Misha Sperka is a long-time friend. His coffee is my favorite pure Kona, roasted perfectly for his mostly European clientele. I never go to the Big Island without visiting Misha on his coffee plantation. Here is how Misha describes his coffee farm...
"OLD HAWAIIAN COFFEE is a ten acre farm using Traditional Organic farming methods. The coffee plantation and coffee mill are owned by Misha Sperka and the Sperka family. We have been operating our farm for the past seventeen years. Our plantation was originally known as the Peaberry Farm and we changed the name in 1991. Coffee was originally planted on this farm as long ago as the 1830-1840 period. We are located in SOUTH KONA about 25 miles South of Kailua-Kona, on the western slope of Mauna Loa, in Honaunau, Big Island of Hawaii."
But Misha does more than grow coffee. He also is a collector of antique maps and prints of Hawaii and the South Pacific. Here is one posted on his website. I think it is lovely and evocative:
The above print is of an ancient Hawaiian site on the water just a few miles down the slope from Misha's farm. Here is a photo taken at the same site (Now part of a National Historic Park) with Misha's son Erik next to his Landrover...
Misha and his family are tied to the sea as well as the land. They keep their boat, The Hikaroa in harbor on the Kohala coast. Misha has sailed much of the globe on the Hikaroa. It is a beautiful sailing vessel.
If you visit Hawaii and can't find Misha on land (with his coffee crop) nor on sea (on the Hikaroa), then you will have to look for him undersea -- most likely teaching diving lessons in Honaunau Bay. Misha was a diver for the US Navy, and also on underwater archeological expeditions in the Mediterranean. He is still an avid hunter of the lost ships and lost cities of The Deep.
I would love to share a picture of Misha with you, but he seems shy about it. Here is his self-posted picture on his website, with his own commentary:
"MISHA Getting ready for a hard day of picking those holy coffee beans.
