Candy Chrome from 710 Labs via Butter in Santa Ana on 1/30/2022. THC tested out to 20.83%. Purchased for $55 out the door due to first timer discount, normally would be around $75ish out the door. Recently I found myself window shopping at Butter Santa Ana as my lady was in the market for some concentrates, and as my eyes wandered around the store while she was making her selection, I spotted this batch of Candy Chrome on the shelf. I had heard some mixed opinions on it from some reviewer pals of mine so my curiosity was definitely piqued, and with the first time customer discount in play, it came in at a ticket I simply couldn’t resist. 

710 Labs flower is always straight up beautiful and this batch is no exception. This bud is so heavily inundated with frosty white trichomes that aiming to take a detailed look at its surface is like trying to make out your surroundings through your windshield while driving in whiteout conditions on a rural mountain highway. Through the blizzard you can make out various aspects of the olive and pear green budscape, along with sizable swaths of aubergine, but all of the details are obscured by the intensity of the trich-squall.

The nose out of the jar is predominantly musty but also brings a light fruity sweetness with just a touch of chalk. On busting open a bud, that musty sweetness really widens out and becomes a little less fruity while somehow maintaining it’s sweetness level, and a vaporous mint makes itself known. Breaking it down by hand my fingers are left with an earthy pine and a hint of mint, whereas the grinds themselves are much more complex, with notes of overly ripe melon, sugar cubes, chalky necco wafers, all of which is underlined by a gassy adjacent freshness. 

Taking a dry pull off the joint I get a light melon-ish/mango-ish sweet cream that leaves a hint of sugar on the tongue. The inhale on the joint comes with a musty chalky sweet floral whereas the bong is less descript and just has general light mustiness. The exhale on the joint brings a gassy sweet floral with a musty underpinning, whereas the bong is a musty semi-sweet cream with a hint of vaporous spice. Cross checking the flavors on my GhostVapes MV1, at 170c I felt a slight cooling sensation on the inhale which brought a sweet mint pine taste with it, while the exhale was extremely piney with a minty backing and left that pine lingering on the tongue. At 185c the mint pulled back and became more floral, with the exhale consisting of an even mix of floral mint pine, but this time it was the floral note that ended up lingering on the tongue for a bit afterward. 

The headchange came on quick with a nice gentle thwap that immediately brings any situation down a few notches. Physically I felt some pressure in my forehead, behind my eyes, and a little weight on the edges of my shoulders and often before I knew it, the tension I typically carry with me through my work day had melted away by a large margin. Mentally I was able to follow various media without issue, TV nor games presented any sort of challenge, but when it came to putting together my thoughts it felt like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle with two locally anesthetized arms. Just sloppily bashing ideas together in hopes it’d make sense at some point down the line. I would often stop mid sentence and ask myself “where am I going with this?” while another part of me would try to continue writing, but with that crucial aspect of my cognition locked up I’d end up hitting a sort of mental “blue screen of death” where I’d shake my head in an attempt to “restart” to no real avail. However, even as incapcitated as my brain may have been, I still felt like I wasn’t quite on the level I wanted to be. Even though I was feeling it I found myself wanting to smoke another bowl in short order, I was just shy of a certain mark of comfort, and while it made the monkey on my back much smaller, it was still there like an itch needing to be scratched. 

All and all, this was some great smelling gorgeous looking flower, and for the ticket I got it at I’d pick it up again in a heartbeat. That said, at the normal rate I’d have a hard time copping this again because, while it ticked most of the boxes, it didn’t quite check them all and at that top tier level that’s what I’m looking for when graduating strains to re-up headstash status. 

Kimbo Kush from 710 Labs via Los Angeles Farmers on 2/04/2020. THC tested out to 17.84%. Purchased by my girlfriend for $46 out the door. The Valentine’s day gift flowers continue! As there were only two strains of 710 Labs flower on deck at Farmers my awesome lady figured we might as well cop them both and see what they’re all about. These dense nugs are extremely photogenic making it easy to snap some great pics. The buds are small yet bulbous. The surface is mix of forest and lime greens with rashes of purple coupled with flares of wild and wiry reddish brown pistils and a formidable fortified layer of golden glistering triches.

