Seems like we’re past due again. Go figure. Oh well, this one’s a doozy!
I’ll be honest – trying to compete with the ever-rising barrier to entry that I’ve created for myself for these lists is exhausting. First I was going to make this edition ALL hash focused, as 7/10 was obviously earlier this month, but y’all know I’m a flower guy first & foremost. Initially it was going to be the ‘7/10 list’, but as everyone was doing that, I pulled back. To make matters worse, I saw Jimi drop a list for the holiday that included two of my initial picks – is it cheating for us to like the same shit? Does anyone else notice this stuff? Trying to be different while trying to do your best is stressful.
Anyway, as everyone was doing a 7/10 thing I decided to hold out, wait for the holiday to pass, and then remind y’all that hash is a lifestyle, not specific to one day out of the year. As such, most of the attached extended post-holiday edition is focused on slurpable terps. And instead of re-listing classics that I’ve praised before, like 710 Labs, Kalya, Holy Water & Helios, we’re going with all new labels to my collection. That said, I couldn’t let the other dopeness that launched recently pass me by, so here’s some hash, a little flower and some snacks, as a treat.
I’m not sure if these guys are operating in the rec market yet, but trust me when I tell you, if an opportunity to snag one of their jars presents itself, you’re going to want to take it. Put onto my radar by the cultivation master Life is Not Grape (formerly Candypaint), I have yet to see a jar from this crew that doesn’t seriously impress. I know this is common verbiage at this point, but I still feel weird saying this: shit is WET. I’m not always the best with remembering to put things back in the fridge, or even putting the cap back on, so trust when I tell you that I have run these products through the gamut and they’re still best in class, even after I’ve fucked ‘em up.
Not to repeat myself, as I know I’ve said something similar about Kayla in the past, but Frosty is one of those guys you just love to be around. While the hash they produce is world-class, for me, it’s almost more important to know that great people are involved in the process so you know the love really went into it. In my experience that’s usually the key differentiator between good and great. I can say confidently that no matter the tier of product, everything I’ve tasted from the jolly trichman’s team clearly had nothing but love poured into it, bc the flavors are *chef’s kiss*!
Over the past year or so there’s been a certain hash cultivar that I’ve really dug, and although I historically haven’t been a massive hash head, I’ve kept a jar of Honey Banana around pretty much at all times since discovering it. I’ve tried countless versions, and while they’re all delicious, few are as special as what I experienced from Heads That Roll, and almost none pack the same amount of flavor. While this cut stinks with little effort, driving home that pallet staining taste isn’t as easy. This one’s a must cop.
This might be a world premiere, I’m not sure, but I’m fairly certain most of the world doesn’t know that West Coast Cure’s about to drop a live rosin line. If that wasn’t enough to excite you, here’s this: it SMACKS. Available as live or cold cured, having tasted the line there are some real winners in this camp. Classics like Fatso are represented as well as they’ve ever been, but it was a newcomer for me, the Strawberry Jelly, that I couldn’t put down. Crazy enough, the Jelly was actually one of the Cold Cure jars, so while definitely better for the longevity of the product, don’t discount the terps coming from those bad boys.
Another sweet soul who deserves a nod is Trichadelics. While for sure running some of the cleanest product I’ve seen to date, Trichadelics is also the perfect example of a highly productive, successful AND energetic stoner – which for some reason people are still questioning whether or not they exist. Not only is dude pumping out top tier hash that’s getting name-checked across the country, but following him on insta is like having your own personal trainer. You will hear, at least once a day, that smoking hash and pedaling fast is possible. Don’t let the terps slow you down, Trich’s proof that it’s mind over matter.
For me personally, this is one of the OG’s in the hash world. While I’m not claiming they were the first to do anything, I will say they were one of the first true hash brands I saw when I came to California, and I’ve been floored by both their presentation and their quality since. You see, hash was still, for a long time, the grungier side of the industry. And while they were certainly true hash heads, there was a certain degree of cleanliness about their brand from the jump. I’m not sure if that makes sense to anyone else, but what I’m trying to say is that from my perspective, these guys are godfathers of this shit, and they paved the way for a lot of what we’re seeing now. Product still bangs, too!
