Unicornz from THC Design on 8/26/2022. No THC testing info on the box as this was given to me right before it dropped. I was gifted this but I spot checked a couple menus and it looks like THC Design is going for around $50-55 out the door in my area. Maybe a bit less if you place those first time discounts right.

A whopping 3 months ago (nearly to the day) I was lucky enough to get my hands on THC Designs Pheno Hunt drop (huge shout out to my dude @edwardfairchild for making it happen), and in the interim, due to a lot of my energy needing to be diverted away from this project, I’m only now giving this batch of Unicornz it’s fair due. I did manage to take notes on this batch when it was fresh but it takes me a while to assemble a final write up. I apologize for the lag and hope that I’ll be able to get into a regular review release cadence again soon. 

These fairly dense semi-spiky trident-esque buds are comprised of an uneven patchwork of deep rich auburgene, lime, forest, and sacramento greens, all contrasted against veins of rusty pumpkin orange pistils and hordes of brilliant white triches so abundant at times, they look as if they’re jockeying for position in a rush to find any available remaining space on the exterior of the nug. 

The nose out of the bag is fruity but comes with an earthy mint quality as well. It has a light pineapple candy vibe but there’s this grungy mentholated aspect that tones down the sweetness of the scent just a touch. Busting open a bud, the pineapple really brightens up and comes off more like a pineapple fanta, with a very faint sweet musty dough kicking around in the background. Breaking it down by hand, that pineapple soda quality is still present, but seems to back off a bit and give way to that sweet musty dough. The scent is still sweet overall but has more of a “dirty” aspect to it. 

A dry pull on the joint came with a candy fruity sweetness that read as a faint pineapple hard candy. The inhale however was devoid of any sort of sweetness, in fact it just came across as a musty sweet paper taste on the joint, whereas on the bong it just had a very subtle mustiness to it. The exhale on the joint had a lightly sweet waxy sort of fruit taste to it but was also heavily musty. As I made my way through the joint, the mint property became more dominant, and by the end, it left me tasting nothing but a musty mint. The bong comes mostly with a sweet mustiness as well, at times there are hints of a light grungy fruit, but it’s superseded by this powerful must and occasional mint tang. I did not get around to testing this out in my (now retired) GhostVapes MV1, I’ll work on getting a new flower vape in place soon, however my guess is that it would be extremely minty when vaped at low temps. 

The headchange kicks in near immediately, comes with an uptick of energy, and if you’re at all near a meal time, a renewed exuberance for what you’re about to eat. Physically, there’s a headband effect with most of the pressure centered directly in the middle of the forehead, accompanied with this want to get up and go, but that wanes rapidly and eventually you’ll feel your body shift into more of a chill mode. Mentally there’s this euphoric sort of “woohoo, I’m lit” feeling at first, coupled with a positive can do attitude that really makes you feel like you’re going to cross everything off your to-do list that day, but unfortunately that feeling is fairly fleeting and is quickly replaced with an “IDGAF sort of vibe” that leaves you wanting to just kick back on the couch, and take advantage of that free AppleTV+ trial that you signed up for over the Thanksgiving Holiday. It’s not so sedating that you won’t be able to fight through it if you have some tasks to complete you truly can’t put off, but it’ll put your will power to the test with any chores you consider “optional” that day no doubt. 

All and all, while I enjoyed my time with this batch of Unicornz, I can’t say there’s anything about it that particularly stands out to me. If the taste aligned just a bit more with the nose, and the headchange was able to sustain those more energetic aspects, I’d be in again in a heartbeat as finding a good “sativa” in today’s recreational market is tough. As it sits, I may be persuaded into picking up another batch if it were around $40 or less out the door, but I’m not exactly chomping at the bit to get my hands on more. That said, I applaud THC Designs efforts here and their attempt to uncover some unique genetics on their own, I hope they (and other producers) continue to do so as consumers really need to be exposed to more strain diversity on the California legal market. 

