Testing the varieties
James Loud, owner and breeder at Loud Seeds had a group of new varieties that he wanted to test using a focus group of connoisseurs that he knew. We had discussed judging styles at some of the Cups. We decided that, unlike most judgings, we would not include “bud quality” or odor because we were primarily interested in the effects and secondarily in taste/flavor/odor. To ensure that the testers would not be influenced by those factors, Loud pre-rolled 20 spliffs, one for each variety.
We explained the method of testing: Each joint would go around once. The idea was not to see how many tokes it would take get to a certain state of highness, but to see how high you got on one turn. We thought that this would also increase time to burn-out; When everything blends together into a kaleidoscopically swirling mix of cannabinoid and terpene waves splashing the shores of our consciousness.
Shortly into the testing I realized that our theory needed some adjusting, but it was too late for this trial. The reason? The person who takes the first hit will get the full blend of cannabinoids and terpenes that nature produced and James dried and cured. The next person—not so much. The third person’s hit will be substantially different. The solution, too late for this trial, is single hitter pipes. Each person gets a fresh hit.
We went through all 20 varieties. The competition is strong and implied. These varieties were not only “in competition” with one another in the test, but also with the Bay Area’s marijuana environment.
The test results?
1. Everyone had a great time.
2. It’s hard to judge 20 varieties in 150 minutes- 7.5 minutes a variety.
I wonder- If we served the same variety twice, one time near the beginning of trial and again towards the end would the bud get the same rating?
3. The cure affects the trial. Some of the joints had a very earthy flavor. I suspect it’s from bacterial action during the curing process, because high or excess humidity allowed the micro-organisms to flourish.
4. There wasn’t exactly a winner. Mostly comments were on a variety’s specific qualities.
5. My favorite was White Tahoe Cookies
6. James’ top two favorites were OG Kush Story and Zkittlez.
7. The most surprising sample tested was the Green Crack which is considered a top shelf strain in most circles. It stood out from the others and three of the ten people thought it was the best.
E
Exitable
