Banana OG from Fresh Baked via The Circle in Long Beach on 12/10/2020 (big thanks to Fresh Baked and The Circle for making it happen!). THC tested out to 29.39%. This was gifted to me but at the time I picked it up was going for $55 on the menu. Last time I went to the Circle in Long Beach to pick up Fresh Baked’s limited edition batch of Ice Cream Cake, they were awesome enough to also include this bag of Banana OG which I’d heard nothing but good things about, so I was absolutely stoked to jump in. The surface of these semi-dense fat bottomed shrub shaped nugs are a mix of forest, fern and tea greens, with wisps of twine brown pistils timidly clinging to the canopy, all of which is flooded over with copious amounts of tall cream colored triches.

The nose out of the bag is a delicious smelling sweet candy fruit with a minty back end and a waxy quality that feels like something you might come across in a Bath and Bodyworks candle as you sniff your way through the shelves. Busting open a bud, that same sweet scent remains essentially the same, but gets louder. Breaking it down by hand, I get a subtle sweet musty fruit rind scent on the fingers, while the grinds themselves come with an even more intense sweet waxy fruit scent that makes my eyes widen and gives me some strong banana Hi-Chew vibes. The dry pull on the jay is also very fruity candy sweet, but has this pleasant vaporous undertone that all together, nearly makes my mouth water. The inhale is smooth on both the bong and the joint initially, and on the joint I get a general sweet floral, whereas the bong is essentially the same but leans just a tad more sugary. The exhale on the joint comes off like banana taffy at first, but as I got towards the middle, it got slightly harsh which sort of muted the flavor experience as a whole. The bong was consistently smooth, but much more floral in nature, with that banana aspect being highly tamped down in comparison to the joint. Cross checking the flavors on my Ghost Vapes MV1, at 170c I get a very light cooling sensation accompanied by an unexpectedly strong pine taste with just a touch of floral on the back end, whereas at 185c the pine still remains the dominant player but there’s a perfume like floral that also makes its presence known. The headchange comes on quick, and brings a very mellow yet feel good energy with it, while still managing to put some pressure behind the eyes and weight on the body to boot. Over time the sedation effect set in harder, and I quickly went from bright eyed, alert and active, to heavy legged, dough faced, and looking for a place to kick back on the couch for a possible weed nap. Mentally I felt fairly present, spacing out on only the rare occasion, yet was easily distracted which had a tendency to take me away from the task at hand if said distraction ended up with me unwittingly going down some kind of hazy rabbit hole. All of that said, if I had to pick between this strain and the Ice Cream Cake I got from Fresh Baked on the same day, I’d probably lean toward the ICC as that one in particular ticked all of the boxes for me personally. This Banana OG looked and smelled fantastic, but slightly stumbled in the flavor arena, yet recovered beautifully in the effects department as one big bowl had me ripped to the point I was wondering if I really needed to take on the second one I’d just finished packing. In the end this was a pretty solid showing, and I could definitely see myself picking this up again if I saw it on the menu at the right ticket and were in the market for some relaxing, clear headed, feel good smoke.

Ice Cream Cake from Fresh Baked via The Circle in Long Beach on 12/10/2020 (big thanks to Fresh Baked and The Circle for making it happen!). THC tested out to 27.37%. I was gifted this jar but it typically goes for $50 at The Circle. Huge shoutout up top to Abstrax Labs for reasons that will become clear later in the review. When I saw that Fresh Baked was putting out a limited edition Ice Cream Cake right before Christmas I knew I had to get my hands on some, so when they reached out and asked if I wanted to give it a shot, I excitedly jumped at the chance. Two beautiful beefy buds comprise the entire jar. The surface is mostly a deep rich eggplant purple with occasional patches of kelly green, tightly coiled bursts of copper colored pistils, and an astonishing deluge of fully intact parchment white triches.

