The Good Weed Board, part seven

October 13, 2024 | Contributor

SHOWCASING CANADA’S BEST DRIED FLOWER PRODUCTS

Welcome to the Good Weed Board on StratCann, part seven! It’s been a while. I’ve sampled my fair share of new hyped products in 2024, and only a select few have made the list.

In my last piece, we showcased four offerings from just one producer in a direct delivery takeover featuring Magi Cannabis and Up In Smoke. This time, we have four new entries from three different producers.

Before diving into the ratings, I want to highlight the OG Rating Guide and explain how I decide on a final score for any given product. There are ten categories of metrics. My readers can check out the complete list at the Overgrown Gardens website. The categories are listed in order from the point of purchase until post-consumption.

What is my process? I begin by rating each category on a scale of 1-10. After assigning a grade to each category, I tally the results and provide a final score. The best possible score is 100. To qualify for the Good Weed Board, a product must achieve 80 or above. I’ve graded at least 94 hand-picked samples to date, and only 29 have made the list.

The Part Seven ratings

The first entry is Frosted Fruit Cake by Royal Harvest. This 7-gram product was shipped to me from Westbridge, BC. The flower was packaged on November 2, 2023, by Joint Venture Craft Cannabis. I opened the bag on November 18. In fact, I graded the Frosted Fruit Cake prior to the Magi offerings. But because I wrote an exclusive for Part Six, this one was pushed to Part Seven.

A boost pack was included, which is typically a red flag. Furthermore, I did wonder if this batch had been remediated. E-beam or gamma ray, the practice of remediating dried flower can lead to moisture imbalance, causing the bud to break apart in little hard bits instead of being really sticky or fluffy—more on this topic in a future piece.

As advertised on the bag, the lineage is Fruit Pebbles crossed with Wedding Cake. I found the aroma profile to be a gassy lime citrus, with notes of tart apple and lavender. There was a sweet and creamy cake flavour consistent throughout, accompanied by a smooth burn and greasy oil ring. This is definitely a potent one with sedative effects. OG Rating = 82/100.

The second entry for Part Seven is Orange Kush Cake by Joi Botanicals. This is the fourth entry to the Good Weed Board for Joi Botanicals. I purchased the 14-gram bag on April 10 from Dank Cannabis in northwest Calgary. It cost $130, which is expensive to say the least. The size of the bag was perfect for a half-ounce. Always better with more flowers packed together.

The Orange Kush Cake is light green and sticky, with a profile of sweet orange, skunk, and palo santo. This is just a standard kush in my opinion, but tasty and very smooth. OG Rating = 81/100.

The third entry is Fruit Loopz by Simply Bare Organic. This is also the fourth Simply Bare product to qualify for the Good Weed Board. Their flower is cultivated with that living soil organic goodness. I purchased a 3.5-gram jar on May 26 for $40 from the original Highland Buds in Calgary.

The Fruit Loopz displayed that sticky sun-grown effect and my fingers were caked with resin after rolling the first joint. There was a cheesy, citrus aroma mixed with earthy berries and soap. Chopping the buds revealed that old-school White Widow essence that many cuts come close to but don’t quite achieve.

This type of herb was more common in Western Canada during the mid-2000s but is making a comeback here now in 2024. Everything happens in cycles. The aroma profile is characterized by two general traits: soap and cheese. The soapiness has a sweet, sour, earthy influence, similar to raspberry or grape. While the cheesiness resembles tropical fruits like mango or pineapple.

Each of the four joints I rolled from this eighth burned perfectly. There was a robust grapefruit-like flavour, and to me, a citrusy blend of the soapy berries and tropical fruit cheese. It took me back to a cut I’ve worked with before that we called Cream Cheese. It also reminded me of the Grape Mtn hash rosin by Connoisseur Extracts, which is some of the best from the traditional market. OG Rating = 83/100.

The final entry for Part Seven is Animal Cookies by Homestead Cannabis Supply. Under the Rubicon Organics banner alongside brands like Simply Bare and 1964, the Homestead Bandwagon ounces have been the product line I’ve purchased the most over the last two years in Alberta. Packed on May 4, this was the third bag of Animal Cookies I grabbed in June and July from Dank Cannabis.

The Bandwagon ounces are FVOPA organic certified and grown in living soil, just like the premium flower from Simply Bare. Sometimes these batches have a lower THC percentage, or a few smaller buds in the bag. But the flavour is reliably on point, and the burn supreme.

Animal Cookies is a cross between Girl Scout Cookies and Fire OG. The buds appear light green and frosty, with clusters of red hairs. Just another standard kush in my opinion, but with surprising top notes of nutty coffee, or a sweet but nutty cookie similar to pecan pie.

Skunk and pine were revealed as base notes in the flavour, coupled with a spicy exhale and aftertaste. For me, this can be good smoke anytime of day. OG Rating = 82/100.

That’s all for Part Seven. I’m anticipating my next column will be a Special Edition. Instead of more reviews, we look forward to introducing a new classification tool to the world of cannabis quality grading.

Marty Wig is the cofounder of Overgrown Gardens, and creator of the OG Rating Guide. He has been grading cannabis since 2003.