Hi Everyone, well in the interests of full disclosure... I'm an old fat truck driver from the Waikato... so perhaps not part of the target demographic intended for these products.
All the coffee I made was the basic flat white I make with 2 shots of Espresso. Where I talk about an extra shot, the flat white now has 3 shots in it.
I started with the Muriwai blend as my parents use to manage farm property there in the late 1950's... now I'm no coffee connoisseur, but I know what I like.
I found this particular blend very very mild... I had to mix in some strong Samaritan beans courtesy of my neighbor... and man that really gave it a lift and got my attention.
The Piha was better, I found I had to increase the amount of espresso in the cup, this made for a very drinkable beverage. Even better all the advertised orange and nutty notes were evident.
Tonight I ground up the Huia blend, again I extracted more Espresso into the cup, and it was great, very nice all the nutty and cocoa notes were present and delicious.
So in conclusion, it may be that the Muriwai bend I received was getting a bit tired, or I'm just not sophisticated enough to truly appreciate it... I suspect it would be awesome as a straight espresso or as a tall black... but that's not how I drink my coffee.
I can recommend the Piha, very nice.
However, the Huia blend is the one for me, a punchy flavour with a very pleasant finish. So I will be ordering some more in the very near future.
Cheers
Cliff