Are you wondering if the cannabis you just got is truly "top shelf"? You don't need special equipment to assess cannabis strains. All you need is curiosity, your senses, and perhaps a rolling tool. Whether you enjoy cannabis occasionally, regularly, or are just tired of deceptive marketing, learning to judge cannabis is a valuable method to improve your experiences and select the best products.
Judging vs. Reviewing: What’s the Difference?
When assessing cannabis strains, it is important to understand the distinction between judging and reviewing. Both methods involve checking appearance, scent, taste, and effects, but they differ in style and purpose.
A cannabis review is usually personal and detailed. It is a description of your individual experience, including feelings, emotions, and background. Imagine telling a friend about your recent experience with edibles or a relaxing evening with a joint.
The language is informal, and it might use figures of speech or strong descriptions: “It felt like relaxing deeply while listening to jazz.” Judging, in contrast, is more structured. Consider it like wine tasting by a wine expert. It is organized, regular, and can be done repeatedly. You evaluate aspects using careful thought and a clear set of rules. A judging-based cannabis review might be: “Appearance score 4.8/5, with thick buds, rich purple colors, and plenty of trichomes.”
These two approaches can work together. Reviewing builds relationships and community among cannabis users. Judging improves your skill to tell good quality, assisting you to decide wisely and find new preferred cannabis strains.
Key Categories Every Cannabis Connoisseur Should Evaluate
To judge cannabis correctly, you need to look at four main parts:
- Appearance: You judge this just by looking at it. This is your first visual check.
- Aroma: This is your entry into a strain’s terpene profile.
- Flavor: What happens to the terpenes when heated? Do they keep their qualities or change?
- Effects: Do you feel inventive, tired, very alert, light, or relaxed? This is a key factor that separates good cannabis from average.
In addition to these four, experienced judges also consider:
- Burn Quality: Does it burn cleanly? Is the ash light or dark? These are important indicators.
- Smoke Smoothness: Rough smoke can spoil the experience—check for well-prepared product.
- Phenotypical Uniqueness: Is the strain special? Does it provide something different from what you have tried before?
By always checking these parts, you create a detailed cannabis review that is personal but also helpful to others.
Appearance: Judging Weed With Your Eyes
Observing the flower is your initial opportunity to assess quality. Attractive buds often suggest proper growing methods.
Main points:
- Color: Good buds show bright green with touches of purple, orange, or even blue, based on their type. Unwanted brown or yellow colors might mean it is old or not handled well.
- Trichomes: These are tiny crystal parts—like sugar coating—that indicate strength. Using a magnifying tool, milky or amber trichomes show it is ready.
- Density/Bud Structure: Firm, sticky buds suggest properly grown indica or hybrid flowers. Loose, stemmy buds often suggest not enough light or quick growing times.
- Trim Quality: A bud trimmed by hand is precise. Its shape is kept for better smoking. Too leafy or machine-trimmed cannabis is usually of lower quality.
Have a checklist ready. If what you bought is very dry and full of stems and seeds, it is likely not high-quality cannabis.
Aroma: The First Real Impression
While looks are important, scent truly shows the nature of the strain. The first smell—when you open the container, or break up the flower—is often the best indicator of its general quality.
Cannabis has over 200 known terpenes, which cause each strain to have a unique smell and effect. Some common ones are:
- Limonene (citrus, energizing)
- Myrcene (herbal, relaxing)
- Pinene (pine, makes you alert)
- Linalool (floral, soothing)
- Caryophyllene (peppery, reduces swelling)
Train your sense of smell to recognize different scents beyond just “strong” or “weedy.” For example:
- Lemon smell with fuel = Lemon Haze
- Berry and sweet cream smell = Blueberry Kush
- Pepper, pine, and earthy smell = classic OG type.
Not much smell or a scent like hay can mean it was not cured well or terpenes are gone. If it smells strongly of chemicals or mold, be careful—it might not be safe to use.
Flavor: Taste, Terpenes, and the Design of Experience
When terpenes are heated, flavor appears—or doesn't. A good strain, grown well and cured correctly, keeps its complex flavors when burned or vaporized.
What to check:
- Is the taste similar to the smell?
- Does the flavor get better or change when heated?
- Are there any bad tastes like chemicals, burnt rubber, or dry grass?
