Category Flower

SFV from Lowell Farms

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SFV from Lowell Farms via The Spot in Santa Ana on 7/06/19. THC tested out to 20%. Normally $35 plus tax but I got it for $10 via The Spots awesome happy hour special. I’ve heard about Lowell Farms for a while now, I feel like they were one of the first names I saw being tossed around frequently when the rec market was getting on it’s feet in California, so it’s about time I give some of their product a shot. I grabbed this SFV as I was in need of an indica and this was available on special. On opening the jar you get this very light yet signature OG scent. When you finger grind it, the nose intensifies and really gives you a whiff of that classic OG smell with hints of mint and pine to boot. By the looks of it, it’s clearly outdoor, but it’s some pretty decent outdoor. Mostly dark green with occasional sprouts of dark orange reddish hairs.

When you break it up it does have a bit of stick to your fingers which was pleasantly surprising. The smoke is smooth enough on the in and exhale but doesn’t really carry much of a flavor I can pick up on. The headchange is pretty decent. It’s not exactly a hardcore thwacker but it is heavy enough after a couple bowls it gets the job done. This is a really great herb if you’re able to pick it up on a bargain ticket like I did. This was a great first time experience with Lowell Farms, if the quality is consistent then it’s a great deal for $10, for $35 not so much. I’d say a fair ticket for this would be about $20 plus tax, I’d have no issue repeating this experience at that price point.

Baklava from Alien Labs

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Baklava from Alien Labs via Puffy on 7/3/19. THC tested out to 26.2%. Purchased for $60 pre-tax, normally $90 according to the Puffy website. After having a good experience with the smalls, I wanted to try out a real deal indoor eighter and see if it was worth the higher ticket. On opening the jar I realized how apt a name “smalls” is as these nugs look very similar structure wise to their tiny counterparts. Big chunky green boulders crusted in beautiful triches.

The nose is extremely sweet with a slight bit of musty spicy freshness. Smells like walking through a foreign fruit market where you’re unfamiliar with all the fruit but it smells great. The inhale and exhale are both smooth as expected and yield a bit of that sweet fruity taste. The headchange comes on quick and sits on your head in a way that’s hard to describe. It feels like someone took a warm fuzzy damp towel and wrapped it around your brain. I found myself pleasantly drifting off into my own thoughts, not exactly feeling sleepy, but drifting off miles away where you then snap back to reality and have to ask yourself “what was I doing?”. In short, it’ll leave you hella spacey which is appropriate given the source. The effect has a significant staying power, as where if I managed to finish a bowl, I wouldn’t be reaching for another one for quite sometime. It’s definitely deserving of a top tier ticket as Baklava brings a unique top tier experience. Would I pay $90 for this? No, I honestly can’t say I would. I don’t fault Alien Labs for the pricing as that’s not within their control, but I do think this is the unfortunate side of effect of an emerging market. If you don’t shop smart, you’ll end up paying too much, but I suppose that’s true of retail in general. If you can find it at a ticket you feel comfortable with and like what you’ve read in this review then I can’t recommend it enough. Another great effort by the folks at Alien Labs!

Garlic Mint from Floracal Farms

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Garlic Mint from Floracal Farms via Evergreen Santa Ana on 6/30/19. THC tested out to 25.31%. Purchased for $44 plus tax. The look on this Garlic Mint had me sold. It’s amazing looking and smelling flower for a little bit above a mid tier ticket. The nose is this beautiful mix of spice and mint, it’s musty yet refreshing, backed by a nice floral scent over all. The namesake really makes itself known on the finger grind. Now, maybe I’ve been made bias by the name, but when you break down these nugs there really is a garlic like scent that comes to the forefront. It’s not as straight forward as garlic, but the mixing of the aromatics it gives off have this really savory nose that comes off as very garlic like. As far as appearance, these nugs are straight beautiful.

