The cost of this tour is pretty high at $75 a person for what you get. The bus we rode out onto the farm in had warm air blowing and all the windows closed, it was rather hot. The guide was one of the owners and he was very knowledgeable. There was no one working in the field and no one working in the packing section- so we didn't actually see anything related to pineapple production.
Our group of about 20 people shared 3 pineapples- 2 green and 1 gold. All of them were really great, sweet and flavorful, not sour and didn't burn your tongue, everyone commented that this must be what real pineapple was supposed to taste like and we had never had it before. The pineapples we tasted that day were excellent and that earns this rating the 2 points.
The main reason my rating is a 2 and not a 5 is because of the take home pineapples- usually you get 1 large pineapple per person, just like the ones we tried in the field- instead they gave us 2 small ones per person. They had told us on the tour that the small pineapples weren't normally sold in stores, but mainly went to places that produce rum, beer etc. We really didn't think anything of that until we got home.
I cut 2 of the pineapples at a dinner for about 10 family members to try, after having told them how wonderful it was in Maui and how it wouldn't taste like anything they had had before. Well....they all took a bite and then looked at me like I was crazy. I ate 1 piece, and then another and another thinking this can't be right, it tasted NOTHING like the ones we had eaten out on the farm. These smaller ones were sour and made your tongue feel weird. The comments from everyone were "this tastes just like one from here at the grocery store." Unfortunately, it did !
I was so embarrassed, I looked foolish telling everyone how awesome they were going to be only to serve everyone pineapple that tasted like it came from Walmart.
It became a big joke, with everyone asking if we had drank too many mai tai's that day and just imagined how good they tasted. We had NOT been drinking, but I couldn't explain to everyone why they were so different- other than the size.
I can't describe how different they tasted. My husband ate a couple of pieces and instantly made a face saying it was not good.
If they say they are giving you small pineapples instead of the large one- say NO !