Masterclass

Hospitality Consultant / WSET Certified Educator / Awamori Jinbner (2026)

Maya Tarrant is a hospitality consultant and WSET Certified Educator with 16 years of experience in the hospitality industry. She works with hospitality businesses and drinks brands across consulting, education and training, including strategy, product development and implementation.
Twice recognised in CODE’s 30 Under 30, Maya combines extensive hospitality experience with specialist drinks knowledge and a strong focus on education.

Appointed an Awamori Jinbner in 2026, she brings this expertise to Awamori, sharing its distinctive character, versatility and the culture behind Okinawa’s traditional spirit with international audiences.

Drinks Writer / WSET Spirits Educator / Presenter / Awamori Jinbner (2020)

Billy Abbott is a London-based drinks writer, educator and presenter, and a WSET Spirits Educator. He writes and teaches about spirits from around the world, with particular expertise in whisky and Asian spirits.
He is also an international drinks competition judge and has built a career communicating the stories, production and culture behind spirits to both trade professionals and drinks enthusiasts.

Appointed an Awamori Jinbner in 2020, Billy has continued to communicate the distinctive character, history and culture of Awamori to international audiences. In 2026, he was named IWSC Spirits Communicator of the Year.

Founder / Consultant, WSET Sake Specialist / Sake Samurai (2015)

Natsuki Kikuya is a sake educator, communicator and consultant with over a decade of experience bridging Japan's sake industry and international markets. As founder of Museum of Sake and UK coordinator for the National Tax Agency of Japan's Sake and Shochu Export Promotion, she works across education, trade promotion and PR to build a global audience for Japanese sake. A principal architect of the WSET Sake Programme — Natsuki has directly taught 1,400+ students and certified 100+ educators across 27 countries.

Appointed a Sake Samurai in 2015 and a being involved judging at the International Wine Challenge since 2011, she brings this depth of expertise to every platform.

AWAIDO Masterclass / Founders

AWAIDO was founded by two sisters who grew up with tea as an everyday part of life in Japan — Chinatsu, now based in Shizuoka, one of the country’s leading tea regions, and Akiko, in the UK. It was after moving to the UK that Akiko realised how little of Japan’s tea culture had travelled here: people knew matcha, but not the wider range of flavours and regions behind it. That gap, and a shared love of tea, became the reason to start AWAIDO.

Chinatsu now works closely with growers in Shizuoka, choosing teas she believes in rather than simply what’s easy to source. For the sisters, tea is something to be shared and discovered together — a small, everyday moment that connects people to Japan.