Circus Animals from THC Design direct on 01/24/2022 (Huge shout out to Edward at THC Design for making it happen!). THC tested out to 33.44%. This was gifted to me but I did find it on Kannabis Works Menu in Santa Ana going for $46 out the door, and with their first time customer deal you get 40%, so you can potentially get it for a killer deal. THC Design was the first cannabis company for whom I ever saw a billboard, and at the time it was such a foreign concept, I thought they were actually a graphic design company that was just jumping on the ever escalating canna-bandwagon. I quickly learned that was not the case and have been a fan ever since, so when my dude Edward at THC Design hit me up and asked if I wanted to try out a couple of their new flavors, I popped right over and picked them up. 

The color profile of these dense nugs vary from bud to bud but are essentially a mash up deep rich aubergine that shifts into midnight blue in parts, along with emerald and lime greens, tightly coiled veins of rusty copper pistils, and an extremely prominent surface-obscuring coat of of dazzling white and egg cream colored triches. 

The nose out of the jar is a creamy gelato like fruity sweetness along with a touch of chalky floral and a general mustiness kicking around in the background. On busting open a bud, the fruity sweetness takes a candy-like turn and also brings with it a touch of minty vaporousness. Breaking it down by hand there was bright candy sweetness with a fruity edge, but the fruit was difficult for me to pin down, at different times it read as berry, pear, or even as grape adjacent. One sniff in particular tickled my memory banks and reminded me of the time I accidentally drank Capri Sun Pacific Cooler concentrate as a kid (note: it was delicious). A strong freshness also remained present but was relegated to filling out the background. 

The dry pull on the joint comes with a sugary chalky sweetness and a touch freshness joined by a very vague fruity echo. The inhale on the bong has a very light sweet floral quality, whereas on the joint it’s more of a sugary slap that quickly bounces off the tongue. The exhale on the bong hits with a musty semi-spiced cream, whereas on the joint there’s a waxy sweetness (ala wax lips) with a hint of fruit, and a fresh underpinning that also carries a spicy bite. Cross checking the flavor at the one temp my GhostVapes MV1 is currently capable of, I got a light minty sweetness on the way in, and a predominately pine exhale with a mint cream finish on the way out. 

The headchange came on quickly and consistently made me seek out a seat. There was this near instantaneous form of calm that obliterated my anxiety and threw me into introspection. Why was I in such a rush? Why was I so anxious? Was it helpful to me in any way? It allowed me to get some perspective on the situation, reprioritize, and then execute my new plan for the day without that sense of annoyance due to having so much to handle in the first place. I was fairly cognizant, although I did notice it was hard to recall some words on occasion, but I wasn’t so stunted that I couldn’t work around it. Physically I found myself with some pressure behind the eyes and general slump to my stature which contributed to that take a seat feeling I alluded to earlier. 

Overall, I’d say this is a beautiful looking, delicious smelling, decently tasty afternoon or evening smoke for when you want to relax and kick back but still keep your wits about you somewhat. I could see myself picking it up again if I were on the hunt for that sort of buzz, but truth be told I feel as if this particular set of effects is fairly common with herb on the rec market these days, so the ticket would really be the determining factor for me personally. I did a spot check of some menus in the area, and came across a batch of this at Kannabis Works in Santa Ana going for what I’d consider a good rate, especially when coupled with their killer first time customer discount. If you liked what I’ve had to say about this batch, and if you’re anywhere in the OC area, I’d say swing through and you’ll be leaving the shop happy. Great job on this one THC Design, definitely my favorite of the bunch!

Domo G from THC Design on 2/20/2020. THC tested out to 22.57%. This was gifted to me but I have seen it go for $40 in a shop. Being a fan of THC Design, when I noticed they’d released a strain in partnership with rapper Domo Genesis, my curiosity was admittedly piqued so I was stoked to get my hands on some. These bulbous semi-dense nugs are an eye pleasing patchwork of bright lime and dark forest greens with splashes of deep aubergine, cheddar cheese orange pistils, and an army of spiky white triches that line the surface of the bud like those spike strips that keep birds from landing on building ledges.