I don’t know the history of Cold Fire as well as the last one, but maybe the biggest co-sign I could offer for these guys is that in a time when I had totally written off the cart game, Cold Fire changed my mind. In fact, Cold Fire gets me hooked. While other carts can sit in my house for basically ever, these carts never last long. They simply provide the best vape experience I’ve had to date. Not only that, but they’re constantly running material from the big dogs, so everything from Biskante to Giant Fuyu has graced their menu. I’d recommend these to anyone, but if discretion is still important in your life, this one’s a no brainer.
Closing out the Hash portion of the list is Hash and Flowers. While they indeed provide both in spades, it’s worth noting that this is another brand who recognizes the fiscal hurdles it takes to consume top tier cannabis, and provides not only top shelf meds, but also more entry level products for those who don’t want to mortgage their home to get high. While the single source is great, and I don’t want to make them out to seem like some bottom of the barrel brand, I mention this because the lower tier stuff is actually significantly better than that next to it on the comparable shelf.
I wrote about the Proxy earlier this summer when it dropped, so you should know already that I love this thing, but for those of you who couldn’t get past the dry hit element, now you don’t have to. The gang has already released its first accessory pack, and while not quite introducing an artist edition, they HAVE satisfied the water element, offering their first Proxy bubbler. They’re also releasing the travel accessories for the original device, as well as the flower attachment, for those looking to turn their proxy into a traditional bowl… perhaps after you’ve acquired a more unique custom housing for your device? On the real though glass blowers hit me up, I want to see the magic you’re building around this thing!
This is a special one. Over the past few years I’ve (reluctantly) become more attracted to natural materials like crystals and precious metals despite wholly not understanding their value previously. Now, as I’ve gone down this headiest of path, there’s one name that’s been thrown out quite a few times, and everything I’ve seen from him so far has just been stellar. That dude is Bubba’s Face, who while I still haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, I did manage to get my hands on one of his terp shanks, and I’ve gotta say, while a hot knife is easy, this thing just feels better somehow. I know, it’s heady magic, but it’s real. Plus it comes with this cool sheath, so you really do feel like you’re walking around with a shank, but don’t worry, you probably won’t stab yourself with it.
Ok, flower time. I know this one’s making a bunch of noise back east right now, and they actually beat me to the punch for a change. Christopher’s Bakery’s Haupia Malasada is delightful. Named after the Portuguese confection, this shit doesn’t just smell like donuts, it hits smooth as cream filling. I had tried his Guava cut awhile back and while that was good, this one is the dialed in older sister you’re going to want to get to know. This is definitely one that will be easier to find on the traditional market, so hit up your local plug and let ‘em know you’re looking for some fried dough terps!
Before you say anything, I know. I know Alien Labs is on here a lot, and I hear you when you say you don’t love repeats, but honestly, if they weren’t so far ahead I wouldn’t have to keep bringing them up. Because they need to keep raising the bar, these guys dropped their latest, Y2K, at select dispensaries via a happy meal, complete with a plush alien toy and a real burger to eat. While I missed the live event and didn’t get to try the actual burger, both the flower and the cute lil alien are worth writing home about. Not that they ever really miss, but this one was a grand slam.
Y’all know I’m a sugar fiend before anything, and this one’s a fun full circle moment for me. Remember Jones Soda? Those delightful Canadians pumping out full flavor colas like FuFu Berry and the Thanksgiving bundle? We’ll they’re in the game now! Launching first with four flavors of micro dosed deliciousness, I can attest that these things taste just as good as the original. They’ve got gummies and syrup coming down the pipe later this summer so get pumped because this is just the first of what will be several delicious new treats.
I get a lot of promo boxes, so I’m just about stacked with all the lighters, grinders, and papers I’ll ever need. At this point, I didn’t think it was possible to get me to accept another. Well friends, here’s something that I’m actually excited about. We all saw the fidget spinner craze a few years ago, and while I definitely had a few I think I was just too old for the craze to really affect me. Well friends, turns out when you throw em on a lighter, these things get addictive as hell. I’ve walked around with this thing in my hand on calls or even just while i’m relaxing basically non-stop since receiving it, so if you need a fidget toy and it’s good to have a lighter handy, DHC’s got ya.
This one’s really a bonus, but I feel like much of the world forgot these exist, and I want to make sure that I’m bringing them to your attention because turns out they still smack as adults. I know, I know, drinking out of sippy things are weird past 12, but you know, the juice box was invented for a reason, and that reason was portability, not child friendliness. Tropical Punch is my favorite, but all their red flavors are elite. It’s worth noting that I’m also mentioning this here hoping they’ll recognize and adopt our audience, as stoners and delicious snacks go hand in hand. What up Kool-Aid Man? Can we fill ya with weed??