Pay close attention when you breathe in and out, as many subtle tastes come after the smoke leaves your mouth. The aftertaste is often where richer, sweet strains show their full taste.
Cannagars and tools that burn slowly can make this better by giving more time to feel the full terpene effect. Steady heat and longer times allow more chance to notice changes in flavor.
Effects: The Ultimate X-Factor
Each cannabis strain affects your mind and body in its own way. Some make you feel confident and creative. Others make you feel very relaxed. When judging, the main goal is to explain these effects clearly and precisely.
Try asking yourself:
- Was the high mainly in your head or body?
- Did time seem to go slower or faster?
- Did your feelings become more stable, stronger, or changed?
- Was pain lessened or focus improved?
Write down notes at certain times: 15 minutes after using, 45 minutes later, and when coming down. Look for patterns—this will help you choose strains for different times later.
Keep in mind that cannabis review is influenced by many things including your body, how you use it, and how much you are used to it. Your surroundings and mood also have a big effect.
Scoring the Strain: Creating Your Own Rating System
Giving numbers to your cannabis review makes it simpler to do again. A simple scoring system could be:
| Category | Score (1-5) |
|---|---|
| Appearance | 4.5 |
| Aroma | 4.0 |
| Flavor | 3.5 |
| Effects | 4.0 |
| Total | 16/20 |
You can change your scorecard to include other things such as:
- Burn Quality (for example, smooth smoke, light ash)
- Uniqueness
- Likelihood to buy again
Apps like Tetragram or printed sheets from Purple Rose Supply can assist in making your checking process organized over time.
Getting a Second Opinion: Taste is Subjective, Data is Powerful
Judging cannabis is more enjoyable with others. Use cannabis with friends, review together, and compare notes. You will soon see how personal cannabis review can be.
One person might like the citrus taste while another focuses on how sleepy it makes them. These talks help you build a better vocabulary and move past simple ideas like “good” or “bad” cannabis.
Making a culture of interest in cannabis strains helps everyone improve what they like.
Writing a Strain Review Like a Pro
After judging, write about it using words that mix feelings and facts. Don’t just say “It was good,” tell a story:
Ask yourself:
- Who do you become when you use this?
- What feeling or understanding does it bring?
- When did you use it—early morning or late night thinking?
- How were you feeling mentally and physically?
- Why did it stand out to you?
Example:
"Tropicana Cookies felt like strong coffee mixed with summer fruit salad. It started in the mind with creative energy, then became a relaxing body feeling without being too sleepy."
Combine this flavor description with your scores to make a cannabis review that is both expressive and useful.
Tools That Enhance the Process
Do you want to be very precise when checking cannabis strains? Use tools such as:
- Cannagar molds (Purple Rose Supply) for burning slowly over a long time.
- Smell-proof jars to keep terpenes fresh.
- Magnifying loupe to see trichomes clearly.
- Digital scale for measuring amounts correctly.
- CBD/THC tolerance logs to track changes in your tolerance.
These tools help make your cannabis review process organized, focused, and consistent.
Don’t Forget About Set & Setting
A peaceful forest = great high. A busy festival = feeling worried. Same strain, different reactions. Your surroundings and mood are important when judging. Always write down your setting when reviewing. Was it a tough day at work? Was music on? Did you have coffee or wine with your cannabis? You will start to see how things like being hydrated, food, or sleep before can change the effects.
Avoiding the Snob Trap: It’s About Curiosity, Not Clout
Being a cannabis expert is not about showing off expensive strains or making fun of cheaper cannabis users. It is about learning to talk about it, improving your understanding, and sharing your enjoyment with others.
Your less expensive cannabis might be better for you than someone else’s pricier option—and that’s okay. Judging is not for showing off. It is for knowing good quality and what is right for you. Being curious helps you become skilled.
Review, Reflect, Repeat
Each time you use cannabis, you get information: how you felt, what helped, what did not. By scoring cannabis strains many times, you will begin to see patterns.
Maybe citrus-smelling sativas increase your energy when working out. Maybe strong smelling indicas help you sleep but make it hard to focus. You will not know unless you keep records and think about them.
Your taste improves. Your cannabis collection becomes better chosen.
And most importantly, your appreciation for the plant grows.
