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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 To use now outdated terminology I’d say it’s a sativa leaning hybrid.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!

Paris OG by Paris Cannabis Co.

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(Headband x Lemon Kush)

Purchased for 45 tax included via Indika, an awesome delivery service located in the East Bay. I got this during their 4/20 sale so it was discounted from its normal price of 55 an eighth. After smoking this stuff I’d gladly pay the regular price to try it again so big shout out to Indika for hooking it up.

I’ve seen Paris bud around for a while but I never bothered to try it for some reason. In retrospect that was a pretty stupid move on my part, turns out I’ve been seriously missing out. It has massive super dense nugs that instantly smell up the room the second you pop open the jar (or bag). This is easily the best tasting OG strain I’ve ever had, it has a very strong gassy lemony OG taste that lasts til you’ve burned it down to ash. It has a strong balanced high that takes a long ass time to set it but it’s well worth the wait, it’s definitely pretty heavy but it doesn’t make me super sluggish like some OGs. The high also seems to last waaay longer than most strains, all those terps really do make a difference. Easily one of the best strains I’ve ever had. This batch wasn’t tested for THC but believe me when I say it’s well worth the price.

 

 

    Cherry Punch from Korova

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    Cherry Punch from Korova via The 10 Spot on 6/1/19. THC tested out to 21.77% total. Purchased for $50 plus tax. Purple Punch tends to have a lot of bag appeal, so when I saw Korova (who consistently puts out fire) put out a cross with Cherry AK-47, I decided to see if it’s bark was as big as it’s bite. The look definitely doesn’t disappoint here. There’s a nice frosting of triches giving the nugs that sort of hazy shine which slightly obscures the tightly wound light greens and purples that comprise the majority of the surface area. The odd brownish red hair pops out of the hair here and there looking like a ginger teens unkept uneven attempt at a mustache.

    The smell out of the jar is musty and spicy with minor hint of sweetness, however when you finger grind it there’s a fruity sweet almost candy quality that is released, it’s almost a night and day difference. The smoke is smooth and you get a taste of that musty spice on the way out, I don’t really pick up on any sweetness in the exhale. The headchange is fairly mild and mellow, nothing really notable in all honesty, just a chill high that doesn’t interfere with your day too much. If you need energy for whatever you’re going to do I’d say definitely avoid it, but if you’re just going to be smoking at home and looking for something to take you up to cruising altitude without locking you up too much, this might be for you. For me, I’ll probably look to something else from Korova instead of picking this up again, I don’t see any qualities in this particular batch that call for a repeat buy as opposed to some of their other herbs which call to me even to this day (looking at you Super Silver Haze!). If you’ve tried it, let me know what you think!

    MAC #capscut from Woodland Reserve

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    MAC #capscut from Woodland Reserve via Evergreen in Santa Ana on 6/04/19. THC tested out to 21.7% total. Purchased for $44 out the door. So far, I’ve loved all the MAC I’ve smoked, so when I saw this really nice looking jar from Woodland Reserve with the infamous #capscut on the lid I knew I couldn’t leave the shop without it. Now I don’t drink, but the packaging gives me those fancy alcohol vibes. It’s got a faux wood cap and reflective label with gold writing across the front which is hard to capture in picture format, but in visual style it’s very similar to a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. As with a lot of MAC, the nugs are straight beautiful, and this batch is no exception. Mostly light green nearing yellow with occasional bursts of purple all coated in that signature heavy frost.

    The nose is always hard to pin down on this strain and this batch is no exception. The label has a flavor attributes section and says it’s Diesel, sweet and spicy. There is definitely a sweet and spicy combo going on in the scent, but that’s all I’m really picking up, not coming up with any diesel but it does have a sort of “zing” to it, which may be translated as diesel-ish, however it just feels extra spicy to me. It really comes through when you finger grind it, smells almost like a freshly cooked meat of some sort. It is a little too dense to finger grind properly though and ends up like small pebbles, best to bust out the grinder on this one. The smoke is smooth on the inhale and you definitely can get a bit of that sweet and spicy taste on the way out. The headchange on this one seems to be a little bit lighter and less racy than the MAC I picked up from L A Made, it doesn’t give me the “oh shit, am I too high?” feeling that seemed so evident before. It’s nice not to have that paranoid edge, and it’s a very pleasant experience over all, however it will leave you a bit spacy so I wouldn’t smoke this at time you require focus as it’s not going to happen. I found myself walking back and forth between the living room and kitchen multiple times because I’d just forget what I’m doing as I was lost in other thought. While there does seem to be something special about getting MAC directly from Caps shop, this was a great first time experience with Woodland Reserve and I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up again at $44 as it’s very similar to the LA Made price point without having to go to DTLA to grab it. Excellent work Woodland Reserve, excited to check out the strains in your stable!

