Bananalato from Cream of the Crop on 12/12/2020 (big thanks to @betterthangood.la for making it happen!). THC tested out to 37.31%. This was gifted to me and I am not sure of the price point on it to be honest. The gift sets were around 150 if I remember correctly but I don’t think these 8ths were ever sold seperately. In December, Cream of the Crop released a beautiful gift box set just in time for the holiday season, and in an effort to promote it they gave them out to a bunch of reviewers just prior to their release so I was admittedly very curious about its contents. This jar of Bananalato was the single eighth of flower chosen to be featured in the gift box. The surface of these beefy buds are a mix of lime, pear and hunter greens with occasional rashes of midnight blue, sporadic pops of light twine colored pisitils, all of which is heavily obscured by an impressively thick coat of egg cream colored triches.

The nose out of the jar has a very pleasant natural sweetness that comes off like some hipster artisanal candy made of all natural ingredients using recipes from the 1850’s. There’s a faint fresh mustiness underneath, but it’s mostly dominated by a gentle fruit with minor anise like vibes. Busting open a nug, an even softer fruity sweetness emerges that hits me like a mix of red delicious apples and your standard cavendish banana all rolled into one, with a distant fresh backing. Breaking it down by hand it leaves a mint pine freshness on the fingertips, while the grinds themselves are very similar to the jar scent, having a sweet yet subdued fruitiness with a mint pine backend and a musty undertone. The dry pull on the j has that subtle sweet fruit in spades. There’s a very natural tasting banana candy that really comes through. The inhale is smooth on the bong and hit with a very quick fruity burst that bounced off the tongue, and while the joint had a nice musty sweetness with a fruit twist, over the course of the sesh it got a tad bit harsh. While it wasn’t anything unmanageable it should be noted. The exhale on the bong was a musty fruity sweetness, whereas the joint was more of a subtle sweet fruit with a minor freshness on the backend. Cross checking the flavors on my Ghost Vapes MV1, at 170c I get a slight cooling tingle on the way in and a very piney exhale, while at 185c it’s a strong sweet floral and pine. The headchange comes on with a quick slap that left me dazed and slack jawed near immediately. As I walked, I found myself with my head tilted upward staring up at the sky and admiring how blue it was on that particular day, as my mind happily wandered from thought to thought. Physically, I felt very light in the chest like my torso wanted to float upwards, while contradictorily my shoulders felt heavy like they were what was keeping me pinned to the earth. It’s a very classically blasted feeling, a sort of buzz that exhibits all the traits that you’d expect from being stoned, an old welcomed jazz standard form of being lit. While it may not be ideal for a wake and bake, I’d say it’s suitable for any time of day, and it doesn’t rock you so hard that you’re not able to focus and concentrate if need be. All and all I really enjoyed this batch of Bananalato, while it did have that harshness issue on the joint I dug how it smoked from the bong, and the smell/flavor experience was fairly unique despite it being born of two staple strains in today’s cannabis space. Depending on the ticket I’m able to find it at, I could see myself picking it up again but I’d be hesitant to roll another joint with it, although I’d happily pack bowls all day. Good work on this one Cream of the Crop! #bananalato #creamofthecrop #weshouldsmoke #okcool

Creme de la Creme from Team Elite Genetics via Super Clinik on 1/15/2020 sponsored by the Smokeliveapp. THC tested out to 23.8%. Picked up for $55 plus tax. I had a fantastic experience with Team Elite’s Nova Cane so when Smokeliveapp sent me some dough to pick up anything I wanted, I decided to go with this Creme De La Creme as it was one of their non-jack smelling variants, and it was recommended by the Super Clinik budtender over the TEG Cookie Dough. The look of these dense buds is absolutely stunning. The surface is mostly a yellowish green, dipping into solid green at times with occasional hints of purple, with cream orange pistils and a beautiful shimmering layer of triches that seems to have been preserved with the utmost care from harvest to packing.

