New week, new review. From Puffin Farms, we have the purple tinted Tangerine (should have been called Plum). This is a new producer for us, but we’ve been eyeing their stuff for some time.
We picked up an eighth from SODO’s Ganja Goddess* for $35, right in the sweet price range (for me, at least). It’s important, as a reviewer, to ask the budtender what they are currently digging; these are the folks who handle recreational marijuana 24/7, they see the ebb and flow – and they will often steer you towards something you wouldn’t have noticed. Tangerine came recommended as a favorite from Puffin Farms, so I pulled the trigger on the citrus style strain.
Puffin Farms is based near Ellensburg, WA (I’m sure they are fans of the Irish Death). While growing things naturally, they don’t have an organic certification** – which is not a huge deal at all, but is something I will attempt to clarify in every review from now on (whether the producer is organic, or not).
On their About page, they talk about the use of beneficial insects in the growing process. While I’m sure this is standard practice, it’s the first time I’ve mentally pictured bugs on the frontline guarding the weed currently being enjoyed. Bless you, little ladybug.
Also, I found the slow cure process interesting: the nugs are stored in a dry, cold room to preserve terpenes (taste, smell, and nuance of the high). I’m not at all certain if this is a widely practiced method, but (to me) it sounds like a good thing. The same kind of thing can be done for CBD Terpenes as well. You can order online today to get the very best CBD Terpenes in the world
Let’s look at the numbers (as rigorously listed on the packaging):
THC Total: 14.6%
CBD: 0.37%
CBG: 0.70%
Cannabinoid Total: 17.7%
Total Terpene: 1.55%
Strain: Tangerine
Species: Hybrid (Sativa Dominant)
Harvested: 10/15 (oldie, but a goodie)
Smell: Stinky + Bitter Citrus Peel
Taste: Spicy + Licorice + Oak
Launch Point: Right after smoking.
High: Euphoric + Clear Headed + Energetic
Tangerine is a 4th generation version of Ch9 Aroma (it’s lineage is Ch9 Aroma x Ch9 Aroma, etc.) It was conceived in a lab sometime around 2007, and while I couldn’t find any specific accolades – it seemed to be beloved strain due to it’s direct relation to Ch9 Aroma, along with it’s funky-tropical aroma and high.
Puffin’s Tangerine is a deep purple color, with bright green leaves and a few orange hairs to mix up the scenery. The buds themselves were still sticky and dense, regardless of having an older harvest date. When it comes to age, it depends on packaging – and the producer’s method preserved the strain well.
The smell was kind of like an IPA: bitter, slightly musty, with a little citrus. I was hoping for more orange/tangerine, but also slightly relieved that I’m not a complete victim to the placebo effect.
Getting stoned with Tangerine is a euphoric experience; it’s parent (Ch9) is known for it’s potent, energetic high – and it shines through with this strain. Featuring a minimal body buzz, Tangerine is mostly psychedelic and cerebral (which is never a bad thing). The come down is not bad, barely sedative, which makes it versatile for most usage.
You can find Puffin Products at: Ganja Goddess (SODO), Dockside Cannabis (Shoreline & SODO), and more.
*Ganja Goddess is an advertiser on High Above Seattle. This is no way impacts my perception, or enjoyment of product that may be sold there.
** Puffin Farms have since been Clean Green certified organic.
Update (6/16):
Jade from Puffin Farms graciously reached out to us in the comment section, and wanted to clarify the cold curing process that we discussed in the review:
“We dry, cure and store between 50-62 degrees F. This allows for a slower cure and preserves terpenes which are lost during drying at warmer temps. Some farms will add heat to the drying
process to speed things up. All our flower is then kept in cool storage until processing which allows curing to continue for some time and quality to be maintained. We are a Sungrown farm which means we harvest yearly, so proper cool storage is essential to preserving quality.”
As always, we are happy to accommodate any information prevalent to the producer’s we feature.
Fischer Campbell
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Tangerine is yummy, packed with sweet citrus flavor.. Never seen so much purple in the strain though. “Plum” that actually made me burn my sinuses trying to stifle a laugh while holding in a hit.
I tried your last strain, the thin mint by cascade gnome. I am trying to become of fan of the thin mint strain, I think Cascade did it about as well as most, did lack some flavor, but the high was similar to other producer versions.
