Let’s be honest—growers have a unique way of appreciating cannabis compared to those who only consume it. There’s something about seeing your seed develop into buds and the intricate process that makes us have an intimate attachment to them before we even consume our harvest.
While growing is the first stage, consumption is always the tale-tell sign of whether it was worth the wait. Whether you’re a seasoned grower or a beginner nearing the end of your first grow, this blog will help you enjoy your yield even more.
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How Cannabis Gets Its Taste and Smell
From the chemical composition to the perceived effects on our senses, all cannabis strains are different. Many of these differences are attributed to the various compounds within each plant. Terpenes are one of the most popularly studied compounds responsible for giving each a unique taste and smell. With approximately 200 different terpenes found across all cannabis plants, various combinations of them can lead to vastly different results in how they smell, taste, and affect our bodies when consumed.
Many consumers strictly focus on how much THC is in a particular strain. However, terpenes and other compounds in each plant interact with each other and compounds in our bodies in a phenomenon called the entourage effect that can vary for each person. Selecting the perfect terpene profile when choosing a strain to grow can significantly increase the effects of it once consumed.
Tips for Appreciating Cannabis
Browse any of our cannabis seeds online, and you’ll get a comprehensive breakdown of the taste and aroma to expect from each strain. Successful home grows will yield similar results. However, it’s up to you to actually experience these diverse strain characteristics. The trick is developing your sense of smell and taste to maximize appreciating cannabis strains as they are truly meant to be enjoyed.
Here are a few tips on getting the most out of your grow:
Tip 1: Know what aromas and tastes to look for
Weed connoisseurs can take a blindfold and give an accurate description of different cannabis strains put before them. Before calling yourself an expert, you should know what to look for in your strain and train yourself to recognize those exact flavour profiles and scent notes.
Knowing the most popular terpenes in cannabis is an excellent place to start for recognizing the taste and smell. For example, Myrcene is one of the leading terpenes found in all strains, such as out FatKid’s Cake and AK-OG Kush. You can recognize it by the earthy or herbal scent in your buds and a spicy flavour when consumed. Limonene is another common terpene popular in strains like Pineapple Kush and Lemon Haze. As the name suggests, it delivers a taste and scent likened to citrus and fruit. Learn about the most common terpenes here.
Tip 2: Using the Right Tools to Maximize Taste
The worst thing you can do as a grower is not using the right tools to taste the delicious strains you worked so hard for. Don’t let your harvest go to waste by consuming it effectively to get the full flavour profile with every hit.
The cleaner your consumption method, the more flavour you’ll experience. Some of the best tools for consuming cannabis for taste are glass pieces and vaporizers. These minimize combustion, leaving more of the pure terpenes to reach your body once inhaled. Things to keep in mind for these tools are maintaining clean pieces to avoid cross-contamination of strains and monitoring the heat levels of your vaporizer to prevent overheating the terpenes.
Rolling papers are one of the most common ways to consume cannabis. To maximize flavour with these, use flavourless papers and don’t mix with tobacco.
Consuming cannabis via edibles will often mask the pure natural flavour of a strain due to other ingredients used when baking. However, you can utilize different weed flavours and their terpenes to enhance your edibles—think of it as an additional seasoning! For example, using the Choco Kush Autoflower strain in brownies will pair well due to the strain’s chocolate flavour profile.
Tip 3: Practice Mindful Consumption to Engage All Your Senses
The art of consuming cannabis like an expert means using all of your senses during the consumption process. This slow, mindful way of consuming leads to appreciating cannabis for more than just how high it gets you, but also the flavour, smell, look, and feel. Even your sense of hearing can be effective since the sound of snapping stems can mean overly dry buds, which reduces the flavour.
Read here for our guide to tasting cannabis like a connoisseur.
Tip 4: Create a Suitable Tasting Environment
Did you know where you consume cannabis can affect how you taste it? Since tasting weed engages all of your senses, the best environments are those that cater to each of them. For example, well-ventilated rooms can help you focus on the smell of your cannabis without other scent interference. Also, rooms with bright lights will help with examining your strain for trichomes and other features that enhance their effect.
If you find your homegrow not meeting your expectations for the taste once harvested, there are several techniques you can implement at different stages that can help improve it for the next grow. These can range anywhere from adjusting your grow environment, modifying your dry and cure process, and more.
As always, starting with the best cannabis seeds is essential to achieving the flavourful buds you desire. We offer top-quality seeds that you can order online and provide details of each strain before you buy to know precisely what to expect from your grow. Browse our seeds today to see what cannabis flavour you’ll be excited to try next.