The surface is mostly a lighter green dipping across the spectrum to the occasional purple hue and is absolutely drenched in huge salt-like triches, The headchange comes on quick and strong but isn’t as much of a thwacker as anticipated. I expected to be weed napping within an hour from the look of it, but it had a pleasantly surprising amount of energy that came with it. I started leaning on this as my mid day go to and it was absolutely perfect. Enough to take the edge off but it still allows you to focus on tasks and get things done while making you feel positive about doing it. This is excellent flower at a fantastic ticket and if this sampling speaks to the quality of Floracal farms overall then I am a future loyal customer. Great work to folks at Floracal Farms!

Strawberry Banana from High Garden

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Strawberry Banana from High Garden via Puffy on 7/3/19. THC tested out to 23.42%. Purchased for $24 but is normally $30. I was in need of a sativa and this was one of the few available on Puffy. I decided to give it a go since I believe High Garden is Cru’s outdoor effort and I’ve had great experiences with them in the past. On opening the bag you’re greeted by a musty sweetness, when you break open the nug, that sweet candy/berry scent overwhelms any other scents. The nug itself is very dry to the touch and leaves no residue what so ever on the finger grind. The bud structure is oddly round giving it a shrub like appearance and I think the lack of red hairs and significant triches help add to that. It’s not a very pretty plant.

There’s nothing really notable on the inhale or exhale, although it’s smooth, I don’t pick up on any flavor. The headchange is ok, there’s no racy edge to it which I prefer my sativas have, but this is labeled as a “sativa dominant” so I can’t fault them for that. There is this sort of “derp” element that comes with it, it’s not exactly a spacey feeling but just more of a muted hazy headed feeling. There’s a little get up in it but not much, it’s fine for hanging out and watching TV, but if you’re looking for motivation or inspiration you won’t find it in this batch of Strawberry Banana. I can’t recommend it at any ticket really, it’s just not that great of an experience, your resources would be better placed copping something of a higher caliber. This is one of the issues of buying herb sight unseen via a delivery service. I may buy High Garden again but at this point it won’t be via delivery.

XJ-13 from THC Design

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XJ-13 from THC Design via Eaze on 6/27/19. THC tested out to 16.1%. This is normally $39 pre-tax which is a decent price as I’ve seen it for $45 in shops. I had $40 in credit but with tax and delivery it still ended up costing me $20 plus tip. I could have gotten my delivery for free had I put $50 worth of stuff in my cart but I didn’t want to buy cheap boof that I didn’t really want just to get $5 off. There’s also a 2.99 fee Eaze sneaks in with taxes. Feels like too much. However, I was in need of a sativa and had that Eaze credit so I checked out their menu and noticed they had this XJ-13 in stock. I love Jack crosses in general but I’d have to say XJ is my favorite so I was pretty stoked. Sticking my nose in the jar is like heaven, I love that classic Jack scent and this XJ really does it justice. The smell of floral, pine and spice all hit me just right. The nugs are a healthy light green with bits of dark and nice smattering of triches all across their surfaces giving them a nice glow in the sunlight. They are fluffy and break apart easily and lend themselves well to being broken up by finger.

My one criticism of this batch is, while the jar looked full, half the buds themselves were fairly bitsy. I feel like at least part of this should have been put out as a “smalls” or “littles” with a ticket to match. The inhale and exhale are fantastic, if you are a jack fan anyway, as you get that Jack taste throughout. The headchange is definitely energetic and clear headed. You could easily smoke this and go for a morning jog and feel fantastic after. The downside, as is with a lot of sativas, is that the effects are fairly short lived. I ended up burning through this eighth with a quickness because after about 20-30 minutes I’d be reaching for another bowl. That being said, would I buy this again? Absolutely. At $39-45 pretax? Maybe not as there are a lot of options within that price range. At a reduced smalls rate? Without a doubt. Still a fantastic example of XJ-13 from the folks at THC Design and one I wouldn’t hesitate to cop again under the right circumstances.