The nose out of the jar is mostly musty with a minor electric metal zing that smells like what licking a 9 volt battery tastes like. On busting open a bud the mustiness lightens up a bit, and a fresh element makes its presence known, with just a slight touch of sweet vanilla in the background. When breaking the bud down by hand a surprisingly strong mint floral scent steps up to the foreground while a sweet vanilla dough smell fills out the backend. On a dry pull from the jay I detect very faint sweet floral mint notes. The inhale is smooth but I really don’t get much flavor off either the bong nor the joint. The exhale from both has a very faint “fake” vanilla taste to me, sort of how I’d imagine eating a vanilla candle might taste, kind of floral and perfume like as opposed to something flavored with vanilla extract. It also had a slight burnt pie crust flavor in the background but it all felt sort of muddled and nothing was too distinct taste-wise. Cross checking the flavor on my MV1 from Ghost Vapes the taste was mostly floral with some sugar sweet notes and just a hint of vanilla in the background. The headchange does come on fairly quick but it’s not too overwhelming. You definitely feel that weight on your body but it’s not something that left me unable to function. The box describes the potential effects as “body-melting relaxation and sedation. Hard hitting, heavy, drowsy and sleepy” but in my experience, it really didn’t hit that hard at all. I felt it in my body some, and there’s a decent pressure on the eyes and forehead, but it didn’t hold me back from pulling off my morning routine on a wake and bake whatsoever. Admittedly there were moments that I found myself sighing and wanting to kick back and just lay still for a minute but those were brief and few and far between. This batch definitely has jar appeal but that’s pretty much the only aspect of note, the smell and the effects just aren’t there, and for the ticket I can’t really find any qualities that bear repeating a pick up. Sorry Team Elite, this one was a miss for me.

Vision from Cream of the Crop via South Coast Safe Access on 10/26/19. THC tested out to 28%. I was gifted 2 grams of Vision, it normally retails for around $18. I was stoked to have this opportunity to review Vision as it’s one of the two newly released sativas from COTC that caught my eye (the other being Bang Bang). These small bright green nugs are heavily frosted over with giant triches that give them a yellow-ish tint and while they have a few dark orange pistils making a rare appearance here and there they are obscured fully by that snowy TV like trich layer.

The nose out of the jar is mostly sweet with a bit a savory element that reminds me of soy sauce. Getting a sense for the smell on a nug break is difficult here because the buds are so small but I pick up on that sweetness coupled with a fresh element of some sort with that soy sauce still lingering in the background. Busting it down by hand, I get that same scent but the fresh element becomes more dominant, although I can’t pick it apart. It’s like a mint and pine combined with the mint taking the lead just slightly. The inhale is smooth and comes off as earthy while the exhale has a taste of that freshness on the way out. The headchange comes on quick but is fairly mild in nature. It brings a touch of energy with it while allowing you to stay present and focused on any given task. It functions well as something to start you day with and won’t leave you with that depleted feeling an hour or so later. That said, if I were on the hunt for some morning smoke and making a choice between this and the Bang Bang, I’d lean toward the Bang Bang because it brought more of that energetic feeling that I look for in a sativa. I was lucky enough to be gifted this Vision but at the normal ticket I’d have to say I’d be hesitant to cop it again just because it’s not exactly what I want out of a wake and bake. There are a lot of formidable sativas out there that the fit the bill as a lesser rate so it’s hard to justify the extra strain on the wallet. Great job to the team at COTC though, while this one might of not been for me it was still clearly top quality, and that’s what counts in the end.

Trunk Funk from Cream of the Crop via SCSA on 10/16/19. THC tested out to 21.49%. Purchased for $2 on a customer appreciation deal. It’s difficult for me to do reviews on a gram but since it was practically free and a strain I’d never tried before I figured I’d give it a shot. The small buds in this jar were a light green with bunches of reddish brown pistils and a fair coating of triches.

The nose out of the jar was predominantly sweet with a musty peppery funk which really seems to suit it’s name. I tried to get a sense for the scent on breaking the buds but they were too small to get a handle on. When breaking it down by hand I found that pepper scent really took center stage with a doughy sweetness lingering in the background accented by hints of mint. I also found 4 seeds, which isn’t always a bad thing really, but it’s a good amount for a gram. It’s at this point this review is going to take a slight detour from the normal format and go into a little detail about what happened next. When I found the seeds I reached out to a rep for COTC’s parent brand (shoutout to @betterthangood.la) who was extremely apologetic and jumped into action to rectify the situation immediately. Not only did they pull any remaining jars with the same batch number from circulation but they also set it up so I could go and pick up 2 non-promo grams of my choosing from SCSA that same day. Apparently there were problems with the old cultivation team responsible for this batch and they’ve since been replaced and processes revamped. I was frankly blown away by the prompt and customer centric response from COTC on this as making a minor criticism of other brands in the past has just gotten me disregarded and/or blocked. Fantastic work to everyone involved at COTC and SCSA. And now, via this smooth segue, back to the normal review. The inhale was a little harsh on the throat after a few bowls and I didn’t detect any sort of flavor but on the exhale I picked up on a musty sweet aftertaste. The headchange came on quick and was fairly heavy. Even though I smoked this in the morning hours I found myself spacing out pretty hard and eventually ready for a weed nap. It definitely felt like a strain to end the day on. I can’t say I got a good feel for it with it only being a gram but what I can say I got a good feel for was COTC’s customer service, that’s definitely top notch all around, and one that’s earned my trust and future business without a doubt.

