Ellens Bud Break: Fruit, Earth and Fuel

It’s a cool fall morning in California, and the aromatic steam from my cup of orange-spiced black tea mingles with wisps of smoke from my bong. The delicious pairing of cannabis flower and tea works well. The weed, OC Oranges, closely mimics oranges in smell and smoke. It’s Orange Sherb x Oz Kush F2 paired with The Menthol in the new line of The Menthol crosses from Compound Genetics, and I’m enjoying the balance the morning brings.

Cannabis and tea are herbal medicines; with both, aromas and flavors greatly affect the management of effects. The varieties listed below represent taste and flavor profiles from three common categories found in pot: fruit, earth, and fuel.

FRUIT

Lime juice

This strain has a pungent nose-biting bouquet. With a bright citrus aroma, lime juice smells like there’s been a shuffle in the closet and vitamin C tablets have been sprayed with wrinkle remover. Hunted by Esensia Gardens, the lime juice is a Subcools Chernobyl phenotype and is rich in terpinolene, a terpene also found in pine and citrus. Its taste and flavor profile draws from its lineup, which includes older classics like Trainwreck and Jacks Cleaner.

Whitethorn Rose

Comedian Bert Kreischer raves about the Whitethorn rose, calling it the perfect weed Podcast Hawk vs. Wolf, and recently met with its creator, Johnny Casali of Huckleberry Hill Farm, to explore together the fruits of this year’s harvest. Voted one of our best strains of the year, Whitethorn Rose combines Paradise Punch and Lemon OG and smells remarkably similar to the lemon and berry flavor in Froot Loops cereal. It has won various awards as a concentrate, and the flowers from the 2023 vintage, which have a deep purple hue mixed with a pale green tone, have an incredible aroma and taste. This strain is reminiscent of one of our favorite fruit flowers, Forbidden Fruit.

COUNTRY

Butter

Created by combining Biovortek genetics, Mazlo has the ability to slow down time by producing an old-school relaxation stone. Mazlo tastes like a weed from the past, combining the woody and earthy flavors of the Hindu Kush mountains with the subtle sweetness of deep red maraschino cherries. Grown by Moon Made Farms Mazlo smells like sandalwood incense with a sweet gas base. First of all, the hashish taste reveals the Lolaba vine, a wild original strain originating from Indian Kashmir, acquired by Deepak and Irrazinig from the Indian stock exchange Landras. Biovortek’s Jesse Dodd combined Lolab with Cherry Lime Dog BC1 F2 and Mazar x Black Dog BC6. Then Tina Gordon at Moonmade, a long-time collaborator with Biovortek, combined the result with Biovorteks Orange Valley Sun (Orange Zkittlez x (SFV OG x Black Dog BC4)). Black Dog backcrosses highlight aromas of fermented cherry myrcene. Mazlo is a chance to enjoy the nostalgic, earthy and resinous pot associated with the original Kush family, combined with the dense flower production and fruity element of more modern varieties.

FUEL

Motorbreath k Coffin Candy

This is for smokers who recognize that the gas never left the building. Sense bred a Motorbreath x Coffin Candy cross, bred by Duke of Erb and Doja, and presented the phenotypes at a recent members-only event held at Chronic Culture in San Francisco. Motorbreath x Coffin Candy smells like gas and tastes like toasted caramel sugar. It would work well as a wake-up and roast smoke paired with coffee, except for its sky-high stone effects. Gas was what started CEO Steve Griffith on the path as a cultivator and he hopes for a resurgence in consumer preference for that profile of cannabis. While we’ve enjoyed a wave of candy profiles over the past few years, we’d love to see Chems and OGs make a comeback, Griffith said. Also on the Sense pheno tasting deck were several versions of Tea Time, Zkittlez x RS11, from Wizard Trees Genetics that cut through the wall of other samples like a hot cup of Earl Grey. Tea Time has a citrus flavor of bergamot supported by a flavor of black malt tea.