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Franco's tricks on Blending - the fine art of creating a flavor


darko.gh

This is the 12th article in a series where I present selected tricks and advanced growing techniques. My name is Franco, and I work at Green House Seed Company, in

Amsterdam, since the year 2000. Over the last 10 years I have learned from Arjan

countless tricks and advanced techniques, and I developed a few of my own as well. And

now it’s time to share some of this knowledge with growers worldwide. If we share the

knowledge, everybody wins.

Last month I explained some of the best tricks for home-breeding. This month, I give

you...

Franco's tricks on: Blending - the fine art of creating a flavor.

Cannabis is one of the most varied and complex plants on earth, with thousands of different landraces and crosses. Over the centuries the amazing diversification occurring in nature has been exponentially boosted by human intervention through breeding and propagation. Because of this phenomenon, there is a constant evolution in the spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes combinations. Many experienced cannabis users recognize this diversity as one of the key-factors in their ability to enjoy flavor and effect of cannabis smoke over long periods of time with minimum tolerance. In fact, according to most regular smokers, using a single strain of cannabis for longer than 2 weeks lowers the pleasure and requires higher doses to achieve the desired effect; on the contrary, when there is a regular change in the strains used there is no need to increase doses to obtain desired effects, and the whole flavor experience steps up to a different level.

Even if this amazing diversity presents smokers with an almost endless range of tastes and effects, it is very rare for people to have access to more than 2 or 3 strains at the same time, due to the logistics involved and the illegality of the product itself. Nevertheless, the fine art of mixing and blending can help achieve a higher efficiency and efficacy of use. There are two fields where blending can increase pleasure and satisfaction: flavor and effect.

When we analyze the ways of blending to improve flavor it must be noted that every cannabis strain can be categorized into one of the four basic tastes we perceive: sweet, bitter, sour, spicy. From this point on, it is a very personal work of mapping the palate to identify the dominant flavors of a strain. Once that’s done, it becomes a fine art to be able to combine two flavors that can improve or complement each other. We are now leaving the realm of common smokers and entering the exclusive lounge of the sophisticated smokers with a chef’s soul and a sommelier’s heart. My personal favorite blends include:

1. Hawaiian Snow and Arjan’s Haze 2: this is an all-sativa blend, where the sweet roasted onion flavor of the Hawaiian Snow is fully supported and complemented by the pungent spicy of incense from the Arjan’s Haze #2.

2. White Rhino and Bubba Kush: I call this the fruity-mix, because both strains have a really fruity and sweet bouquet, while their background flavors are very different yet complementary.

3. Strawberry Haze and Lemon Skunk: here we go with a truly fruity experience, the dominant lemon side perfectly softened by the strawberry haze smoothness. It is one of my favorites in the morning, when taste buds on the palate are at their sensorial peak.

The other side of blending addresses the more complex issue of creating desired effects combining different cannabinoid profiles. It is a very subtle and very personal experience, and medicinal users know all about it. The medicinal properties of cannabis are definitely strain-related, and combining different strains can amplify the range of beneficial effects thanks to the synergy between cannabinoids, and also thanks to the ability of cannabis receptors in the brain to benefit from this synergy by producing faster and better responses.

It is difficult to advise in this sense, but my personal experience with hyperactivity and lack of sleep led me to experiment with a few successful blends:

1. The narcotic blend: White Rhino and Super Silver Haze. These two strains combined have the ability of putting me to sleep very fast when I am too stressed to fall asleep, and I am not the only one…

2. The “going out to party” blend: Super Lemon Haze and Alaskan Ice. This mix energizes every cell in my brain, with amazing giggly sessions. It’s a rush of cannabis energy, and it’s really good for appetite stimulation.

3. The “get high but stay productive” blend: Arjan’s Haze #1 and AMS. This blend is smooth yet very high, with a great long-lasting effect that keeps me going for hours. It’s being high but being productive at the same time.

The best way to find the right blends for your taste or for your medical needs is trial-and-error, because the matter is too subjective to make generalizations. If you find a special blend that works well for you, let me know about it by filling in the contact form on www.greenhouseseeds.nl.

The information will be used to compile a database of personal experiences. Whatever information medicinal science does not tell us about cannabis ewe have to discover ourselves. It is our right to use a plant, and it is our pleasure and our need to use it wisely.

Franco – Green House Seed Co.

This content is copyright of Green House Seed Co. © Green House Seed Co. All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following:You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.


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Wicked , love the idea with the blends and will Definitely try these out.

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Wicked , love the idea with the blends and will Definitely try these out.

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Wicked article. I love complexity in tastes, smells, and effects. Like people describe their favorite wines, we enjoy detailing the subtleties of cannabis.

Franco, how are you testing for cannabinoid and terpene profiles at GH? Do you use a GCMS? In house or lab?

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Thanks for the quality info. I have always blended/mixed my weeds/hash's over the years but always to wipe me out at end of the day. A recent mix i have been using is cheesedawg and freeze cheese '89 i usually will smear a little honey oil made from the trim onto the blunt wrapper then fill half and half with each strain then sprinkle a little dry sift made from same trim. I call it a quattro fromaggio lol.

but not one to mix if you still have stuff to do as it is a wipe out joint.

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Awesome article Franco! You put it so well when you said that for experienced cannabis users " this diversity as one of the key-factors in their ability to enjoy flavor and effect of cannabis smoke over long periods of time with minimum tolerance". My sources are limited right now, but I always love to try as many new strains as possible. Some of the flavours out there are just beautiful!!

Thank you for all the great work you do, and I look forward to reading more of your articles!

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Are those dice .. hash dice lol they look to be honey hash.. if so that is awsome lol also great article... wicked dice lol

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For total buzz I love Hawaiian snow with a roll of Nepalese through the middle , hmmmmm must try that very soon! Peace

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For a Flavorbomb (not Flowerbomb ) i would prefer one third "kosha kush" with one third "sticky Fingers" and for the high point some little "alaskan ice"-revelation dubs between! I never forget this revelation of taste 'n stunedness. It works in a joint very well, but pure in a bong....AWESOME!!!!

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i would like a c 99 with a pure kush of sour diesel something sour so it has a fruity smell a lil sour like a sour fruit like sour straws or that sour fruit taste and smell with fast flower and probably or a blue dream wit og 18. or a white rhino x og kush calling it white herb like the western gunslinger

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flowerbomb is green crack and og kush I cant wait to they start selling soon because super lemon sold out so fast. I know flowerbomb gets released I get it a week or 2 I hope they have enough also white lemon and money maker cant wait.

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