The names of the strains are random, but many of them include hints as to the flavour and texture of the flower. After you can read these clues, a flower such as Kush Crasher THCA FLOWER isn’t a mystery anymore—it tells you exactly what kind of night you’re in for. These are the three families that will be on just about every menu.

The Kush family: earthy, heavy and calming.

Kush strains come from the Hindu Kush Mountains and the majority of them are of the indica type. A relaxed body feel (more towards the evening), earthy, woody and sometimes diesel.

Kush Crasher is a contemporary one. It is the same kush base as Pure Kush, but with the sweetness and pine of Wedding Crasher. It is said to be very relaxing, makes people cheerful and easy going and may induce sleepiness at higher doses.

Clues: “Kush”, “OG”, “Bubba”, “Afghan”. Ideal for relaxing after the day’s work, for evenings of quiet study or for quiet nights in.

The Cake family: sweet, creamy and balanced.

The dessert section of the menu is called cake strains. They are typically cultivated from parents such as Wedding Cake, Zkittlez Cake or Jungle Cake and flavors tend to be vanilla, frosting and candy.

Candy Cake is worthy of learning. An exotic indica dominant hybrid, it has creamy vanilla cake, candy sweetness and small notes of berry and peach. It begins with a lift and then it becomes body relaxation as your head remains relatively clear. The batch we’ve seen had a strength of 30.14% THCA, which is stronger than the name suggests.

Words to search for: “Cake, Gelato, Cookies, Sherbert. Ideal for: lazy evenings, get-togethers, slow weekends.

The Haze family: sunny, orangey and cheerful.

Haze strains are the opposite of Kush. They are also more energised and creative, smell citrus and pine and lean sativa. These days, Super Silver Haze is the most popular.

Words to find: “Haze”, “Durban”, “Jack”, “Lemon”. Ideal for: during the day, creative work, errands.

When shopping how to use this

·       Look at the name first and guess the family.

·       Decide on a strain type (indica, sativa or hybrid) and verify a guess.

·       Read the terpene list. Myrcene generally denotes relaxing and limonene generally denotes bright and citrusy.

·       Even if it sounds good, verify the COA before purchasing.

The takeaway

There’s no need to remember any hundreds of strains. Master these three families; most menus will begin to become clear in about thirty seconds.

Older than 21 years. Please inquire about local regulations prior to purchase.