Kobe Hou

Kobe Hou is a key leader in sake education and cultural promotion, serving as Founder of Jingchuang Alcohol Beverage Academy (focused on professional sake and shochu training) and General Manager of Shanghai Yihan Junshan Trading Co., Ltd. He also runs the WeChat account “sakeuncle” and works as a multi-platform sake blogger, building a linked system of professional training, industry practice, and cultural communication.
He leads national professional sake certification courses, integrating theory with practice to equip learners with core knowledge of sake. He also updates academy teaching materials to advance the professionalism and internationalization of sake education.
A frequent lecturer for sake masterclasses, Kobe deepens public understanding of sake’s complexity and diversity through brand analysis and tasting guidance. His digital content (via social platforms and live streams) complements offline efforts, making sake knowledge accessible to both professionals and enthusiasts.
Guided by his “integration of knowledge and sense” teaching philosophy, Kobe balances professional depth with accessibility, core to his mission of conveying that “sake is not just a beverage, but a culture.”

Knight Hu

Knight Hu is a talented sake expert, who originally trained as a Sake Educator in 2020, and now assists Kobe teaching courses at the Jingchuang Beverage Academy.

Jingchuang Beverage Academy

Founded by Hou Junyi (Kobe Hou) in late 2022, Jingchuang Beverage Academy is headquartered in Shanghai with a nationwide presence. Established with the mission to “break the boundaries of professional liquor culture” and guided by the philosophies of “Liquor is a carrier of culture, not merely a beverage” and “Integration of Knowledge and Sensation, Cultural Harmony”, it leads China’s sake education and serves as a benchmark for cross-category wine training and cultural promotion.

Backed by two international certifications, it is a Chinese agent for UK SSA sake courses and officially authorized by Japan’s SSI for full-range sake/shochu courses, with curricula synced to Japan’s latest brewing technologies. Centered on sake, it offers a dual-track “Authoritative Certification + Practical Application” curriculum, covering wine (WSET), Chinese Baijiu (CBC) and whisky (WICC) to serve enthusiasts and professionals alike, while linking resources via the “Education + IP + Industry” model.

Operationally, it has core teaching centers in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and partners with 10+ cities for monthly off-campus courses (45% of 2024 courses were off-campus). Using a “Theory + Blind Tasting + Practice” model, it has trained 1,800+ students (95%+ satisfaction) as of June 2025, with its SSI-Kikisake shi making up 55% of China’s total. It also provides customized services to Four Seasons Hotels, Hyatt Hotels and Langjiu, boosting their wine sales by 25%-40% on average.

Brand-wise, it leverages the founder’s IP “Teacher Kobe’s Sake Daily”, with a communication loop via WeChat account “sakeuncle” (50k+ followers) and multi-platform videos (500k+ views). In 2024, 55% of students and 60% of corporate partners came from IP referrals. Over the next 3 years, it will add Chinese HuangJiu and sake cocktail courses, expand nationwide, and launch a student entrepreneurship program—aiming to become China’s most influential “liquor education + cultural communication + industrial services” platform.