As a self-professed flavor-chaser with a proclivity towards candied sweet genetics I’ll openly admit that Soul Train, a (Jealousy x Candy Rain) x White Truffle cross, isn’t something that would immediately jump off an online menu to me.
Don’t get me wrong, I love me some groovy soul music and White Truffle itself is one of the most decadent smokes I think I’ve ever had.
But Jealousy and Candy Rain are both relatively obscure genetics to me, at least prior to writing this here review.
In this review we explore:
For some context, on this particular dispensary trip to restock I ended up choosing some Stuffed Cherry Gelato from High Noon Cult and my wife ended up picking out Soul Train based on an excellent recommendation from Taitlynne at Oregrown for a heavy duty relaxation strain for sedate rainy Oregon evenings.
My Stuffed Cherry Gelato was tasty no doubt but after the first blazing session I had to admit, this Soul Train was the verifiable dankness, perhaps some of the strongest weed I’ve ever smoked effect-wise, with potent “full-body relaxing effects” that will zonk you the fuck out.
Digging deeper into the genetics to understand the power behind this flower things started to make sense.
With the White Truffle parent you have that thick and sticky Gorilla Butter F2 phenotype, which itself itself is a cross of Peanut Butter Breath and Gorilla Glue #4. Heavy hitters for sure.
But wait, there’s more!
Soul Train’s Genetic Lineage Explained
Soul Train is born when Shaggy Roots crossed that big time classical indica-leaning White Truffle with the (Jealousy x Candy Rain) from Tiki Madman. Jealousy itself is the Seed Junky-bred crossing of Gelato #41 and Sherbet while Candy Rain is a Cookies Fam strain that crosses Gelato and London Pound Cake.
Thus, Soul Train is utterly dripping in rich decadent genetics that represent what I consider big time “indica” style strains, being deep deeeeep into the relaxing end of the spectrum of potential terpene expressions.
I really wish every dispensary would display at least 2 generations back for plants because seeing what was crossed to produce any given phenotype on sale really helps me get a better understanding of it’s potential effects vs just the display name itself.
On top of these star-studded genetics this Soul Train was expertly grown by Eugreen out of Eugene, Oregon, a gold standard when it comes to cultivating this type of living soil dank.
Over the years I’ve smoked a ton of Eugreen and this was probably the best yet in terms of nug structure, visual appearance, earthly complex smell, and potent impact.
So, with that, let’s dig into each of the respective categories of The Hallowed Gram’s non-proprietary, completely A.S.S grading system where I explore the Appearance, Smell, and then wrap up with the Sensation of this beautiful flower.
Appearance: Nefarious Looking Little Bastards
In both natural warm light and in my LED-lit Smokus Focus jar these nugs are looking downright dastardly, both in terms of overall structure as well as the murdered-out dark purple-blackish hues that dominate it’s deep dark depths.
Size-wise they are on the medium to medium-large side of things, especially for this more traditional triangular nug archetype. No they aren’t the necessarily the thiccest things out there but they’re definitely not small and their gnarly knobby structure accentuates their chonky presence.
It’s the deep dark almost black hues of purple that really make these babies pop in my opinion. If you’re a fan of purps then these are your terps! Well, terpene-wise they aren’t the prototypical sweet grape juice smell typically associated with purps but more of a dark spicy barrel-aged port, but more on that later..
Appearance-wise these without a doubt have a very strong bag appeal. Show these to anyone, novice all the way up to connoisseur and they’ll probably want to give them a smoke.
The big smatterings of trichome coverage makes the prospect of lighting this up all the more exciting.
Now, this batch apparently tested in at a whopping 34.32% THC, which I believe may be the highest THC % flower I’ve smoked, at least from recent memory.
In full transparency I didn’t notice it when shopping because I’ve all but abandoned giving a fuck about THC % given A) it’s only one element of that entourage effect yo and B) apparently getting high tests is easy with the right labs… or so I hear.