The nose out of the jar is a sweet vaporous must with a touch of pastry on the backside. It really jumps out at me, as soon as I pop open the jar it elicits a visceral gut reaction that signals to every part of my body that this is some GOOD shit. Busting open a bud, a sweet creamy sugar emerges coupled with a sweet pastry that pretty much obliterates the musty element that was present moments earlier. Breaking it down by hand, it leaves a smattering of triches on the fingers as well as a sweet musty cream with a slightly mint backing on the fingertips, while the grinds themselves come off like a gassy berry danish with a sweet cream finish. The dry pull on the joint hits with a sweet vaporous minty cream that left a york peppermint patty like freshness on my lip. The inhale is smooth and comes with a sweet creamy perfume like floral and a touch of mint on the bong, whereas on the joint, it’s more of a musty near eucalyptus like mint. The exhale is a delicious musty sweet cream with a mint twist on both the bong and the joint. Cross checking the flavors on my Ghost Vapes MV1, at 170c it comes with a very minty floral coupled with a strong piney tang, whereas at 185c it’s more of a straight piney floral with a skunky beer follow up. Enter the awesome folks at Abstrax Labs. Utilizing advanced chemical techniques far beyond my understanding, they’re able to take small samples of bud and run it through a process that reveals every terpene and aroma compound within it and make it into an easy to read data sheet, which I thought would be fun and informative to compare against my subjective experience with any given strain. While it may not align perfectly with my individual take on the strain, it is interesting to go over the data and see how it matches up with my experience, and maybe give me some better and broader understanding of flavors that are difficult to pin down.

The headchange comes on quick and with an extremely healthy smack. There’s an aura of feel good energy that immediately enveloped me, along with a broad hazy feeling that sat right on the top of my eyes, as an ASMR like tingle made its way across my skull and into the base of my neck. Mentally I feel a bit stunted, fumbling for the proper vocabulary in the moment, and getting a near uncomfortable amount of that “tip of the tongue” feeling depending on how much talking I’m having to do. In my notes I describe it as a sort of “drunk” high as I feel rosy cheeked, happily discombobulated, and am laughing my ass off at some incredibly dumb thoughts. I’d recommend avoiding activities that require extreme focus as you’ll not be able to pull it together after smoking this, but it’s perfectly suited for a small chatty gathering amongst a few friends, although you might find yourself running out of steam as time goes on and looking for a couch to kick back on and rest your eyes for a few minutes. All and all I really enjoyed this batch of Ice Cream Cake, and while I might avoid smoking it first thing in the morning, it makes a perfect complement to agendaless day where your only concern is getting lit and being happy. Fresh Baked continued to impress, they are definitely putting out some of the best weed on the recreational market, and if you haven’t tried anything from them yet you are truly missing out. Excellent job Fresh Baked, the level of care and expertise is evident in everything you produce, keep up the fantastic work!

Cherry Fritter from Fresh Baked on 6/12/2020 (shoutout to Tommy at the Grand Distro and Mr. Don Fuego for making it happen). THC tested out to 27%. This was gifted to me but it’s current listed for $55 out the door at Catalyst Belmont Shore and $50 at The Circle Long Beach. I’ve heard from a few different people now that Cherry Fritter was the ONE to try out of the Fresh Baked library, so when I got a chance to get my hands on this sample, I was hella stoked. These beautiful semi-dense buds are a patchwork of asparagus and emerald greens with aubergine and midnight blue accents, tightly coiled fireplace orange pistils, and an eye popping coat of yellowing triches so thick it reminds me of cinnamon sugar that’s been excessively caked on the outside of a churro.

