When shopping for the latest apparel or handbag, who among us doesn’t look for labels that we associate with style and quality?
California startup Canndescent is betting the same is true of cannabis. With its orange, Hermes-like boxes and a circular logo reminiscent of upscale women’s retailer Tory Burch, Canndescent has a lot going for it, visually. Ditto for its marketing. Canndescent labels its products with names that convey the feeling or mood a user hopes to achieve, rather than with the amusing/ridiculous/confusing names of strains. Without a reference book, it’s hard to know just what effects or conditions ChemDawg, Granddaddy Purple, AK 47 or White Buffalo, for example, are good for.
Canndescent’s flower is grouped in five categories, with strains assigned a number within those categories — “calm” varietals are numbered from 100-199; “cruise” varietals (for an active, but relaxed feeling) range from 200-299; “create” varietals (meant for artistic endeavors) are numbered from 300-399; “connect” varietals (for socializing) are labeled from 400-499 and “charge” varietals (for physical activity or a night out) are labeled from 500-599.
Then there are the ingredients. The company touts the proprietary genetics of its strains, as well as its use of purified water and organic pest management. It also labels its cannabis as “virgin,” by which it means its flower buds are picked by stem and trimmed by gloved hands that don’t touch the flower. That’s important to those who know that machine-picking and -trimming can knock the trichomes off the buds. Trichomes are the sticky hairs that contain the cannabinoids, terpenes and flavinoids that give each marijuana strain its uniqueness and potency.
GreenState tried two pre-rolls — calm 112, an indica-dominant hybrid for sleep or soothing one’s aches and pains, and connect 401, a high-THC, indoor-grown strain that promised to be right for socializing and laughing.
The results?
The calm pre-roll, packaged in a sealed plastic tube for freshness, yielded little flavor, but smoked smoothly and delivered a pleasant, content mood within 10 minutes. Our tester noticed a slight tingle at the temples and forehead, but no heavy, stony body sensation — perfect for having dinner and watching TV, without feeling cemented to the couch.