    Galactic Gas (Smalls edition) from Alien Labs

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    Galactic Gas (Smalls edition) from Alien Labs via Connected Santa Ana on 5/28/19. THC tested out to 16.58% total. Purchased a 7 gram jar for $93 after tax. I picked this up at Connected the same day I picked up their Galactic Gas Outdoor (aka YOLO) so I could contrast and compare. On opening the jar, the smell is very evident, but the visual difference is stunning. The smalls live up to their name size wise but appear mighty. The surface is heavily fortified with extremely rich trich coverage obscuring the deep purple hues and dark greens that comprise the meat of the nug. There are hairs but they are so tiny they appear as small orange spots.

    The smell is extremely unique, it’s a mix of sweet and fruity, with little bits of floral and mint when finger ground. In the jar it has almost a sickly sweet quality to it, very similar to a rotting tropical fruit smell, but in best way possible. The smoke is smooth and does carry a bit of that sweetness on the exhale. The headchange is Clark Kent. That is to say, hella mild mannered. This definitely doesn’t kick like it’s outdoor cousin, it’s a very even headed high that doesn’t leave you too spacey, it gently takes you up to a cruising altitude. Sometimes it’s nice to have an herb that doesn’t hit you too heavy, but has a little staying power. I’d say this would be good to smoke before an afternoon lecture or a boring meeting, it’ll not overwhelming to the point where you’ll be paranoid about people knowing you’re high but will help you pleasantly drift through a boring task that requires focus. If you’re looking for straight bang for the buck, I’d say reach for the outdoor/YOLO variant. If you’re looking for a great smelling beautiful weed that doesn’t smack too hard, then the Galactic Gas smalls might be exactly what you need. Personally, I may buy this again if the price was brought down to something like $70 out the door, but I’ll definitely be checking the label going forward. I feel foolish to admit it, but I didn’t compare percentages of THC on the labels between the smalls and the premium indoor. Justacusty informed me that his batch of Galactic gas tested out at a whopping 28.94% and is some of the best bud he’s ever smoked so I may get spendy with it if I come across a batch like that in the future. Overall a pleasant experience but not one I’m sure I’d repeat at that price point.

    Jackie Treehorn from Korova

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    Jackie Treehorn from Korova via The 10 Spot on 6/1/19. THC tested out to 27.59%. Purchased for $50 plus tax. I’d have preferred to have paid $35-40 for this particular batch, but $50 seems to be the minimum going rate for all things Korova. As a Jack fan, as soon as I saw Korova put out a jack centric cross, I knew I had to get my hands on it. The smell is one of the most appealing aspects of this batch. If you told me this was classic jack, I’d absolutely believe you, it has that classic scent although I believe the citrus note might be more prominent than your average Jack relegating more of the musty spice notes to the background. It’s extremely pleasant and I could leave my nose in the jar all day. The nugs them selves are a nice light green, with orange hairs making their way across a fair amount of the surface area, along with a dusting of tightly bound triches. This nug is extremely dense, I couldn’t finger grind for the life of me, but after getting it ground the pile of pre-joint crumbles have this light green hazy shine to them. It’s almost as if the herb is glowing…almost.

    This batch smokes beautifully, the exhale carries with it that beautiful citrus jack taste in spades. Clean your binger for this one, it’s worth it. The headchange is great, you remain clearheaded and focused and I swear my memory recall worked just a little bit better than usual. If I had to look for a drawback, it’s not as racy as I like my pure sativas to be, but it’d worth noting there is zero paranoid edge which is nice. This is really a fantastic any time herb, but probably works best for wake and bakes where you have a full day ahead of you. Another awesome job by the Korova Team!