Bacio Gelato (outdoor) from Sherbinskis

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Bacio Gelato (outdoor) from Sherbinskis via The Spot on 6/23/19. THC tested out to 20.098%. Usually this would be $35 plus tax but was $10 plus tax due to the happy hour special at The Spot. Having heard a ton of buzz about Sherbinskis when saw this Bacio Gelato was available as a part of The Spot’s (formerly known as The 10 Spot) killer happy hour deal I hopped on it. If you check out my first impression video you’ll see the bag consisted of 2 small nugs and one big beefy boy which I appreciated. These bags are such a mystery a lot of time, when dealing with a brand for the first time there’s a really high potential for shake, but that was definitely not the case here. It is evident this is outdoor through and through, the nugs just have that dark look to them, but also on first touch it’s evident it’s quality outdoor.

The bag gives off a sweet zing but it’s when you break apart the nug that you start to get an appreciation for the genetics at work. There’s an overwhelmingly sweet berry scent that smells like a bunch of fruit that’s slightly overripe. The nug is fairly dense and resistant to being finger ground, if you try though, it’ll leave a nice start to some finger hash on your fingertips. The inhale is clean and smooth and you catch some of that sweetness on the exhale. The headchange comes on quick and strong but is surprisingly clear headed and semi energetic. It’s not a brain basher or couchlocker by any means, and while it’s not quite a one hitter quitter, it’s not the type of outdoor that will have you rolling j after j in order to get you where you need to go. It has a surprising smack to it for something that tests out at just above 20%. For $35, I’m not a repeat buyer because frankly there are a lot of options in that price range, but at $10 it’s a steal and I’d definitely be a buyer at that price all day.

WiFi 43 from Source Cannabis

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WiFi 43 from Source Cannabis via The 10 Spot on 6/23/19. THC tested out to 26.1%. Purchased for $45 plus tax. After the excellent experience I had with Source’s Quest, I decided to give another one of their Sativa leaning hybrids a shot, so I set my sights on WiFi 43 aka White Fire. This batch is not as visually stunning as the Quest but you can tell it’s still an extremely well cultivated plant. The nose on this batch is also much louder than the Quest, it’s not going to turn heads if you pop it open a crowded room exactly, but there’s a strong diesel scent coupled with a musty spice that will at least get you attention from a couple of feet away. While the triches on this batch might not be eye popping, they are numerous and mighty and definitely leave a nice resin on your fingers as soon you make skin contact with the bud, it’s got almost a light super glue (as in the actual glue, not the herb) feel to it.

The surface is a nice light green with hints of dark and really sporadic occasional orange red hairs, they almost go unnoticed though, it’s as if they are hiding and do not want to be seen. The headchange is great, it comes on strong and fast and really brings that energy with it, but it does leave you a little spacey. It’s not debilitating by any means, however if you need supreme focus it might not be the best wake and bake. It’d be perfect for a morning hike, gardening, or even something like Saturday morning cartoons. If I had to pick between this and Quest again I’m really not sure which one I would pick as they are both awesome and you really can’t go wrong with either. This another awesome effort by Source at a decent ticket for the rec market and I wouldn’t hesitate to repeat the experience if given the chance. Fantastic work once again to the folks at Source!

Quest from Source Cannabis

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Quest from Source Cannabis via Evergreen Santa Ana on 6/18/19. THC tested out to 25%. Purchased for $45 plus tax. I was on the hunt for a new sativa here in Santa Ana and one name that I kept seeing pop up over and over again was Quest. I felt like as soon as I saw the sample jar my eyes popped right out of my head. This strain is just straight gorgeous. If there were a weed beauty pageant Quest would win first place without question. I feel terrible tearing it apart to smoke it because feels like destroying a work of art, or at least I what I imagine that must feel like. The pictures speak for themselves.

