Connecting with any particular cultivator is an involved process. Not only do they need to be able to grow some fire-ass weed, but they also need to be ruthlessly consistent in maintaining that high level of quality.
If that wasn’t hard enough, they also need to surprise and delight a picky fanbase with a continual run of new and flavorful genetics if they are to remain relevant over extended periods in an industry where business lifespans can be quite short.
I guess that age-old axiom of farmers not being fully appreciated stretches across industries. Most everyone from the Midwest understands how difficult it is running a dairy farm.
For some reason though, I don’t feel like legal recreational cannabis consumers appreciate the farming side of cultivation in an equal manner.
Shit, I’m sure I don’t fully grasp the rigors myself, beyond what I can savor and reflect upon as a passionate stoner.
So with that background, I’ll fully divulge my favorite Oregonian farm is Focus North Gardens! They grow the best phenotypic expression of Tropicana Cookies mine lungs have ever puffed.
That said I feel like I’ve been seeing the same Focus North strains in rotation for a minute or two now. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great stuff but I’ve got promiscuous lungs and a penchant for novel genetics.
So when I saw a full jar of Focus North Guava CBD sitting proud up front at Oregrown I was a little surprised.
Why Smoke a Balanced THC:CBD Strain?
For anyone who hasn’t enjoyed exploring the world of high CBD strains, either CBD-dominant or more 1:1 balanced chemotypes like this Guava CBD from Focus, let me tell you; finding good stuff that’s actually fresh is tough.
Like, it’s a hunt. Finding fresh CBD flower is like when archeologists find a tomb in Egypt that hasn’t been raided yet. It’s celabration worthy.
All too often CBD flower is in horrible condition compared to the more common high THC strains. This issue spans most all dispensaries I’ve visited I suspect because the demographic of CBD flower shoppers is tiny when compared to size of the higher THC-minded herd.
Fewer shoppers means less demand which means CBD often sits on shelves longer than it’s higher THC counterpart, which in turn really puts a damper on it being able to be enjoyed to its fullest potential.
For these reasons I just don’t usually bother looking at the CBD flower in most dispensaries just because I automatically assume it’s 7+ months old and dry as fuck.
This Focus North stuff was not any of that. This Guava CBD was the first time I had CBD flower that managed to tease an Owen Wilson “wow” out of me with the first whiff.
This is a more balanced CBD strain testing at 7.05% THC and 11.24% CBD. I feel like I see way more high CBD super low THC stuff out there as opposed to more balanced but I’m definitely not a CBD guru, yet.
The slightly higher CBD than THC levels intrigued me. I’ve mixed CBD in with higher THC flower in the past and it always seemed to add to the experience. It’s deeper, warmer, hug-like.
Yes, I do believe CBD can help keep you grounded vs purely high THC strains that tend to take you to space, but I also think the addition of CBD adds texture to a high, making it all the more satisfying of an experience.
The menu on Dutchie says Guava CBD is bread from crossing an Afghan and a Skunk with a Wedding Cake Triangle Kush cross. Those genetics sound a bit higher in THC than this strain tested at (7.05% THC 11.24% CBD) but I’m not a breeder so what do I know.
If you read this Focus North, please help a brother out and drop some knowledge bombs on me, I’m yours.
Appearance: Sticky Little Citrus Wonders
I know this is going to come off as condescending but these don’t look like high CBD buds to me. They’re not brown, dull, and toasted looking. They don’t look like hairballs or untrimmed b-buds.
These actually look like some regular-ass tasty-ass buds!
Wow. Is this the first CBD flower with bag appeal? The Cinderella of the CBD world?
I’m inclined to think so!
Now, it bears worth repeating, I’m sure there is a lot of good CBD flower out there. It’s just not my primary scene and just something I’m a little ignorant of overall.
But this is still hands-down the best high-CBD flower I have had in my life, yet.
The nugs themselves are short and squat little beauties. They remind me of miniature fake tabletop Christmas trees; shorter squatter, and uniform in the conical shape.
The greens here are sun-faded, like duck camo vs woodland camo they are on the lighter side of green hues.