The nose out of the jar has a deep earthy spice with a musty backend. Busting open a bud amps up that earthy spiciness but also brings a sugar sweetness into the picture with just a hint of a fruity element. Breaking it down by hand reveals an interesting turn as I get more a sugar sweetness coupled with a dingy waxy element that really strikes me as very similar to the smell of a chocolate tootsie roll. The dry pull of the j also had a sweet waxy musty quality that gave me those same chocolate tootsie roll vibes and had a sugar sweet zing of an aftertaste that lingered on the tongue momentarily. The inhale is smooth and on the bong also has muted echos of that tootsie roll flavor, while on the joint, it was more of a subtle sugar sweet floral with a hint of mint. The exhale from both the j and bong were an understated savory yet earthy spice. Cross checking the flavors on my MV1 from @ghostvapesofficial I do pick up on a hint of that chocolate along with a floral sensation up top that shifts into more of a fresh mint on the exhale. The headchange does come on quick but is very gentle in its nature. It rings your bell slightly and gives you that floaty headed feeling coupled with a mild headband effect while putting a bit of pressure on your shoulders and upper back. It’s a very functional effect, you can have a conversation and not lose your place or space out, as well as dig in to any critical thinking task at hand. It’s a very capable buzz that pairs well with an afternoon of responsibility as it has a pleasant effect that won’t leave you smashed into the couch or helplessly lost in your own thoughts. While I’m always on the hunt for new cultivars to review, for the ticket my girlfriend picked this up for at Farmers, I could see myself easily doing it again if I were specifically in the mood for a mild afternoon/early evening smoke. Great job to the folks at 710 Labs for putting out some high quality and truly beautiful flower.

Bluniverse from 710 Labs via Los Angeles Farmers on 2/04/2020. THC tested out to 16.15%. Purchased for $46 out the door. I’ve been wanting to get my hands on some 710 Labs flower for a while now but the low availability and high ticket have made it difficult to acquire in the past. My awesome girlfriend decided to surprise me when we stopped into LA Farmers by hooking me up with this Bluniverse as an early valentines day gift. These nugs are near breathtakingly beautiful. The coloring shifts from a light lime green that cascades into shades of deep purple, it appears a dark azure blue with the help of a healthy layer of white glistening triches, all contrasted against creamy candlelight orange pistils. It’s the kind of midnight blue you find in the sky on a clear day right after the sun has completely set.

The nose out of the jar is mostly musty with a hint of sweetness and gas. On busting open a nug I get a touch of some sweet fruity notes that seem to push the mustiness back with just a tad of that electric 9-volt on your tongue edge. When grinding it down by hand I pick up on a deep fruity berry-like scent battling that electric musty quality for dominance. On the inhale from both the bong and the joint I get a bit of light grungy must coupled with a muted sugar sweetness. On the exhale from the joint I get mostly that musty quality with a 9 volt after taste, it was fairly vague and hard to pin down, and was a little bit harsh on the throat as it was nearing its end. The bong didn’t offer much else in terms of flavor but I noticed it did hit me in the septum and make me slightly watery eyed. Cross checking the flavor on my MV1 from @ghostvapesofficial I get a very minor floral taste with just a hint of mint but fairly muted and nondescript overall. The headchange hits quickly but comes on mild at first and ramps up overtime. It’s reasonably middle of the road in terms of effects, it doesn’t bring any sort of energy with it, but doesn’t hold you back from completing any tasks you might have on deck either. The one constant I noticed was that I’d space out fairly frequently as the effect was gaining traction but it didn’t stick around too long, and left me feeling sort of meh, generally speaking. For me it’s one of those highs where it’s just kind of there, it’s doing it’s job but there’s nothing unique about it, it feels very perfunctory in that sense. I have no previous experience with Bluinverse so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but if this is typical of it’s effects, it’s not really a strain I care to revisit. It’s clearly skillfully cultivated, and some of the most photogenic herb I’ve ever come across but even at the very fair ticket at which I copped it, with the incredible amount of variety on the California marketplace these days I just don’t see myself doing it again.