Born Portugal to Japanese and American parents, Izumi Tezuka – Sake Educator and owner of SakeMico – has worked hard to bring the incredible sake experiences she had in New York to her current home in Portugal. While living in New York, Izumi double majored in Journalism and Asian Studies at City College of New York. During her 25 years in NYC, she also gained extensive experience in hospitality, working primarily in Japanese restaurants and bars where she was fortunate enough to be a part of the “sake boom”. In 2014, Izumi founded ‘SakeMico’ – a company specializing in premium Japanese Sake.

Founded in 2014 by Izumi Tezuka and Francis Portillo, SakeMico is the pioneer company in Portugal specializing in the import, distribution and promotion of JUNMAI-SHU (Pure Premium Japanese Sake). In 2020, Joel Marques and Rebeca Lemos joined as managing partners – both with extensive backgrounds in restaurant and hospitality. Working together as friends, Sake Sommeliers, educators and partners, the SakeMico team offer a variety of educational and supporting services including pop-up events, chef collaborations, tastings and workshops. They also offer sales training and in-house consultation to restaurants and shops which sell their products.