As for cold curing, this is not new, but I honestly have yet to find a cold cure that rivaled traditional methods. I think they lose flavor (not preserve) and the aroma was lacking (I mean Skunk #1 should never lack aroma). I haven’t had this farm, maybe they have the cold cure down, but I personally try to avoid the science experiments any more, it gets too expensive. And for me the cure is probably the most important phase. Also, seems to be where many farms fail.
Dig the fact that this farm labels terpenes, but that is a relatively low terpene count for a tangerine. Kind of like bragging about getting on base after you bunt and the catcher throws the ball into right field by accident…
Sad thing is, we are getting a better understanding of terpenes, yet we still describe bud highs as “indica is down and sativa is up” and THC is king, that somehow determines pricing (at least around here) which is like buying a car because the spoiler makes it looks fast… I have had 34% OG chem, and 15% exodus cheese, both had different and unique highs but, there is no way I could justify paying more for the Chem simply because it was double the THC. Because it wasn’t better, just different.
Every shop I go in tells me Space Queen is a Sativa and then look at me with wide eyes when I tell them it makes me tired… Same shop will try to sell me a C grade farm at A grade pricing simply because that farm got ONE strain to come in over 25%, but it is still blasted with chemicals, tastes of neem-oil, has a crap cure and tastes harsh while lacking high… Yet, they make it on the top shelf simply because THC (which these tests can be and have been fudged).
I understand the market is young, but the science is old, I mean OLD!!! There have been folks handling CHRONIC for decades (Ed Rosenthal’s 1st book came out in the 70’s), I myself would make an attempt to learn from them instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. I don’t know anyone in Humboldt who prices on THC%, nor do I know any, who are big players, that do cold curing…
Maybe that is why California still outsells the Recreational states… Because they simply sell better bud for a better price and they have been doing it so long that nobody doubts Humboldt… Ever see anyone look disappointed when they found out it was from Humboldt? Neither have I. I also never hear about how disappointed they were after smoking it, because even the commercial grows have decades of knowledge within their staff, and this ensures well grown pot is harvested before it is overripe, it is cured properly, and most top shelf product is hand trimmed to preserve the sugar as best as possible, not to mention make it look pretty (machine trimming misses that by a mile).
@chancefate:disqus thanks for the comment, and the quip about “plum” – it always makes me happy when people actually enjoy my stupid banter.
The thin mint was decent, for sure. My batch was harvested last October, which was the only con, but it was still solid. Same thing with this Puffin Farm’s Tangerine batch, harvested around the same time. Can’t help thinking it would have been much better a few months ago though, right?
Thanks for the tip on cold cure. I’m not as knowledgeable on the scientific side, and I don’t want to do a google search and present it as if I knew it all. That’s why I depend on you guys!
The numbers are always going to be an issue, it’s really up to the shops and budtenders to know their product and differentiate which high would be best. Most people wander into those places as tourists, or as a novelty. Regardless of where I go, it’s hit or miss. Sometimes you’ve just gotta go with your gut.
I’ve been meaning to do an article on the whole “fudging the THC level” thing, it’s definitely a topic worth visiting. Like you said, the market is young. It’s hard to say if anything can ever rival Humboldt status haha.
I’m excited to see what the future brings. That’s for sure.
( I attempted this post a couple of times, odd I had more freedom of speech in Germany, not that the Disqus mods are Nazis or anything…)
Removed a couple of Seattle times links pertaining to “fudging”.
I guess no links and no pics…
I was following a case where the tech was being accused of cheating,
or allowing farms to cheat, for that matter. An interesting part being
the tech has a stake in the lab and was crying it is a bogus accusation
with the sole intention of getting one more hand out of the pot.
If you are planning on doing a piece, please make sure to mention it, “very, very interesting” (in my best Einstein voice).
And another case where an audit group ran fake samples through and got the lab to give it the green light with high scores, even though it wasn’t even weed…
I believe the NW will rule in the indoor flower scene, having OR and WA
bordering each other with AK and CA wedging up the west coast there is
no way the NW won’t glean an incredible wealth of knowledge and talent
from our neighbors. Look what the Humboldt and BC trafficking did for
the area as it is. Cali will run the table on outdoor. Most of which, I
predict, will become concentrates and edibles.
The reason the Emerald Triangle still blows everyone away is price to product. The NW will (hopefully) get the market stable and WA state will hopefully see, once again, that they can relieve some tax burden, thanks to the incredible amount of revenues.
A lot more revenues than they predicted (yeah, everyone f’n tokes a lot more than they thought).