Big beautiful light green buds with a pinecone like structure with dark orange red hairs breaking through to the surface wherever they can while batting the immense layer of massive triches forcefully besieging every bit of plant matter through to the stem. I feel like “Quest” is a great name because this batch definitely glows like a quest item in a video game. For as loud as she looks, the smell is really muted, much more than I’d expect. There’s a fairly subtle gassy/diesel scent coupled with a bit of floral spice. The smoke is excellent, very smooth, and you catch that diesel on the in and exhale. The headchange is exactly what I’m looking for in a sativa. Although you can space out if not needing to focus, you definitely will find yourself wanting to be active no matter what your current task. I was attempting to watch an old episode of California’s Gold and while I was into the show, I found myself get up, start to pace and eventually I grabbed a kettle bell to keep my fidgeting at bey. It’s an awesome get up and go factor that that will definitely have me reaching for Quest again next time I’m in need of a solid sativa experience. Excellent work from the team at Source, I expect awesome things from them going forward and can’t wait to check out some of their other offerings

Gelonade (Smalls Edition) from Connected California

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Gelonade Smalls from Connected California via Connected Santa Ana on 6/14/19. THC tested out to 28.2% total. Purchased for $93 out the door for a 7 gram jar. I decided to give the Connected Smalls another shot after checking out the testing results on this batch and it being on par with the top shelf indoor batch. The nose on this run is incredible, it smells like straight lemon peels, there’s maybe a hint of sweet in there but it’s definitely steamrolled by the glorious zing of citrus. The Lemon Tree heritage really shines though. The nugs themselves are tiny but look fantastic. Mostly light green with patches of dark while the brownish orange pistils grip the surface of the bud and also fill in any cracks in the nug structure. The triches are small and plentiful, an even coat of frosting giving the herb nice hazy sheen overall.

The inhale is smooth and you catch lemon flavors on the way in but especially on the way out. The headchange is quick and strong and fairly complimentary to whatever activity you may be doing. To use now outdated terminology I’d say it’s a sativa leaning hybrid. At first it semi racey but doesn’t have a paranoid edge, you can focus on and stay on task but it’s easy enough to get sucked into the couch, especially about 30-45 minutes in when the initial punch starts to wear off. I think this is a really great any time smoke that packs a good punch and has a fairly long lasting intensity. This experience has definitely redeemed Connected/Alien Labs Smalls in my opinion, and while I’ll definitely compare labels going forward, it’s a great way to get a taste of the top shelf at a more mid tier ticket.

Sugar Cone (YOLO/Outdoor Edition from Connected California

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Sugar Cone (YOLO/Outdoor Edition from Connected California via Connected Santa Ana on 6/14/19. THC tested out to 24.23% total. Purchased for $28 pre-tax. After my last positive experience with Connected/Alien Labs outdoor, I decided I’d give the entire line up a go since they come in at a bargain ticket on the rec market. I asked the budtender for her recommendation and she pointed me in the direction of this Sugar Cone and I’m glad she did. From what I’m told it’s Cookies and Cream crossed with Gelato #41. In my first impressions video I said the bag smells like an empty vanilla ice cream container that’s been left out at room temp for a couple hours, it was the first thing that came to mind when smelling it and I stand by that impression. When you break it up by hand the vanilla smell is still there and it’s accompanied by sweet and spice, specifically cinnamon, oddly enough it smells vaguely like Honey Bunches of Oats with Vanilla Clusters. It’s not extremely overwhelming but the scent is there and I really dig it. The bud itself really looks great. It’s very dense and there’s a nice coating of shiny triches that grip tightly to the surface.

The smoke is smooth and you catch a bit of that sweetness on the exhale. The headchange comes on quick but doesn’t thwap you too hard at first, but will cause you to start spacing out if you’re not actively doing something. You could almost get away with wake and baking on this strain but it leaves you just a little too floaty for focus based activity. If you have some light housework or a walk to go on, or any other activity you can go on “autopilot for”, this strain would be a good compliment to that sort of day. It’s a very pleasant and uplifting high that can wash away the remants of a bad day without leaving you too floored. Great experience over all and really makes me confident the next batch of outdoor I pick up from Connected will not disappoint. Excellent work by all those at Connected who were involved!