Any chance you can get a close up of a bud or two? Hard to tell how developed without being there but it is relatively early in the season. Keep in mind that the 8-12 week bloom period gets a bit skewed when growing outdoors. My personal recommendation, although I understand not a pleasing one, would be to wait as long as you possibly can without having the elements hurt your buds. So as long as you don't see caterpillars, too many mites, p mildew, creepy neighbors peering over the fence... then keep em going. Perhaps I can bribe my wife to let me out this weekend in which case I'll give em a look over if you want.
As for flavor - that's a maturity issue as well as a dry/cure issue. Unfortunately the curing process is kind of a learn as you go process but if you want the best results possible the first time around I would recommending grabbing some digital humidity gauges and using them along with a proven cure pattern (can be found somewhere on this forum).