I had some April Taveuni. Definitely smokey, Not bad. Just smokey. The kava was clean and balanced.
In Vanuatu, most growers bag their roots and ship them wet to centralised processing centres (or to town nakamals.) Sometimes the fresh root spoils in transit, especially if it's going between islands by ship. I'd rather taste a nice smokey smell than the funk of spoiled wet kava.
I have to give Fijian farmers credit for drying their stuff before it ever leaves the farm gate. The Fijian domestic market prefers dried roots, anyway.
Does Taveuni have a rain shadow on the leeward side? Some of the taller islands in Vanuatu are crazy wet on the side facing the tradewinds and much drier on the opposite coast. Skinny islands like Maewo and Pentecost are convenient because people can built homes on the dry side and walk only a few hours to garden in a wetter microclimate.