Crescendo is a strain that I first tried almost 15 months ago when it was first debuted in the ceramic flower cups. At the time, it was one of the first new indica strains that Trulieve offered; until that point, the only indica flower they had was 9lb Hammer.

It’s interesting to be at the point where enough time has elapsed, and enough strains are available, that I can go longer than a full year before revisiting a strain. This has proved as a useful case study for me, though, because it allows me to check my experience against the last time I had the flower – and check for consistency in the medicine.

For those who are interested, my old review of Crescendo (in the flower cups) can be found here.

Let’s see how this batch of Crescendo stacks up against the one from January 2019!

Quick Facts:

Crescendo (Indica)

Price at time of review: $53/eighth

Lineage: I95 x Chemdog x Mandarin Cookies

Batch/Harvest Number: DUFL-BLD-I-5-PK-2

Cannabinoids

THC: 25.6%

CBD: 0.0%

THCV: 0.2%

CBG: 0.6%

Total Cannabinoids: 26.4%

Terpenes

“*” denotes the two dominant terpenes in this strain

*Beta-Myrcene: 0.424%

*Trans-Carophyllene: 0.801%

Carophyllene Oxide: 0.138%

R-Limonene: 0.285%

Linalool: 0.176%

Alpha Humulene: 0.235%

Total Terpenes: 2.059%

Appearance/Cure

This batch of Crescendo is consistent with how I remember (and can verify from past images) the appearance of the batches I got out of the flower cups last year. The flower itself has medium green and golden hues, topped with a visible blanket of crystal trichomes and pistils colored with various shades of medium to dark orange.

This eighth was composed of several large nugs, the largest of which weighed over a gram. Nug size can be hit or miss with Trulieve, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this in my batch. It’s not that it matters much in terms of medication value, but more that bag appeal is relevant in this category – especially at this price point ($53/eighth.)

The flower is moderately dense and quite sticky. I’m overall very pleased with this batch of Crescendo, and find it consistent with what I had last year. For comparison, here’s an image of Crescendo from the vape cups I had. It’s the large nug on the left.

Trulieve flower extracted from ceramic vape cups, circa January 2019. Crescendo is on the left; Super Silver Haze is on the right.

Appearance/Cure Rating: 8.60/10.00

Smell/Taste

When I wrote my previous review of Crescendo, I didn’t know I had access to flower terpene data via Trulieve’s public lab reports. However, I was still able to get a good feel for what I thought might be going on in the terpene department at the time. This is how I described the strain then:

Crescendo has a lot going on in the smell/taste department. It’s definitely skunky and musky, with an underlying hint of pepper and a sweet floral smell… I’d guess that there are moderate concentrates of a pretty decent variety of terpenes in this strain. I enjoyed it; it reminded me a lot of Sunset Sherbert, but with different ratios of the terpenes for a slightly different smell and taste Review of Crescendo Flower Cups, Jan. 2019

I like to think I have a good feel for describing smells of flower, and coming up with a decent guess of the terpenes based off of that. I didn’t realize that I was actually spot on in that description, which is consistent with what I’ve found from the flower after revisiting it now. The dominant skunky and musky smells come from the combination of myrcene, humulene, and carophyllene; the underlying pepper smell is also part of the carophyllene terpene – maybe the carophyllene oxide is more peppery than “plain” caryophyllene? The sweet, floral smells can be attributed both the linalool and limonene present in the strain.

Another noteworthy item I found while examining the lab reports: I mentioned that Crescendo smelled like Sherbert, but with slightly different levels of the same terpenes for a slightly different aroma. This turned out to be true as well – if you’re interested, click on the Sherbert text link above and check out the terpene profile for Sherbert. It’s very similar, but has different terpene ratios and overall lower percentages than Crescendo.

This is a good example of being able to verify the smell/taste of a flower through the terpene profile in the lab reports. I’ve described Crescendo as having a “complex” terpene profile, and now we can see that it does, with different levels of very different terpenes contributing to a more complex profile.

The taste is much like the smell. This batch was moderately “loud”/skunky, but still manages to make the area reek of cannabis when the jar is opened.

Smell/Taste Rating: 7.80/10.00

Effects/Medical Use

Crescendo is a moderately heavy indica that tends to make me lazy during the day, and sleepy at night. The name is actually a pretty good descriptor of the body/relaxing effects, as they creep in and slowly take over, like a warm blanket covering the body.

Maybe it’s due to the relatively high THC in this batch, but this strain definitely has a strong cerebral “kick” almost immediately after smoking the first hit. It’s about 11:30 AM local time as I write this review, and I took about 3 hits as I first started to type this. I still feel strongly medicated, and a very slight lazy feeling trying to creep in. If I were to get up and do something active, I could probably overcome it. Likewise, if I were to lay on the couch, I’d probably end up taking a nap. This is a strain I strictly recommend for late afternoon and after, unless you’re someone who gets energy from indica strains (everyone is different.)

Crescendo is a strain I like keeping around for nights that I need a little extra help getting to sleep. Though I will sometimes use it for leisurely activities like video gaming or watching movies, I typically prefer lighter indicas and hybrids for that. Crescendo is a strain I consider to be a heavy-hitter, even though I’ve had many more indica strains since the last time I tried it.

Possibly good for treating:

Pain, headaches, joint pain, etc.

Anxiety, irritability, “wired” mind

Great for any type of relaxation

Insomnia

Nausea and gastrointestinal symptoms such as indigestion, pain related to Chron’s Disease, IBS, etc.

I’m definitely no medical doctor, so please take the preceding conditions only as my own personal observations from using this strain and having experience with a multitude of different cannabis strains. Everybody is different, and every body reacts differently to various medications.

Effects Rating: 8.20/10.00

Overall Rating: 8.20/10.00

Overall, I would best describe Crescendo as an “excellent, heavy” indica strain from Trulieve.

I can truly say that my 2 experiences with this strain were consistent, even considering they were over a full year apart. This is a promising discovery for me personally, as it seems to be proof that I can generally expect the same experience from a strain through time. Of course there will be slight variations from batch to batch, but it seems that I can still regard Crescendo as a “heavy” strain – just like I know Jack Herer will be a good “focus” strain 99% of the time.

Even though the $53/eighth price point is a premium in today’s Florida market, I’d still recommend this strain for patients looking for a strong indica for pain and insomnia relief.

Many more reviews are coming soon – especially as I find myself at home nearly 24/7 during this COVID-19 pandemic – so stay tuned!

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