Cannabis Flower: What To Look For

Whether you’re purchasing cannabis for the first time or you have been buying cannabis for years, you may not know about some of the most important factors to consider when you are looking at a cannabis flower. With a quick inspection of dried cannabis flower, you can often tell more about the quality of the product. If you know what to look for, you can verify the quality of the cannabis that you are getting at any local dispensary.

Cannabis flowers are also sometimes called buds and having the ability to inspect these buds can make sure that you will have more predictable results when you are using cannabis. Buds are blooms pulled from the female cannabis plant and then dried. Here are some of the top qualities that you should be seeking in any cannabis flower:

The Color

The color of any cannabis flower needs to be extremely vibrant, if the flower is more green or has a vibrant color like red, orange, blue or purple, this is an indication that you are getting a fresh and good quality product. Flowers that have become brown and dole are often going to be less potent and far lower quality.

Trichomes

The Trichomes are the crystalline coating that you can find along the sides of the cannabis flowers. Trichomes contain the terpenes and cannabinoids that are responsible for the overall effects, taste and aroma of the plant. If you spot the signs of an amber colored trichome layer, it is wise to avoid these types of plants as this can be a sign that it is starting to dry out or lose its potency.

The Density

Indica strains are generally a tighter leaf than Sativa strains. These types of flowers can appear to be a bit fluffier but they also need to have pistils which are dispersed throughout the flower rather than packed in various areas and missing from some others. The lowest quality flowers are going to be extremely light and leafy and less uniform in their density. Improving the density in the uniformity of each bud often improves the Trichome count which improves potency and aroma.

The Trim

Leaves need to be trimmed away by hand but many low-quality producers use machine trimming. Machine trimming has a chance to damage the flower and the Trichome layer. If you start to notice that many of the buds you are inspecting still have extra leaves attached to them, it’s likely that the cultivation process was rushed as well as the trimming process.

The Smell

Smell is a massive indication of the overall quality. Some of the highest quality cannabis products will have a highly pungent and distinct aroma. Even though the smell will vary from one strain to the next, you should get an extremely strong scent when you open up the bag. Many strains are described for their smells of being earthy or skunky and this is completely normal. If you ever notice that the strain has a very strong indication of a hay smell, or dried grass smell, this can be an indication that the flowers are a very low quality.

The Feeling

The highest quality cannabis flowers should feel slightly spongy and sticky when you squeeze it between your fingers. It’s an easy indication that you’ve got a low-quality product if it seems to crumble. Stems should snap very easily and the bud should produce a sticky feeling along your fingers rather than a moist feeling. If any cannabis product appears to be moist this indicates that they were not dried properly and there is a chance that the product could have been molded.

Taste

One of the last indications that you can get in a cannabis product is the overall taste. There are some strings that have a stronger flavor of this vice or citrus whereas others have somewhat of a deeper flavor resembling the smell of diesel. If you are getting a more flavorful experience, it’s likely that the strain you are using has a much higher potency. Stronger flavors indicate that there is a higher level of terpene and this means more potent cannabis. Contact us today for the best cannabis in the country.