OR is already selling $5-$10 eighths, which far outsell the $60 ones.
FYI, Bud Co just hit my radar. Fat nugs in
glass jars, tried the trainwreck (S), and the Fix it Felix (I). I was
pleasantly surprised, I mean like “let me set the bowl down and enjoy
where I am at” surprised.
On a side note, I was wondering if you
do equipment reviews? My colleague recently put out a pretty serious
piece of machinery that rivals if, if not “smokes” the competition in
Portable Dabing Devices. If you are interested, PLEASE accept my
invitation. I have a real chill spot, and I can guarantee, between
atmosphere and the smoke, you will have a great experience.
Keep in mind, we will be selling these at Seattle’s 25th anniversary of Hemp Fest, which is just around the corner. So, you could really be helping a young upstart company, from here in the NW, while enjoying a beautiful day and being a first to use and review this product.
Hi, Jade from Puffin Farm here. Thanks for the review. To clarify what
is meant by cold cure. We dry, cure and store between 50-62 degrees F.
This allows for a slower cure and preserves terpenes which are lost
during drying at warmer temps. Some farms will add heat to the drying
process to speed things up. All our flower is then kept in cool storage
until processing which allows curing to continue for some time and quality to be maintained. We are a Sungrown farm which means we harvest yearly, so proper cool storage is
essential to preserving quality. To clarify genetics, its actually a
Tangie phenotype that we isolated some time ago. We also just received
our Clean Green certification so if any one is wondering our stuff is
organically grown. Clean Green Certified labels will be appearing on our
future packaging. Regarding terpenes, we test all strains and interestingly, Tangerine tests on the lower end all the time. We have other strains testing over 4%. We love Tangerine regardless for its strong citrus aroma and amazing plum color.
Jade, thanks for your comment. It’s not often we get comments on behalf of actual producers, so let me say I super appreciate you reaching out. I will make sure to add the relevant info into the article with an “update” notice.
That’s awesome Puffin got Clean Green certified, yet another reason to appreciate your product. What would you suggest I try next, in terms of strains?
Again, thanks for clarifying. I will update the review.
Cold curing in Humboldt was mostly viewed as the simply “beating fungus the other direction”, considering molds grow in the mid to upper 60’s, MOST growers ensured their temps in the drying and curing process never dropped into the 60’s, most keeping temps above mid 70’s.
We all have horror stories of improperly storing fresh bud…
Since you are storing longer, what are your typical THCA counts? I ask because I bake and make tinctures and most farms have converted very little THCA to THC, thus leaving it up to me and a time/weight/age formula that is flawed at best to decarboxylate before I can use it.
We used to cure ours for about 4 months to ensure conversions had happened naturally, but there is no way I can do that under the current model, medical or recreational…(time is money and this stuff got REAL expensive at these rec stores)
And considering the weak self production limits I can’t afford to sit on a harvest for 4 months.
I love that you are one of a few farms to give the terp info, and that you are
striving for clean production means I can rest assured I am not eating a pesticide that is “okay” for use on a plant intended for smoking…
Thank you for replying and please don’t take anything I say as an insult, if anything I do say strikes a nerve, just say “hey, thanks for pointing that out” because if I did, then I know someone else will.
Also, do you have measurements on terp count for the tangerine under
both conventional and cold curing methods? I see other terp counts come
in a lot higher than 4, so I would really like to know if the cold cure
is truly preserving terps or not. I know I have smoked farms who adopted
cold curing but I cannot tell you it was better than the farms who
didn’t… Some of the best tasting pot in the state is coming through
Grow-Op, and I don’t think they cold cure or are “Clean and Green”, unless I missed something.
How do I get more puffin farms in stores near me? I need clean quality cannabis to eat, not just smoke…
I wasvery lucky enough to have a friend with connections.
He linked me with Johnie *and he got me the best G.R.E.E.N
around . He brought me 2oz to my hotel and I had a nice**
party with friends hit him at him at call/text…
I wasvery lucky enough to have a friend with connections.
He linked me with Johnie *and he got me the best G.R.E.E.N
around . He brought me 2oz to my hotel and I had a nice**
party with friends hit him at him at call/text……..(240) 317-4286 https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8a361446125229b2aba8a606b914fb2f136c6e7776b7950277a52da2a8371c32.jpg
*Lemon drop:Grade
__-4–__—0__—6—_—-2——___-9__—8___–5–_—8__-4____—-__9___—-___—_-_–_-_-