Welcome to Part 2 of my thoughts on the strains entered into the first annual Colorado cannabis championship (hosted by magazine The Hemp Connoisseur), and the first post to actually get into the strains.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the chance to review 9 different strains in 2 different categories: 6 “sativa” strains and 4 “CBD strains”.

While I won’t give my exact marks in the given areas of “appearance”, “smell”, “taste”, and “desired effect”, I’ve got pictures and notes about each strain. I also don’t think it’s worth it to try to guess what strains might be; with so many new hybrid strains coming out, I think it’s more fun to just enjoy the overall effect and not get caught up in the genetics and all that. However, if you have an overwhelming feeling that… say, S4 is a Durban poison, then by all means feel free to use the comment section.

To keep the taste and effects consistent, I used the same medium-sized glass pipe and a hemp wick. Regular readers of Weedist should already know that using a hemp wick instead of a lighter ensures that butane from your Bic won’t color the taste of the bud.

I decided not to try them in “order”, and just try 1 a day with no real system for the order in which I was trying them. So… here we go!

Without a doubt, some of the best looking of the bunch. S4 was a tight nug of good-looking bud with a slightly less impressive but no less enticing and totally had that “clean medical” smell. The taste was a flavorful, almost Durban-like taste. S4 was slightly fruity and definitely would go well in a vaporizer. The effect was strong without being too overpowering. I was still able to read and function fairly decently. This was a very enjoyable strain. This strain had a leafy look with a pretty good and potent smell. S1’s taste was a bit peppery and didn’t have too much depth or complexity to it, even after waiting a few minutes after a big hit and waiting to see if the aftertaste was any good. Overall, this effect was average; while I was definitely medicated, there wasn’t too much going on here to really give S1 a rave review. CBD7 probably was the least impressive strain from the start. The look of the leaves was dark in color with a peppery smell that was the most stem-y of the bunch. Because of the fast burning nature and the underwhelming taste, I actually think that this would go very well in a blunt. I usually don’t like super wet strains in a blunt because sometimes they can burn badly, but I think this strain would do very well in a large blunt at party. CBD7 would be a particular good strain for a party situation where you want to stay active and alert; the overall effect was pretty good, without being too debilitating.

Stay tuned for the third and fourth parts, where I’ll have some more strain previews entered in this year’s The Hemp Connoisseur competition.