Bang Bang from Cream of the Crop via South Coast Safe Access on 10/16/19. THC tested out to 30.7%. Purchased for $60 plus tax. I love a good sativa so when I saw that Cream of the Crop had one on the shelf that was testing over 30% I had to check it out. As I’ve said before, THC percentages don’t mean everything but they do mean something, so my interest was piqued. The look of this batch is visually reminiscent of some of the best Afgoo I used to get years ago. Extremely light green buds absolutely dripping with massive triches that almost give it this snowy/static look, as if you’re looking at them on an old school CRT TV with a weak signal, coupled burnt orange pistils that are almost entirely obscured by that substantial frost layer.

The nose of out the jar is this beautiful heavy orange scent that lands on the sweeter side coming off like some sort of orange candy that’s made with real organic ingredients. On breaking the nug that orange smells stays dominant but I pick up on a floral element making itself known. Breaking it down by hand those oranges remain but there is a fresh element that steps up to the plate as well hitting my nose somewhere between mint and pine but not exactly landing on either. The inhale is smooth, and you catch that orange experience both in and out, while it ends up leaving a nice natural orange peel like aftertaste on the tongue. The headchange comes on quick and brings a nice level of energy with it while simultaneously putting pressure on the top of your forehead and the sides of your eyes. I will say I had a little trouble staying focused and often times found myself staring off into space only to snap back into reality while exclaiming “oh yeah” and happily resuming whatever I was working on. On the jar it describes the potential effects as “Relaxed, Creative, Euphoria” and I would say that does seem to fall in line with my personal experience here. That relaxed sort of pressure around the head and eyes coupled with the boost of energy and happy go lucky attitude were no doubt present. While no sort of cannabis is going to force feed you creative ideas, I feel like it did put me in positive state of mind where creative could flourish, so I’ll give it to COTC on that one too. Of course, as always, your milage may vary. In the end, Bang Bang is a fantastic sativa and one that quickly became my go to morning smoke. The only hesitation I’d have with picking it up again is the price as there are some quality sativas out there like Crescendo and Quest that come in at about $40 and $45 respectively. That said if the price were the same across the board, it would be an extremely hard choice as Bang Bang really is a phenomenal sativa, it just has some really stiff competition. Amazing work on this one COTC, the only thing I’m bummed about on this batch is that I don’t have any left.

Rising Sun from Cream of the Crop via SCSA on 8/7/19. THC tested out to 29.8% and 31.32% cannabinoids total. Purchased for $60 plus sales tax. @thepristinegreen posted a few Cream of the Crop Strains that caught my eye in the passed few months so when I was in need of a new sativa I decided to throw down on this Rising Sun and see what they were all about. To be honest I was hoping to get my hands on their Nepali Pink but they were sold out so I settled on this since it was the most sativa leaning hybrid in stock. You can tell this herb is excellently cultivated, and while it has a good look to it, it’s nothing to really write home about. The surface is mostly a light green with very sparse and extremely light colored bunches of orange hairs and a healthy frosting of triches.

The nose out of the jar comes off as a dirty citrus, like an orange that fell off a tree in your grandma’s backyard and stayed there for a couple days before you picked it up and cut it open just for the smell of it. While it does not finger grind well, it does leave a spicy earthy smell with hints of sweetness, it’s interesting how the sweetness actually becomes more muted on the finger grind. The smoke is smooth and I pick up on a hint of that spicy earth on the exhale. The headchange comes on fast and has a slightly racy edge to it at first, but it quickly tapers off into a heavier yet still functional head high, with the effect eventually falling off all together fairly quickly. I smoked through this 8th disappointingly fast. You’ll definitely have no issue focusing and staying on task with this strain but it’s just a little heavier than I’d like for a wake and bake. It was not being pushed as a pure sativa though, but more as a slightly sativa leaning hybrid, so that does fall in line with my expectation. While I feel like this is a pretty good quality herb with favorable effects, $60 really seems out of line with the experience. When you approach Lumpy’s territory you really need to offer something of similar quality to match and, simply put, this ain’t it. I’d definitely be a repeat buyer for this strain at around $40-45 out the door. Sorry Cream of the Crop, I liked it, just not enough to justify that price point.