Something testing at over 34%, assuming the lab is ethical and trustworthy, I’d assume would have an even frostier, even coverage of trichomes. In fact at a THC percentage this high I’d expect the thing to look like it was plucked right out of a snow bank.
If you look closely though you can see along the base of the individual bracts and especially on the base of the sugar leaves big clompy smatterings of milky trichomes.
This leads me to believe that harvest timing is just as, if not more important, than total trichome coverage for producing a potent smoke. I think I’d prefer perfectly timed harvest with slightly less coverage than something that’s trichomed out but that hasn’t reached milky maturity yet.
Props Eugreen Soil Goons!
Otherwise these buds are almost completely void of green, with the deep blackish purple hues dominating the visual experience being broken up only be the occasional tuft of thick orange pistil hairs and smatterings of well matured trichomes.
If you like bright greens then you probably wouldn’t have picked this in the first place. If you’re a Skeksis and are addicted to the Dark Crystal then I recommend that you put Soul Train on your wish list.
In terms of prep, the buds were quite dense and easy to break apart for my Santa Cruz Shredder to churn up into nice half gram doinks. This was a hardy plant as it takes a bit of force to break it apart, twist and pull vs just crumble, leaving your fingers sticky, as they should be.
There isn’t a bunch of excess air in these, it doesn’t take much of the flower to grind up a joint’s worth and you really got to grind it because they are moist and dense, eluding a caring hand in the garden and also to a flavorful experience ahead.
Smell: The Smoking Room Post Rabbit Hunt
When I first got this quarter ounce and my Re:Stash jar was full, popping off the top of this bud to get a sweet little whiff was addicting, despite knowing each time I open the jar I’m just releasing terpenes like Zoolander and his boys release gas when they wash their Jeep.
Couldn’t help it though, the nose on this Soul Train is deep, dark, and complex, with just enough sweetness to smooth out the edges.
Olfactory-wise, think dark black rich soil. Moist soil. I can almost smell the worm shit and beautiful natural decay of the living soil matrix used to nurture this work of art.
Uncrushed black peppercorns, not as intense as cracked corns but there’s that bit of spice in there, hence the previous oak barrel aged port vs grape juice box analogy for these purps.
I suspect the White Truffle genetics that are a cross of GG4 and Peanut Butter Breath are what impart some of this enticingly wet earthiness.
It’s not an affront to the nose as the whole experience is drizzled in honey, ironing out the earth and making it a rather perplexing experience. It’s not sweet weed but it’s not cheesy GMO rank either.
This Soul Train smells like someone dropped a handful of Tonka beans in a funky used gym sock and beat it against a wet stone on a river bank somewhere, then squeezed out the juice and misted it onto this plant.
I know it doesn’t work that way but that’s the best way I can describe it’s unique property of being nose-wrinkler but also an eyebrow-lifter at the same time.
As I worked my way through this haul, with just one tiny little bud remaining as I write this, I’ll say the smell has gotten softer. Some of those more pungent odors have been muted with time which makes it smell even sweeter than before. It smells more faintly now of a bag of recently opened Backwoods than it does a well-used cabin doormat.
She rolls a treat and the dry pull is tasty. The blackness translates to an almost black licorice flavor with that inescapable earthiness invading every part of the experience. It’s like walking through a Farmers Market breathing only through your mouth.
If you like full-bodied, earthy, dankness with a bit of spicy complexity all wrapped up in a creamy smoke, then you owe it to yourself to give Soul Trian a try, just as long as you don’t have any plans for the day because this shit will put you in sloooooow motion.
No, I don’t think Soul Train’ll make you lazy. I’m of the belief that weed doesn’t make people lazy, lazy people like to blame weed for not doing anything. WHICH in itself isn’t always a negative. It’s good to take some time out to chill out once and a while, man.
If you’re looking for something that hits hard and has lasting power that slows down time a bit then Soul Train genetics are for you.
Sensation: It May Have Soul But It’s Still a Train
To me, this is loud weed. In boomer-speak this is the meanest of the greenest, although the buds aren’t actually all that green. In fact, they’re almost black, which makes it even more gnar!
