LITTLE LIMES, BIG AMBITIONS

Tucked along Omaha Flats Road, Matakana Finger Limes is quietly doing something no one else in New Zealand is doing at scale – and the results are finally ready to taste.

Photos Amy Hamblett

When Blair Herbert saw an opportunity in the New Zealand market for finger limes, he got to work planting hundreds of trees on family land. That was several years ago. This season, from his boutique orchard, comes the first official harvest.

Finger limes are a native Australian citrus beloved by chefs and cocktail mixologists the world over. Admittedly unremarkable on the outside, the magic happens when you cut them open – tiny, caviar-like pearls of intensely flavoured juice burst out, bringing a theatrical pop of citrus to everything from seafood and salsa to a perfectly mixed drink. Yet despite their global cult status, they remain almost impossible to source in New Zealand, with commercial suppliers scarce and a biosecurity prohibition on imported unprocessed fruit keeping supply firmly local.

Blair's goal is to become New Zealand's only supplier of brown finger limes at scale – a rarer variety than the green finger limes the orchard also grows, and one that makes up 90 percent of the planting. It hasn't been without challenge. With the industry still emerging locally, the journey has been one of genuine trial and error, with little precedent to lean on.

Every lime is hand-harvested by Blair himself. This attention to detail carries through to the eco-friendly packaging – custom-designed boxes with wood wool cushioning and ventilation holes modelled on the four-petal finger lime flower – a considered finishing touch for a fruit that deserves to arrive in style. 

Matakana Finger Limes are stocked at Matakana Smokehouse, or available to order directly via Instagram.

www.matakanafingerlimes.co.nz | www.instagram.com/matakana_fingerlimes