What Should Weed Look Like?
If it’s your first time buying weed you might be overwhelmed by all the options available, not just in terms of product but of flower varieties. You’re probably wondering what you can expect from the fun flower you’ve just picked up at the corner collective.. The budtender probably let you know that there were three shelf options, but what the heck does that even mean? All you know is that the lower shelf was cheaper. The budtender offered you a whiff of the jars and you smelled them, not entirely sure what it was you were supposed to be sniffing out. In the end you got something from the middle shelf that the budtender recommended. You’ve met your goal of buying your own weed but you hope they sold you some quality stuff.
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In today’s cannabis climate you have buying options GALORE. With so many options though, it’s hard to know what’s quality stuff and what’s not. There are a lot of actors that are out to make a quick buck and while we wish we could say all dispensaries are reputable, the reality is that some just aren’t and you might not always get bud that is going to be fulfilling. So today we are going to offer some advice on what you should look for in your flower before purchasing to ensure you’ve gotten quality cannabis.
COLOR
Green
The first thing you should consider is the color of your flower. While it’s probably obvious that your flower should be mostly green, not all greens are created equal. You want to look for a green that is vibrant, with hues that really pop. Greens that are on the darker side are a sign of older weed. Remember that marijuana is a literal flower and like other flowers, once it’s cut it starts to lose its tenacity, color, and life energy. You can tell a flower is completely dehydrated out when it’s brown and overly fragile. So, keep an eye out for a green that is saturated and obvious.
Orange and Red and Purple, Oh My
Other colors you are likely to encounter are oranges, reds, and purples. These colors emanate from the flower pistils, which are long hair-like strands that wrap around and in bud. Colors are mainly dictated by a plant’s genetics and each corresponds to different phytochemicals in the plant. Phytochemicals are chemicals produced by a plant for several reasons. These colors aren’t signs of potency per say, but they can tell you a lot about the bud. In cannabis, most color expression is indicator, meaning that the plant is sending a message. If a flower has the genetic markers for oranges, reds, and purples they will become vibrant when a plant is ready for harvest. Keep this in mind when comparing flowers. Wherever the colors pop, the more likely it is that harvest took place at the right time, a marker of good growth.
CRYSTALS (TRICHOMES)
One of the most well-known markers of quality cannabis is trichomes, or the white crystals that cover its surface. These crystals are not crystals at all, they are fine hairs that cover the flower to protect the flower from bugs, high winds, and other adversity in the wild. They also contain many of the cannabinoids and terpenes of the plant, i.e. the good stuff. The trichomes are a bit sensitive though and can easily fall off the flower if it’s not processed correctly. Buds that have been harvested and trimmed with the utmost care will exhibit a surface that looks almost snow covered. These “frosty” buds are the ones that you want to shoot for in purchasing decision.
DENSITY
Another element you might want to pay attention to is the density of your flower. This means how tightly packed and heavy your flower is. Good buds are chunks of plant matter that when held up to light don’t let much filter through. If you can see the stem through the leaves, that’s a good sign that it’s not dense enough and hasn’t been grown as well as it could have. Upon breaking your bud, you want there to be material throughout as if it were a fruit you were slicing. Dense buds will keep their shape also, they won’t fall apart. Anything that crumbles should be avoided.
SIZE
A final characteristic usually taken into consideration when measuring the quality of your flower is size. Generally, you want to get big buds when you can, but we want to pose that smaller, “popcorn” buds or even shake, do not necessarily mean that you’re getting poor quality flower. One big downside to large buds is that they will contain a large stem. Unless you plan to save all your stems and use them later, it might be a slight waste, especially with the high prices of cannabis. That’s where these smaller buds come in. Shake is usually what’s collected from a container that was full of weed. A lot of the time, that shake contains high amounts of kief, or the trichomes (see above) that have fallen off the larger flowers. Popcorn buds are small, stemless flowers that often come off large ones. What we want to drive across here is that size doesn’t necessarily carry the weight you might think it does. Small buds can still be good buds and to that, large ones might not always be the best.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The quality of your cannabis is a holistic measurement that involves various characteristics. Many of these characteristics can be visually assessed through color, size, crystals, and density. Avoid anything that lacks a vibrate color hues or that doesn’t have an almost sugar dust coat, that’s the first place to start. If anything looks too “bony,” with lots of stems and not enough plant, that’s another easy pass. If you’re new to the buying experience it can certainly be overwhelming. It’s one thing to know what does good weed look like, or to know how your weed should look, but it’s another to find cannabis products that match your current mood or desired effects. Cannacopia is the only app that lets you input criteria to fully personalize your cannabis experience. We do all the hard work to help you find and acquire cannabis products curated for you by you! Cannacopia is available in the App and GooglePlay store, find you perfect strain today! Until next time, stay high friends!