Soul Train hits with the full weight and momentum as a 500 ton steam engine which yes, is actually how much them big bastards could weigh. While the smell and appearance are definitely “soul”, the effect is all rock baby, Black Stone Cherry kind of rock.
In other words, Soul Train is inescapable. You light up that joint and yes I recommend a joint or small bowl because a blunt of this would rickety wruck me.
After your second exhale you’re going to be feeling it. Don’t worry, you’re not going to get a bulging neck vein and racing heart. No siree this here is some heavy shit and it ain’t got no time to pussyfoot around, it’s got work to do, nerves to unwind, stress to relieve baby!
This absolute specimen was bred from Shaggy Roots out of Oklahoma whose Insta bio reads (at the time of writing this):
-Shaggy Roots“Accuracy of Selection = 🔑
Breeding with Purpose
Landrace, Classics, Hype.
Probiotic Farmer
#SelectionArtist
Only once you begin to dive into the genetics of Soul Train and discover that it’s a cross of the always decadent White Truffle with a Candy Rain (Gelato x London Pound Cake) and Jealousy (Gelato #41 x Sherbet) do things start adding up.
Yeah that’s White Truffle, multiple Gelatos, classic Sherbet, and London Pound Cake genetics mingling about behind the scenes in this prodigy of a plant, producing sinisterly dark dank buds that pack a fuckin punch at a tested THC % of 34.32.
No, THC isn’t everything. Yes, all the other cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and lesser discovered compounds matter a lot. BUT…THC percentage also isn’t meaningless and in fact has quite significant meaning when it’s paired with equally high levels of terps and other cannabinoids.
Together they are stronger than either in isolation. You’re getting the best of both worlds with this Soil Goons cultivated product. I’m always amazed at the amount of quality bud Eugreen is able to pump out at scale because I see their stuff everywhere and I’m always surprised at the sheer variety of genetics delivered at such a consistently high level.
Soul Trains Unique Strengths
So, who’s Soul Train For Then?
This rich double spray of date night cologne is for the experienced smoker who is looking for a 100% robusto of an experience. That is, if you aim to get pretty fuggin high then this weed is for you.
If you’re looking to cut some stress out of your life, groove to some tunes in the living room, or just want something guaranteed to conk you out on the tail end for a restful nights sleep, Soul Train is for you.
I wouldn’t try being active with Soul Train. I probably wouldn’t socialize either unless the crowd you’ll be in are cool with not talking much.
This weed is a treat and I’d treat it as such. It was cultivated in a way that allowed it to reach a very impressive THC percentage and insanely rich color levels. It’s really strong but in a chill calming way, not energetic in any way.
To conclude I loved this Soul Train so much I’ve bookmarked it in my memory for a long time. I recently started working on a running “Divine 9” favorite strains of recent memory and already added Soul Train to it.
The name didn’t originally jump out to me because I’m not a huge soul guy although I dig the genre in general. It was the appearance that was intriguing because of the dark purple, almost black buds that always draw my eyes.
But holy hell the quality of the high for me makes this a real champion. It may be how my body receives these unique terpene and cannabinoid ratios idk but it’s just a really fulfilling kind of high that feels like a treat.
Summary: A True Heavy Hitter
This is the kind of weed you have to warn your boomer parents about beforehand because it’s just on a whole other level of depth and intensity of experience.
Think Omni theater to your home television set, wherein your television set are some basic ass mids and the Omni experience is this here Soul Train.
I hope more people try Soul Train and I hope they have similar experiences. If you like velvety indica archetypes then you should give this a smoke.
@Oregrown, @Eugreen, if you’re reading this, I’d really like to see this strain stick around in dispensaries and become a long-term recurring staple in Eugreen’s lineup.
Yes, it’s good to mix things up once and a while and keep things fresh and I’ll always love a good candy strain too but Soul Train is the real deal and deserves more fame than at least I perceive it gets/has gotten.
So, giddy up and get down on it and sniff out some Soul Train for yourself, I promise you won’t regret it!