The nose out of the jar is a musty fruit that I refer to as that “foreign fruit market smell” accompanied by a minty freshness in the background. On busting open the bud the smell remains largely the same although the mint gets slightly louder. When breaking it down by hand you get a nice stick on the fingers and it unleashes this delicious smell that comes off like a fruit salad with strawberry, banana and all the melons, enhanced further by the mint giving everything a pleasantly fresh lilt. A dry pull on the jay has a sweet sugar candy taste with a fruity twist. The inhale is smooth and has a sugary smack with a woody undertone on the joint while the bong offers a floral earthy experience with a touch of freshness. The exhale is a sweet floral sugar on the joint while the bong offers the sugary sweetness up top with a floral finish. When it comes to cross checking the flavor on my MV1 from @ghostvapesofficial I decided to change things up a little due to a chart that Ghost Vapes shared with me regarding terps and temps. I first tried it at 200c which gave a minor pine taste a floral mint and a hint of sweetness. I then loaded a fresh pod and vaped it at 170c which really intensified the pine and floral tastes to a surprising degree. I’ll definitely try to incorporate vaping at different temperatures into my reviews going forward as to give a more thorough report on the flavor. The headchange comes on quick but it doesn’t slap so much as it does smash and then continue to keep on the pressure. I started to feel the weight in my body as time started to slow, I got a bit of that walking underwater feeling, and things that may have seemed an immediate concern were now not as important and may have slipped my mind entirely. Any anxiety and frantic energy were quickly dismissed. I didn’t feel couch locked but I also didn’t feel motivated to do much other than kick back, watch youtube videos on random, and let my mind wander on its own time. It’s one of those strains that obliterates stress and anxiety which makes it a perfect companion to the strange times we’re living through. While I’d say it’s too heavy for a wake and bake, it’s a good strain for any time you need to get some calm perspective on your troubles, or just be able to put them out of mind completely and relax. I enjoyed my time with Domo G and for the ticket I’ve seen it go for in shops I could definitely see myself picking it up again. Excellent job to the team at THC Design, keep up the great work!

Gelato from THC Design via Eaze on 12/30/2019. THC tested out to 20.6%. Purchased for $39 plus tax (used a $20 credit compliments of Eaze as well). On occasion, Eaze will drop some credit into your account if you haven’t used them for a bit, so when that happened this last time I decided to put it toward this batch of Gelato from the fine folks at THC Design. When it arrived I was a bit shocked to see that it had a harvest date of 1/28/19. Being so close to it’s first birthday I decided to do a little experiment and held off on opening it until it was officially one year old and see how it faired after being jarred that long. The surface of these particular nugs are comprised mostly of deep purple and forest green with them shifting back and forth so quickly it’s fairly confusing to the naked eye. It has a generally dark vibe with lime green accents and sporadic bunches of orange pistils all coated in a thick layer of yellowed triches.

The nose out of the jar is mostly musty with just a slightly sweet edge in the background. When breaking open a bud, the mustiness dissipates somewhat, and the sweetness amps up along with a minor floral quality. After breaking it down by hand the scent morphed and I got a faint yet pleasant sweet mint with a bit of cream. Also, it really wasn’t as powder dry as I expected it to be. That said, I did end up finding a seed in one of the buds. One seed in a batch of this size is no big deal, and could be a potential come up for the right person so I don’t mind it being in there, but in the interest of full disclosure I thought I should mention it. When dry pulling the J I get a very faint floral sweetness that vanishes near instantly with no aftertaste. The inhale was smooth and had a slight earthy taste from the joint but on the bong it was very nondescript. The exhale was a muted floral and mint on both. Cross checking the flavor on my MV1 from @ghostvapesofficial I got a much more amped up version of the floral and mint that was present in the smoke but the flavors seemed to be fuller. I think vaping may be the way to go when it comes to weed of this age. The headchange seemed to make me feel more tired than gobsmacked, I felt like I could have smoked more in any given sesh but didn’t want to due to the fact I thought it would knock me out. I have a feeling the lack of thwap may have to do with its age and if I would have gotten my hands on this batch sometime in mid-2019 it might have had a more enjoyable effect but that simply was not the case here in 2020. Furthermore, while I know Eaze is having financial troubles, they need to implement a process to keep people from paying the full ticket to get bud this old. From what I can tell, THC Design put out an awesome batch of Gelato in it’s heyday, however the ravages of time had their way with it before it got to me. This lesson learned here is not to use recreational delivery services as I’d rather verify the age and quality of the bud I’m picking up prior to putting down on it.