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What’s the point of this column? Really. We all already know how great Puffco is but I’m no dabbler so just skimmed through all that stuff. I finally thought I’d learn something about Y2K Alien Labs - but no - all I learned was that Alien Labs now resorts to gimmicks but I still have no idea what this strain is all about. Nothing elite about Kool Aid sugar water. Mr. Capetta is part of the elite cannabis class - he gets to try everything but feeds us with garbage like fidget spinner lighters! Understand that most weed reviews are awful with very little real info about effects. Why not lift the genre higher and tell us the why of what’s good and how it makes you feel. Ok maybe I’m in a bad mood and need to smoke something good but I look forward to this column and just sharing some honest feedback. Hopefully next month’s will be worth my time.
hi Kai! this one was really focused on concentrates given the proximity to 7/10, so i understand if it’s not super helpful for you, but i’m almost always talking exclusively flower so this was a departure for that community. now, regarding discussing the effects of products, those are always subjective opinions, and i’m trying to be as far reaching as possible. although this IS annoying to hear, how something EFFECTS you and how it effects me might not be the same, i have plenty of homies that can wake & bake OGs, but most aren’t like that, so I try and provide details around why I liked the specific brand or product. For Alien Labs, for example, their creative launch WAS what I wanted to highlight here, bc i’m always talking about how good their flower is. You can call it a gimmick but when the weed’s actually smokin it’s just good marketing & a fun stunt - the plush was a great idea. I’m sorry you didn’t love this one, but the reason I went for 15 this time instead of the usual 10 WAS to throw in some fun extras, and we will respectfully have to disagree about Kool Aid being elite.
Hey Jon: You rock for replying to my cranky rant - definitely appreciate that! The reason I think most folks use weed is for the effects - sure flavor and smoothness are great but I think you should at least say how it makes YOU feel - this would be invaluable since real info on different brands’ strains is very hard to come by. Can’t even begin to fathom all the $$$ I’ve wasted on strains I end up smoking once or twice that just don’t hit me right. Then the remaining eighth just sits there until I dump it a year later. I’ve been curious about Y2K and there is absolutely ZERO info ANYWHERE about how this particular strain smokes - and here you are only discussing how it’s marketed - and that’s great if it’s accompanied by at least a blurb about the weed itself. Anyway - we’re all extremely fortunate to be living in an era of legal weed - never thought I’d see it in my lifetime and never take it for granted either. I’ll continue to look forward to your column every month. Peace ✌️ out‼️
haha no sweat bro, I get it! I don't disagree that most people use cannabis for their effects, but again as the effects can change person to person I don't want to give someone information that won't necessarily translate for them. sure it's a little less descriptive on the effect side, but that's why I try to illustrate something that's great that everyone will be able to enjoy about the product. to your point, I do get to try most of the great stuff coming out - but a lot of that isn't all that great, so the qualifier to make the list is that I really really love what I'm talking about. that's really why the effect based reviews have slipped to the side, similar to people calling things sativa and indica - we just know it's not thoroughly accurate. I would say that the y2k, which is definitely a looker, is some later afternoon smoke - definitely slowed me down more than the gemini, but didn't quite knock me out. that said, i would feel bad if someone bought this strain thinking it's going to slow them down and actually provided their unique body chem the opposite effect occurred, so instead I choose to tell you about the things that will definitely translate for you as well. don't worry though, I'm mostly a flower guy - we'll be back to normal next month and I'll make sure to throw in some more light effect info for ya.
Hey Jon:
I really don’t think the effects vary from person to person to the degree you perceive them to. But thanks for letting me in on your thought process and having this dialogue. I’ll skip the Y2K and wait for the next batch of Sherbacio from AL and hopefully they haven’t given up on that strain. Just picked up the CBX Gluetopia yesterday and after one sesh it’s quite stoney cerebral and euphoric with a long lasting potent high. Anyway enjoy the weekend and we’ll be in touch. ✌️🙏
legalize it
⚖ CW
https://cannaworldstandardinc.com
Reply
legalize it
⚖ CWS
https://cannaworldstandardinc.com
Reply
Hey Jon, have you heard of Cellini & Co dab tools? Theyre easily the nicest ones I've ever seen and I think they deserve some credit here on HT. Looking forward to the next article!