly suited to: Light soups, dips, dressings, spreads. Its creamy texture and taste makes it a perfect dairy substitute in dishes like mashed potato.

Barley miso
[4]Called in Japan: Mugi miso
Made with: Barley, soybeans, water, salt.
Description: A relatively dark and rich miso that is the traditional miso of rural communities in Japan.
Originates from: Western Japan
Particularly suited to: Soups, stews and sauces

Brown rice miso [2] [5]
Called in Japan: Genmai miso
Made with: Soybeans, brown rice, water, salt.
Description: Dark brown in colour, brown rice miso is high in fibre and has a nutty, rich and slightly sweet flavour.
Originates from: Developed for the macrobiotic community and natural food lifestyle
Particularly suited to: Soups, stews, sauces. Also, mixed with sesame [6] tahini [7] to make bread spreads. 

Soybean miso [3] [8]
Called in Japan: Hatcho miso [9] or Mame miso.
Made with: Soybeans, water, salt, roasted barley flour.
Description:
Hatcho, or eighth street, is where you will find the company which has been making their delicious miso to the same recipe for five centuries. The darkest of all the misos, it is packed full of protein and lower in salt than other varieties. Its characteristic smoky flavour is one of the true tastes of traditional Japan,
Originates from: Tokai region
Particularly suited to: Soups and rice dishes.

Rice miso (red miso)
Called in Japan: kome miso (aka miso)
Made with: Rice, water, salt.
Description: Most rice miso is red miso, which is reddish brown in colour and has a high protein content.
Originates from: North East Japan
Particularly suited to: Soups, stews, sauces.