Aniko Somogyi, of Anikona Farm 100% Kona Coffee

I have spent most of my career in high tech and working at Microsoft, mainly in Seattle and Silicon Valley. We’ve enjoyed investing in various startups and have founded several startups on our own. I think fondly of those days working on the new versions of PowerPoint, growing the PowerPoint team, and even creating international versions.

I always had the dream to have a coffee farm and that has become our latest venture. My Hungarian grandfather visited us in the 1960’s, introducing us to delicious espresso coffee that he would hand grind himself and brew on the stove. Even though I was a little girl, I still remember those moments with wonderful coffee aromas in the home. My grandfather, a Colonel in the Hungarian army, reminded us to work hard and remember to savor special times with family and friends over a good cup of coffee.

We celebrate my grandfather as we now grow, produce and sell 100 percent Kona coffee from our farm in Holualoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. We have spent the last two years learning about coffee, becoming part of the Kona coffee terroir, tending to the coffee trees, developing the Anikona brand, creating our website and managing production. We have brought our experience with high tech companies and investments to how we manage operations at the farm. Our aim is to create the champagne of coffee at Anikona Farm and along the way, share interesting, fun coffee stories on the “My Favorite Coffee Story” radio show.