Concentrates

My Favorite Strains: Cherry Shire Wax Concentrate, Source: Original Photography by Phe HarphaA few years ago, around 2011, is when I had my first “dab,” or hit of concentrate. It was so new and different from other forms of hash (hashish) that I had previously, such as finger hash or honey oil.

I had never seen this “waxy” quality, nor the set up for use, a different type of smoking device and heating element. This was a whole new world for the cannabis community, and fed the curiosity of connoisseurs all over. Now, everyone (or most) know what “dabs” are. I find them great for medicating on days when the rheumatoid arthritis is super painful, or for helping me sleep through bouts of insomnia and restlessness.

I stumbled across this Cherry Shire wax concentrate the other day at my medical dispensary’s recreational store, and decided to give it a try based on look and smell alone. Plus the company who makes this, 710 labs of Denver, CO, is well known for their “BHO” (butane extracted) concentrates that are of exceptional quality. However, being a mostly medicinal user, I try to steer clear of BHO concentrates for frequent use, and prefer a solventless extraction (such as ice, water or steam extraction, since my disease attacks lung tissue, and I am wary of contaminants).

Upon first glance, I knew this wax was of good quality since the color was a nice lighter yellow, almost white color. This means that no chlorophylls or plant materials got through the extraction process.

The smell of the flowers that this concentrate was made with shined through, smelling of a delicate sweetness, but with an earthy taste as one inhales. But due to the fact this has been processed, I cannot tell you exactly what that sweetness resembles. However, based on the genetics of this wax, it’s probably the Cherry Diesel coming through along with characteristics of this Shire strains’ genetics (Super Silver Haze crossed with Sour Diesel) giving a hard hitting potency to this concentrate.

This is also why I prefer a wax-form concentrate verses “shatter,” because in my opinion, wax has a better taste profile (and is found to be healthier) than shatter. After a moderate sized hit via domeless nail, I can say I am pretty uplifted mentally, yet could probably turn talkative if given the right situation. There is a nice relaxing body buzz as well, which should help me finish up my evening chores and sleep peacefully. And lastly, from a frequent concentrate consumer’s perspective, this is definitely a nice, smooth medicating strain, that does the job with minimal use, which makes a little of this stuff go a long way.

Check out other posts from Weedist’s My Favorite Strains series!