Lemon Meringue from THC Design via Tropicanna on 11/25/19. THC tested out to 22.89%. Purchased for $40 plus tax. I found myself on the hunt once again for a new sativa, having had an excellent experience with THC Design’s Crescendo, when I spotted this Lemon Meringue on the Menu at Tropicanna I was excited to give it a shot. The surface of these lanky buds are a mix of light and dark green with only a very rare burst of burnt orange pistils. It’s frankly hard to pin down the coloring due to the substantial frosting of giant salt-like triches giving the nugs an overall a gorgeous semi-yellow sheen. Some of the triches are so big that they spark to mind images of the spiked armor plating that lines the back of a Stegosaur.

The nose out of the jar is primarily musty with pepper. There is a faint element in the background that seems to “brighten” up the smell just a bit but I can’t pin it down. When busting open a nug the musty pepper aspect deepens and the smell shifts to a more savory scent with a hint of what smells like electrified metal. Breaking it down by hand you can get a feel those huge triches as they work through your fingers. I notice the musty pepper widens out even further and that electro-metal smell seems to shift into more a citric acid scent. I pick up on the lemon now but it’s more of a calm and natural lemon essence as opposed to an artificial sweet candy lemon. The inhale is smooth as expected but unexpectedly I do pick up on a sweet taste with just a hint of lemon. On the exhale I get a more earthy taste with a bit of a lemon soap edge. The headchange comes on fast but also has this creeper element that takes a while to fully hit and stays with you for a surprisingly long while when it does. There’s a haziness that sets in on the eyes and a pressure that builds in the forehead. I feel clear headed but also thwapped in a way where just chilling and zoning out on youtube videos seems to be a more appealing option than going for a hike or getting chores done around the house. There’s no element of that “get up and go” feeling I look for in my sativas, not that I feel tired or couchlocked by any means, it just doesn’t bring that near energy drink like feeling that I’ve come to depend on when reaching for a jar in the morning. Pairing it with a cup of coffee complimented the effect nicely and helped dampen the shaky anxious nature that often times accompanies a caffeine buzz. If I found myself on the hunt for a sativa once again and I came across this and the Crescendo, and I could only choose one, I’d go with the Crescendo hands down as it’s everything I look for in a sativa. However, if I was looking for a good rainy/snowy day strain to kick back with and watch Christmas movies this would be it, as it has a long lasting hazy yet non-drowsy effect that makes it perfect for exactly that. Great work once again to the team at THC Design. Can’t wait to see what you guys put out next!

Crescendo from THC Design via Tropicanna on 9/25/19. THC tested out to 30.84%. Purchased for $40 plus tax minus 20% for first time discount. When I saw THC Design had a sativa floating around testing out to over 30% I knew I had to get my hands on it. While I know THC percentages don’t mean everything, they do mean something, so my interested was extremely piqued. When you open the jar you’re greeted by mass of smaller not so dense buds making the container look extremely full. The surface of the herb is a fairly uniform light green with occasional hints of dark green with rare orange pistils making their way to the top of the tiny nug canopy and a decent amount of triches that slightly change the look and give it this sort of yellowish tinge.

The nose out of the jar is a strong peppery must with a very faint fruitiness in the background. On the nug break you get that pepper smell still but that light fruity sweetness intensifies just a bit. On the finger grind the pepper smell is relegated to the background and you’re just left with that fruity sweetness, but it’s not too intense, it’s very pleasant yet mild in nature. The buds break down well by hand as they have the density of popcorn and will leave a trich film on your fingers afterward. The inhale is smooth and I catch that pepper making itself known again while on the exhale I get a nice earthy musty finish. The headchange is awesome and exactly what I’m looking for when it comes to sativas. It comes on fast and has a nice thwap that you can feel in the front of your forehead and on the top of your eyes but also brings a fantastic clear headed energy that will allow you to happily dive in to any given task at hand. It quickly became my preferred wake and bake smoke and I think that says a lot on its own. THC Design knocked this one out of the park on every level. From the ticket, to the smoke, to the headchange this one ticks all the boxes for a sativa. I’ll definitely be picking up some more soon. Excellent work to the team at THC Design!

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.