https://i.imgur.com/pp8E2yD.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cGDNoE6.jpg Strain Name: Black Cherry Punch
Strain Fidelity: Never had it, nor any of the parents
Size of buds: 6/10 Small firm buds, really not what I’m us...ed to from KC
Bag Appeal: 7/10 The buds look nice, are well trimmed, dense and caked, nice long brown hairs, some purple leaves here and there, pretty caked in trichomes
Cure & Humidity: 7/10 Much drier than I’m used to with KC, there was a boveda in there but it wasn’t doing the job.
Smell Intensity: 7.5/10 Being very dry, breaking it apart and then grinding it didn’t stink the place up, it has a light but pleasant smell.
Harshness vs Smoothness: 9/10 Extremely smooth
Taste Intensity: 8/10 The taste isn’t very strong, but then again you pretty much do not taste the smoke itself so it’s a very rich but not a very strong taste
Taste Complexity: 8/10 The taste is pretty narrow, but it’s a sweet creamy and cherry taste, it’s very nice.
Buzz Intensity: 8/10 Very good hybrid buzz, not much crash. Not a heavy knocker but gives a good functional buzz. Would work as a daytime strain.
Price: 214$/OZ regular price, they have a 15% monthly sale which drops it to 182$.
Value: It’s listed in their premium category but I feel it should be in the next one. Bit steep at 182$.
’A’ Scale Rating: AAA+
--- https://i.imgur.com/XuMdaBw.jpg https://i.imgur.com/apQP0DL.jpg Strain Name: Living Soil Japan
Strain Fidelity: Never had that strain, it’s a first :)
Size of buds: 8/10 A couple of fat buds and a few smaller ones to complete the quarter.
Bag Appeal: 9/10 It has no wild colors to wow you, but it’s a damn good looking bud. It’s generously caked, it’s extremelely fresh and plush
Cure & Humidity: 10/10 This is how it should be, gold standard. Fresh, plush, burns well and white
Smell Intensity: 9/10 It has a pretty strong nose right out of the jar, but when you break it up it goes wild. My wife commented almost instantly how strong it smelled when I ground it.
Harshness vs Smoothness: 7.5/10 It’s terpy, but it’s a strong taste, so fat rips on the joint are a bit harsh. Smooth with normal draws.
Taste Intensity: 9/10 The terps come through fully and can be tasted until the end of the joint. There’s a sharpness that can be a bit aggressive with larger draws.
Taste Complexity: 8/10 It’s a mix of pine and earth with a tiny bit of skunk and spice. Reminds me of White Rhino a lot, very similar terp profile.
Buzz Intensity: 9/10 Hits hard for a sativa, feels almost indica leaning despite the 90/10 description on the site. I definitely have a body buzz going. Not too racy, very nice.
Price: 240/OZ regular price
Value: The price is right on this one
’A’ Scale Rating: AAAA
Additional Notes: While everything about this strain is nice, I wasn’t a huge fan of the terp profile on this one. It feels a bit generic.
Strain Fidelity: Never had that strain and not finding much on it’s mysterious lineage
Size of buds: 7.5/10 Average sized buds, quarter was composed of 3 buds
Bag Appeal: 7/10 Looks good, nice green color with some brown/orange hairs, good trim
Cure & Humidity: 3/10 It is seriously one of the driest quarters I ever got from KC, it’s bone dry to the core, breaking it up/grinding it did not release much more smell
Smell Intensity: 4/10 The dryness killed it. It does have a bit of a smell but it’s very faint and generic. It does have a bit more smell grinding it, it’s a nice smell, but it’s faint.
Harshness vs Smoothness: 7/10 Not the smoothest, but definitely not harsh. Could be better with more jar/boveda time. It had been 2 days with a fresh integra 8g pack when I tried it and that didn’t seem to help at all.
Taste Intensity: 6/10 The smoke is smooth and not very present, so the very little terps present do get through. It’s not a bad smoke, but it’s very dull.
Taste Complexity: 4/10 Not much taste, a bit floral with hints of pine, very generic
Buzz Intensity: 8/10 Wasn’t too bad. Listed as a 30% sativa, felt as such, light indica but competent
Price: 240$/OZ
Value: This belongs to the Canadian Select section at like half the price it’s listed for
’A’ Scale Rating: AAA-
--- https://i.imgur.com/HPIGuCd.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vENQRAi.jpg Strain Name: Living Soil Watermelon
Strain Fidelity: 9/10 Definitely similar to their normal Watermelon, but it feels more flowery and less intense
Size of buds: 8.5/10 Nice sized buds, one in the lot was pretty big, probably close to 4g
Bag Appeal: 9/10 Classic Watermelon with a bit of foxtailing/spirals. Colors are typical green with orange hairs, the hairs are bigger and longer than the regular watermelon I’ve had from them
Cure & Humidity: 7/10 It’s pretty dry, not as bad as the Dutch Girl, but still dryer than I expect from KC. Their regular watermelon always came in pretty dry for me, but was much more terpy despite that.
Smell Intensity: 7/10 See cure/humidity, the smell was pretty light. I expected the Living Soil version to be insanely terpy, nope...
Harshness vs Smoothness: 8/10 Smooth smoke despite the dryness
Taste Intensity: 7.5/10 It’s much less intense than the previous regular watermelon I’ve had but the terps come through.
Taste Complexity: 7.5/10 Classic watermelon taste, but with some floral in it. Also the normal watermelon I’ve had had a spicy background that this doesn’t have.
Buzz Intensity: 9/10 Definitely more potent than their regular (which to me is a ’weak’ strain in terms of buzz). Just like their regular, despite this being listed as indica, I always felt it was more of a sativa buzz and this was true to this, was a pretty racy buzz, almost anxiety inducing which is not something I often get from weed. Reminds me of Bruce Banner #3’s buzz, a strong sativa rush that eases down in an indica couch lock crash after a bit.
Price: 190$/OZ
Value: Slightly more expensive than their regular watermelon, less interesting terp-wise, but significantly more potent. I’d say the price is right and I’d only pick this over the regular if I wanted that buzz.
’A’ Scale Rating: AAA+
Incentive for Customers: 20% mix and match OZ, 15% monthly sale, welcome2019 code for 50$ off on first order, prices are low for the quality, but they don’t have much budget options
Incentive for Review: Was offered this mixed OZ for free in return for a review. Zero pressure on results as usual, I tell it how it is and they like it like that.
Notes : This was by far my most underwhelming pack from Kootenay Craft. All products but Japan were way dryer than what I’m used to from Kootenay. I had great expectations for the LS Watermelon and it turns out the original was IMHO better.
Still a huge thanks to Kootenay Craft and their staff for putting up with me :) Can’t always be homeruns :P