While they look a little knobby in the pictures they’re actually quite dense. Moistly dense. Flavorful dense. The BEST kind of dense. Perfectly cured density.
Bravo Focus North.
Overall this is some solid looking flower. I had to do a double take when I saw the “CBD” label next to the product name because the jar full of these looked just like any other high-THC hype strain of the month.
Will they blow people away? Well no, this isn’t designer-grade fashion model bud. It’s solid and assured though. Calm. Fresh, slightly sweet smelling. J.Crew bud?
Let’s dig into the nose a little bit more shall we?
Smell: Freshly Sliced Taiwanese Pink Guava
If you haven’t had pink guava then you haven’t truly guava’d in my opinion. The pink one is the best one. Now you know. You’re welcome.
Yes, the more common white fleshed guava is great too. Both are better when eaten freshly harvested. This means you have to live somewhere tropical where guavas grow, like Taiwan.
As I’ve detailed in my “How Strains Get Their Names” guide, often times the names are indeed accurate reflections of a strains flavors and/or effects. This Guava CBD is no different. It smells and taste strongly of guava and it has a bunch of CBD in it.
This balanced CBD flower is citrusy and zesty but without that fuelly punch that some higher THC citrus cultivars will exhibit. Think orange juice vs mimosa.
What I’m trying to say here is this Guava CBD’s sweet, bright, and approachable nature makes it great for new smokers but should also be a breath of friendly fresh air to experienced smokers as well.
The freshness you find when cracking a jar of Guava CBD does a faithful recreation of the freshness you get when cutting into a freshly harvested pink guava fruit.
This is safe bud. It’s friendly from the get-go and promises to move at a leisurely pace, making it feel like a trustworthy friend.
Sensation: Chill Flower For Chill Times
It hits just about how you’d expect a 7% THC 11% CBD strain to hit, which is very softly and in a very chilled out manner.
While big THC players, like this recently smoked Soul Train, hit like Iron Mike, which can understandably be a bit jarring to some.
This Focus North Guava CBD comes on gradually and stops at that stage in the high where you’re usually like “oh this is nice” but doesn’t keep going to the “oh boy I’m REALLY high right now” stage that the higher THC content strains will do.
Even when ripped through a water bong Guava CBD remains a cool cucumber, lessening your gravity a bit, lightening your step, but not ever taking you full lift-off for high in the high altitude THClouds.
The bong was fun but this stuff is even more versatile in smaller portions like little half gram joints. Half a jay will shed stress off your shoulders like a water beading off a ducks ass.
Highly functional herb this is, great mowing lawns, fishing, social events you don’t want to attend, and just watching some shit on TV that requires a bit longer of an attention span than big hitting “high THC-ers” deliver.
In terms of therapeutic applications I only really used it to distract myself from general inflammation and joint soreness that accompanies my heavy lifting days at the gym and in that application it performed superbly, especially when tag teaming my knees with 1:1 THC/CBD Dragon Deep Tissue Salve from Ceres.
Support Your Local CBD Farm!
As I started this review off pointing out, it’s hard to find good fresh CBD flower, at least in my experience.
I’ve smoked some decently potent East Fork Cultivar CBD flower that definitely imparted its effects but it’s never been as fresh as I’d like, which I don’t think is their fault either.
CBD just seems to move a lot slower off shelves than higher THC strains.
One balanced strain (1:2) that did NOT stay on shelves long was Deep Creek Garden’s award-winning Huckleberry Web, which is another great berry-licious strain worth checking out if you can find it.
I’m guilty of silently perpetuating this literal consumer-driven stalemate by often browsing right over the CBD strains when I’m at the dispensary.
I need flavor with my sensation. I couldn’t easily find that in CBD flower before.
This Focus North Guava CBD flower delivers both a fun rock steady chill high as well as a delightfully delicious smoking experience. Super functional type of herb this stuff is.
From bud structure to visual appearance to flavor and subtlety of effect, this is a pleasant smoke to have on hand. Like a few cans of cheap tomato soup.
….and salted peanut butter pretzel bites from Costco.
If you haven’t given CBD flower a shot in a while, or if you’re a CBD-lover, I’d recommend giving Focus North’s Guava CBD a peruse.
