CannaReps, a Vancouver-based company focusing on cannabis education and dispensary training, is offering a Cannabis Sommelier workshop for newcomers and experts alike.
The sommelier course was offered earlier in June and will be back later this month due to its popularity.
Daily Hive was on site to see what it takes to be a weed expert.
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The basics
Attendees were been a mixed bag of recreational and medical consumers with a breadth of knowledge that ranged from “I think I prefer sativas” to “everyone forgets about ruderalis.”
The workshop began with some cannabis 101 to bring the general knowledge of the room to the same level.
Buds were dissected into pistils, colas, and sugar leaves to provide a brief overview of plant anatomy. Students were also given a history and geography lesson about cannabis and strain variance, with some key notes on differentiating indica, sativa, and ruderalis, the lesser known subspecies.
Strain identification
Armed with rubber gloves for hygiene purposes and to capture that air of science, several strains (or cultivars) were passed around the room for closer examination.
Sight, smell, and touch were all invoked to help differentiate the strains and identify key characteristics and quality.
Moby Dick, Orange Crush, LSD, Death Bubba, Red Diesel, and Super Silver Haze were some of the crowd favourites.
Quick tips: indicas like Death Bubba and Kush varietals produce dark green, dense buds, and have a pungent smell reminiscent of pine or gas.
Sativas like Moby Dick and Super Silver Haze tend to be lighter in colour and have longer buds and a sweeter, earthier smell (often compared to freshly cut grass).
Defects
If you plan on attending the next sommelier workshop, a word of advice: DO NOT smell the jar of mouldy weed. Curiosity will tempt you, but don’t do it. It’s gross. Julie Domingo, the workshop’s moderator, described it “like an old basement,” which is entirely accurate. Suffice to say that if you end up buying weed that smells like that, don’t smoke it.
Some other defects to look out for are foxtailing, which happens when the buds are too close to a light source, and spider mites.
Test your knowledge
The course wrapped up with a strain identification quiz that was divided into beginner and advanced groups.
Two strains were handed out and students were asked to identify them as either an indica or sativa, jot down key features in terms of smell and look, and examine trichomes under a microscope to gauge their stage of maturity.
The overall vibe, as you might imagine from a cannabis sommelier workshop, was very laid back and social, while being highly informative and educational.
If you’d like to step up your bud knowledge, check out CannaReps’ upcoming events. Daily Hive readers get 10% off by using the coupon code: dailyhive.
Cannabis Sommelier Workshop
When: June 20
Time: 6 to 8pm
Where: 525 Seymour Street, Vancouver
Tickets: $50 – Register here
Recreational Retail Training
When: June 26-27
Time: 10 am to 6 pm
Where: SFU Morris J Wosk Centre – 580 W Hastings Street, Vancouver
Tickets: $480 – Register here
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