Month: February 2016

When a Bag is Really a Bag

Posted on by danielk1

7.18.15

Nature’s Kiss

4332 S Broadway
Englewood, Co 80113

Lohan

The atmosphere inside of Nature’s Kiss is a testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of cannabis culture. It has graffiti art on the walls, lazy boy chairs, and a relaxed atmosphere inside. The staff all seems to have integral parts to play in the management of the place. But then they go straight up ghetto and display their flowers in Tupperware containers and ship the product out in sandwich bags.

They are incredibly cheap too, if you didn’t guess from the baggies and Tupperware setup. They were selling 1/8s for $15. They also had a decent selection of single joints to really nickel and dime the low-income Englewood ‘hood.

It was all pretty low-grade looking herbs. I would have walked out with nothing, but I wanted to support these guys for stepping up and making Nature’s Kiss a reality. So I chose cleverness over quality and got a literal bag (vestigial word that I cannot stop saying) of Lohan.

Another one of those proprietary strains, the Lohan is the offspring of trainwreck and LA Confidential. The buds are a bit small, but there are couple big, juicy buds in the bag. They are purple and forest green in color and coated in crystals. The hairs are adequate as well. When the bud got torn open, a really sweet and fruity aroma came out.

The smoke is harsh and hits the back of the throat like a kick to the neck. The flavor is lacking, and indeed this tasted like schwag. The surprise explosion from roasting the bowl exposed the seeds buried in the fruits. More evidence that the schwag bag is here.

Dirty, dirty schwag. I haven’t seen it in 20 years. People knew better than to pack a bowl of schwag if I was in their house. It definitely wasn’t coming into my house. In fact, schwag is where I learned that I have to respect what I sell. It is trash to me, and therefore I always lose money. I associate schwag with trash, so for me to buy schwag is for me to buy trash.

Yet, here it was, all wrapped up in a baggie and sent out in a brown paper bag. The big difference is that the guy selling the crap is local and not smuggling it here from 1000 miles away. I can appreciate that.

Despite all the stuggles to get there, the Lohan is a nice high. She spreads into the eyes and sits on the frontal lobe. Just like schwag, however, it comes on strong and quickly peters away.

It is cheap herb at cheap prices. The windows are always awash in bright paint advertising deals like a car dealer would advertise “power windows” and “A/C”. Yet, the employees are friendly and really seem to take pride and ownership in the business.

In the end, this place makes me hopeful that the ghettos will have ganja shops with local small business owners alongside liquor stores that may or may not be owned by “Asians”. A few more restaurants may open up and a few more “drug dealers” may seize the opportunity and become tax-paying business men and women.

 

Good Chem is all Good.

Posted on by danielk1

5.1.15

 

Good Chem

330 E. Colfax St.
Denver, CO 80203

Durban Poison

Good Chem came highly recommended by a co-worker. In fact, Good Chem is almost always one of the first names uttered when I ask people what shops they think are the best. Consistently. This much acclaim for a place is not accidental, and so I knew I had to try it. I chose three different flavors; Durban Poison is a landrace classic, Sour Diesel is a classic, and Ingrid is a homemade variety.

It is always easy to choose Durban Poison. Everybody loves Durban Posion, the landrace from South Africa. While I would love to try many, many more landraces, Durban and Kush seem to be the only ones that make shelves. They dominate the shelves like the two parties dominate American Politics. I only know of Panama Red from the lore of those who survived the party of the 70’s and the drug war of the 80’s. Were Thai Sticks really even a thing? This is another indication of the massive niche market opportunities that are available in this fledgling industry.

The Durban Poison bag I got was full of nice, tight buds. These dense and aromatic herbs smelled sweet. They are dark, deep green with abundant orange hairs tightly wrapped around the bud.

The smoke is smooth. It is just a tad harsh on the throat. The aftertaste was faint, and the high was mild.

#landrace
#classic

 

Sour Diesel

A+++

When grown right, Sour Diesel is an amazing strain. Its aroma is one of a kind and truly remarkable. This indica- strong hybrid can kick you in the head like a thoroughbred- when it is respected. In the commoditized cannabis world of Colorado, it is hard to find owners who respect their product. Most owners respect the numbers at the cost of quality.

The model of quantity over quality is a basic Capitalist trait, especially when demand pummels supply like big brother smothering his little brother with a pillow here in Colorado. Yet, there are owners in this muddle of marketing crap who still respect their product. Many of the best growers are still underground, but there are a precious few who made the jump to the legal market. They are hard to find-so far I have found about 5. Good Chem is one of them.

Some buds are just a mess when it comes to their form. This is one of them. This bud was thick! It was compressed together tightly, with all of the hairs smashed together. The green flower clashed heavily with the white crystals like they were fighting for dominance on a TV screen in the wee hours of the morning. It smelled sweet and, um, soapy.

This strain of Sour Diesel is in the heavy-hitter category. I puffed on a bowl for a good hour. It was nice and smooth on the throat, and very stoney. It is prolly best to enjoy this one at the end of the day when you don’t have to get off of the couch- for anything.

#classic

 

Ingrid

A++++

Ingrid. It is like so many names in the ganja scene; completely proprietary. This is a natural progression, though. As the cannabis industry grows, the business owners will want to protect their investment any and every way that they can. Monsanto has had generations of success with their proprietary seed genetics. Of course they will do this with cannabis flavors (or brands) now that there is a legal, accessible way.

Ingrid is the local flavor for Good Chem. It is in the homemade varieties where the ultimate plan of the business can really come out. You don’t go to a Bordeaux vineyard and ask for a Pinot Grigio. Some strains grow better here than others, and indicas have a long history of growing well in high altitude environments. This Ingrid is an indica that was grown well. It had dense buds that were light green. Its smoke is light and is not harsh when it is burned.

This leads to a smooth, subtle high that is also very stony. My friend was right, I might have to pick his brain for more strains that are out of sight.

#topshelf
#localfavorite