Styrofoam Cup from Team Elite Genetics via West Clinik on 5/20/2022. THC tested out to 34.62%. Purchased for $55 pre-tax (so $70ish out the door). A few months back I saw @cali_bud_reviews getting a hype wave going on this Styrofoam Cup, and I love riding a hype wave and seeing what’s good, so I headed over to West Clinik and grabbed this jar. 

The surface of these fluffy shrub-like buds appear to be a mix of tea, fern and forest greens at first, but on closer examination, subtle hues of aubergine reveal themselves in abundance as they’re highly obscured from a distance by eye catching formations of heavily consolidated brilliant white triches and rusted twine pistils whipping wildly at the air.

The nose out of the jar is a unique savory stank, I get a bit of a soy sauce vibe along with an acrid sour element, that when taken together does have a chemical sort of smell, so I can see how the name Styrofoam Cup is fitting. Breaking open a bud that soy sauce gets louder as the chemical scent separates and takes on more of a musty quality. Breaking it down by hand, my fingers are left with a surprisingly sweet floral smell with that savory stank in the background, while the grinds themselves are essentially amplified versions of the soy sauce and chemical attributes with the latter leaving a bit of sting in the nostrils. 

The dry pull on the joint comes in with a savoriness that leans peppery and has a light vaporous mint finish. In my notes I put “it’s strange but first thing that comes to mind is this tastes like how the bottom of a well worn leather dress shoe smells” which does, in fact, make sense to me but I am not sure how well that translates for everyone else. In any case, the inhale off the joint has a savory zing, whereas the bong is musty with a light touch of chemical sweetness. The exhale on the joint brings that savory spice even harder, along with a musty cream, whereas the bong has those same qualities, a very musty savory cream, but it’s stacked tighter together in the profile and there’s a light salty after taste. Cross checking the flavor on my Ghost Vapes MV1, I get a fairly powerful sour pine with a fresh finish that leaves a bit of that chemical taste in your mouth for a few minutes after. 

The headchange came on fairly quick and was pretty mellow. I found myself spacing out a bit and having a lot of those “what was I just doing?” sort of moments. My head felt slightly heavy, there was a touch of weight behind the eyes, and had a minor dissociative effect where my body felt loose and limber and not all together “at the ready”. I felt very sedated but not sleepy exactly. It feels like the type of herb that’s good for an evening in, watching a movie, or catching up on one of your favorite shows. 

Overall this was some well grown, beautiful looking, unique smelling/tasting herb with the only quality I was underwhelmed by being semi-lackluster effect. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really enjoyable, but I feel like it’s not stand out enough for me to double dip on, especially at the regular West Clinik ticket. That said, I think if you’re into novel savory flavors in your herb, and can find it at a ticket you’re comfortable with, I’d say you should give it a try.  

Nova Cane from Team Elite Genetics via Super Clinik on 12/04/19. THC tested out to 25.5%. Purchased for $55 plus tax. I’d been hearing great things about Nova Cane from my reviewer friends so when I saw it was in stock at Super Clinik here in Santa Ana I decided to jump in.

These nugs are stunning and it’s evident that nothing but the utmost care and highest standards were kept into order to bring this jar to the consumer market. These dense foxtail like buds are a light lime green with dark forest green accents and reddish brown pistils all coated in a radiant frosting of glittering triches that intensely shine back at you as they catch the light. The nose out of the jar is straight Jack Herer. That signature sweet floral potpourri smell dominates the nostrils. The nug breaks with a hearty and satisfying snap and that floral sweetness ramps up and brings with it a sweet berry quality along with just a hint of a lemon cleaner like smell. Grinding the nug down by hand leaves a healthy stickiness on your finger tips, so much so that I kept finding myself wiping them off on my pants so that I wouldn’t gunk up my keyboard or phone screen when taking notes. The grounds smell like sweet berry with that floral jackness taking a back seat with a touch of citrus sitting beside it. On the dry pull of the J the berry sweetness is undeniable and is so sweet that it reminds me of the way pineapple hits my taste buds. The inhale is smooth and detect just a bit of that sweet fruit while on the exhale I get a sweet berry flavor with what I might consider a minor sour edge. It’s not as acidic as a sour gummy in my opinion but that citrus does give the flavor as a whole a slightly sour lean. The headchange comes on quick and has a racy edge while at the same time having a good smack and some impressive stamina. I found myself able to focus and wanted to keep my body occupied. Before I knew it I was up and knocking things off my to do list. However, after the initial burst of energy I took a seat and then I felt myself peter out slightly. I went from unable to sit still to just wanting to kick back and watch some TV for a few. That was short lived though as the energy seemed to return and I was back on my feet looking to defeat the next task at hand. I really enjoyed Nova Cane and I can completely understand why it’s a Cannabis Cup Winner. It’s straight up beautiful, smells like the best Jack around, and has a strong clear headed long lasting enjoyable effect that’s frankly perfect for any time of day. Fantastic job to Team Elite Genetics, the quality of your work is definitely on par with some of the best and well known growers in California, and I’d say it’s well worth the ticket it commands.