The nose out of the jar is a very complex sweet fruit coupled with a chalky sweetness and a floral must that has a slight mint pine back end. When breaking open the bud, that sweet fruit and floral must stay present, but the backend morphs into more of a pastry dough with a hint of vanilla. When breaking it down by hand the sweet fruit amps up and remains center stage but a mint emerges and kicks that musty floral to the background, and it does have what I’d describe as artificial cherry vibes that hit me like wild cherry lip balm. Taking a dry pull on the J I get a faint yet deep fruity sweetness with a musty floral lean. The inhale is fairly smooth, but there’s a heartiness to the smoke, and it has fruity toasted popcorn taste on the joint whereas the bong comes off as a sweet muted sparkling apple cider. The exhale from the joint is a fruity floral with that sparkling water like expression, where the bong has a sweet yet floral, near perfume like quality with a peppery undertone. Cross checking the flavor on my MV1 from @ghostvapesofficial at 170c I get a sugar sweet floral with a very light skunky beer aftertaste, where at 185c, it’s more of a generic floral with a touch of pine in the background. The headchange comes on quick and smacks like a mack truck. As I sat on my back porch and was half way through a pinner, I found myself absolutely glued to my chair as my brain went through the mental process of getting up to get a glass of water what felt like at least 100 times, before I was able to muster the physical will to put that plan into action. After the initial smack it becomes less paralyzing, but you still feel a heavy weight that sits right in the middle of your forehead and on top of your eyes, pushing you ever downward toward the couch. While you can focus if need be, you might find it a struggle as your mind will want to wander, however if you have a full day of rest and relaxation on the calendar Cherry Fritter will compliment that effort perfectly. I really enjoyed this batch and I could see myself copping it again, especially for the ticket it goes for at Catalyst stores  or @thecirclelbc , as it’s very reasonable when compared to other brands of similar caliber. Great work once again by the crew down at Fresh Baked, you are clearly expert in your craft, and it definitely shows in every aspect of the final product. Keep it up! 

Apple Fritter from Fresh Baked via The Spot Santa Ana on 6/03/2020 (shoutout to Blake for making it happen!). THC tested out to 26.2%. I was gifted this sample but it goes for anywhere from $55-65 pre tax. I remember seeing some slick Fresh Baked photos in the early days of Prop 64 on insta, but I hadn’t been luckily enough to actually come across any in a shop until recently, so I was stoked to finally get my hands on one of their signature strains. The surface of these moderately dense buds is a mix of neon and kelly greens with rich indigo accents, golden brown pistils, and is absolutely flooded with a torrent of cream white and straw yellow triches.

The nose out of the jar is a sweet fruit with musty spice undertone that really does give off a fruity pastry vibe. On busting open a bud that sweet fruit and spice remain present while a hint of mint and pine kick around in the background. It reminds me of something I’d expect to smell in a Bed Bath and Body Works style “Scents of the Autumnal Equinox” candle. When breaking it down by hand it leaves a healthy floral must on the fingers while the grinds have a sugar fruit sweetness with a noticeably piney backend. The dry pull on the joint gives off a cool mint with a touch of pine and a hint of fruity must in the background. The inhale is smooth and has a muted earthy floral quality on the joint whereas on the bong it’s more of a faint fruity spice. The exhale on the joint is a faint sweet floral with a little mustiness where the bong is a muted floral spice with an echo of a pastry undertone but it’s not too well defined. Cross checking the flavor on my MV1 from @ghostvapesofficial , at 170c there’s a surprisingly strong sweet minty floral, and at 185c the sweet mint stays present but is joined by that sweet fruitiness from earlier. The headchange comes on quick and with a satisfying thwack. The pressure starts in the forehead and works its way into the neck and the top of the shoulders with a slight ASMR like tingle. It’s easy enough to remain present for the most part, but there is a spacy aspect to it that will cause you to drift on occasion, however it’s not so overwhelming that you lose the thread of what’s going in front of you. It’s not something I’d choose to wake and bake on regularly, especially when you have a lot on your plate for the day, but it does function fairly well as an anytime smoke that will leave you satisfied and not wanting for more. All in all, I really liked this batch of Apple Fritter as it’s an enjoyable quality smoke that’s clearly well cultivated, and I would for sure pick this up again if I were to find it for the right ticket. $50-55 out the door is a really reasonable price but at 65 plus tax I’m definitely going to be hesitant. Great work to the whole Fresh Baked crew, can’t wait to get more of your flavors in the rotation!