    Grape Jelly Donut by North Country Pharms

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    (Birthday Cake OG x Grape Sherbet)

    This was purchased for 55 plus tax at Urban Pharm in San Francisco, although it should be noted that the price is usually 10 bucks less. That’s especially disappointing because NCP flowers are pretty much the only reason I ever go to Urban Pharm, they’re the only dispensary in the Bay Area that carries them.

    After all the top shelf bud I’ve smoked, this is still probably one of the best strains I’ve ever had. It might not look as good as some strains but it smokes way better than anything else on the market. It has a strong gassy cake-like smell with a bit of floral grapes in the background, and it tastes even better than it smells. It has an incredibly strong indica high that’s balanced perfectly between heavy and relaxing. It’s pretty euphoric for an indica, but it still works awesome for sleep. Pretty much an all around perfect strain. Tested at 23.47% THC.

    Galactic Gas (YOLO/Outdoor edition) from Alien Labs

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    Galactic Gas (YOLO/Outdoor edition) from Alien Labs via Connected Santa Ana on 5/28/19. THC tested out to 25.31% total.Purchased for $28 out the door. I had seen Galactic Gas on instagram as of late so I checked Connected Santa Ana and noticed they have 3 variations. Premium indoor, indoor smalls, and this outdoor which they have termed “YOLO”. All of which descend in pricing fairly dramatically. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised by this outdoor variant. The nug itself looks very non-suspect, just average run of the mill outdoor, light yellowish green with tiny unpronounced hairs and just a slight dusting of triches.

    Its not going to win any beauty contests on looks alone, but we all know it’s what’s on the inside that counts, and this Galactic Gas is definitely top bottom shelf. The smell from the bag is a musty sickly sweetness, a bit of rotting fruit kind of smell, with a bit of pine in the background. When you grind it up, something magical happens, and it unlocks the smells deep within the nug. I highly suggest finger grinding just a little bit of this nug if you pick it up so you can experience it. It’s a beautiful sweet fruity candy mix of scents and it starts to give you that finger hash feeling as soon as you pinch down hard. What’s really awesome is that smell carries over to the taste of the inhale/exhale. This is really great outdoor. The headchange comes on quick and leaves you comfortable and spacey but not too sedated. You can focus on a task if need be, but you’ll want to save this for a free afternoon where you just want to kick back and listen to music, maybe have a bbq or another activity where you feel comfortable going on autopilot as you may find yourself going into that mode quiet a bit. While I would like to see this at something like $20 out the door eventually, in today’s recreational market, for a brand name it’s a pretty good bargain. Great outdoor showing from the Alien Labs team!

    Sour Diesel from Humboldt Farms

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    Sour Diesel from Humboldt Farms via Eaze on 5/24/19. THC tested out to 16.5%. This retails for $25 plus tax which is frankly too much. I’m not going to sugar coat it, this was a highly disappointing experience, and a really poor showing by Humboldt Farms. I have smoked a lot of outdoor Sour Diesel in my time, it’s a classic, and in the right hands you can get a beautiful flower with some enjoyable racy effects. This is not that. The buds are extremely leafy and dry, despite the moisture pack and nice jar, it’s all very crunchy.

    The scent is spicy in the a bad way, smells old mostly, with hints of veggie, like it was stored in an old moldy pepper barrel before packing. It smokes smooth enough, has a sort of pleasant spicy taste, which is sadly the only redeeming quality I can mention when it comes to this particular batch (#SD2-4-19-F). The headchange is where the schwaggy aspects of this nug really shine. Not only is it a hazy, unclear, almost resin like high, but it gave me a headache. Not since the days of Pretendo and brown frown have I gotten a headache from smoking. It was like being in college all over again, in the worst way. Granted, it could have just been time for me to have a headache, but it’s all too coincidental to over look. This shouldn’t be sold frankly, I can’t think of anyone walking away from this jar and paying retail price and feeling good about it. Please don’t take this as a slight Humboldt Farms, I’m sure you have quality flower out there, but you need to know that putting this quality of herb out there is going to damage your brand. Quality control is a must.