While cannabis strains are typically praised for the strength and effects of their cannabinoids, a growing number of connoisseurs and industry pros alike are recognizing that a strain\u2019s terpene profile can be of equal import.<\/p>\n
Terpenes<\/a>, the aromatic compounds found in all plants, give each strain its particular taste and scent. A cannabis plant can contain over 100 different terpenes, and the particular balance of each helps set it apart from its peers. As cannabis moves closer to the mainstream, more consumers are becoming curious about terpene profiles \u2014 particularly those of legendary strains like\u00a0Jack Herer<\/a>\u00a0and Pineapple Express. Luckily, a range of products have appeared on the scene to help people get a taste of the OGs.<\/p>\n Lock & Key Remedies<\/a>, in the industrial neighborhood of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, is one of these terpene-focused businesses looking at strain recreation. The company, co-founded by industry veterans Oleg Maryasis and Andres Moreira, has developed a series of\u00a0CBD<\/a>\u00a0vape cartridges that try and recreate the terpene profiles of four iconic strains: Girl Scout Cookies, Cherry Pie, Tangie and Blue Dream. When I visited the company\u2019s office on a gray morning this January, it quickly became clear that Lock & Key\u2019s vision is rooted in a love both for precise science and cannabis itself.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s name, for instance, refers to the way compounds interlock with each other on a cellular level. And Lock & Key uses pre-existing lab reports of various strain profiles as launching-off points for developing their own CBD alternatives. Moreira, who heads the company\u2019s on-site lab, went through a dozen trials of each formulation before sending them to market.<\/p>\n Maryasis was eager to explain terpenes\u2019 myriad health benefits to me, which he did in a manner that recalled a mad scientist and a gourmand chef in equal measure. The terpene\u00a0myrcene<\/a>, for instance, has a sedative effect, he says. Furthermore, Maryasis told me, \u201cit has the superpower of helping the blood brain barrier, which magnifies all other terpenes\u2019 access to the brain.\u201d\u00a0Limonene<\/a>, which features more prominently in the Tangie strain, has a more citrusy taste. But too much, Maryasis cautioned, \u201cwouldn\u2019t be pleasant, even if you like citrus.\u201d<\/p>\n He pointed out that even trace amounts of various terpenes can have an outsized influence on a plant\u2019s aroma. \u201cThe synergistic effects cannot be overstated,\u201d he said, citing sweet orange and grapefruit as an example: \u201c[Their terpene profiles are roughly only 3 percent different], but it changes everything about them.\u201d<\/p>\n Other terpene-minded businesses have taken a different approach:\u00a0Blue River Terpenes<\/a>, in Oakland, California, for instance, borrowed inspiration from the fragrance industry to develop a line of\u00a0cannabinoid-free versions of some top-shelf strains including Cookies and\u00a0Wakanda Grapes<\/a>\u00a0(and sells them at\u00a0top-shelf prices<\/a>) that can be applied to the skin or even added to food. The company\u2019s CEO Tony Verzura developed a modified vapor vacuum distillation system that, as Leafly\u00a0pointed out<\/a>, is capable of extracting terpenes \u201cby using only nitrogen, oxygen, and reverse osmosis (or RO) water.\u201d<\/p>\n Finding the middle ground between these two companies, the Colorado-based company Evolab adds \u201cFreshTerps<\/a>\u201d extracts to their various products in various proportions. Their tagline reads: \u201cSommeliers have wine collections. Cannabis connoisseurs have FreshTerps.\u201d<\/p>\n The key behind all of these products is the balance of the various terpenes; Maryasis referred to it as their \u201cspecial sauce,\u201d and was reluctant to divulge even the most general information about their specific ratios. Yet their tight-lipped approach reinforces the innovative nature of terpene science, which will only become more exciting as the industry marches forward.<\/p>\n While Lock & Key Remedies uses plant-derived terpenes and Blue River Terpenes uses cannabis-derived terpenes, other companies are also concocting strain profiles using\u00a0synthetic terpenes<\/a>. The science is still early on the medical effects of smoking terpenes, but as with most cannabis products, it\u2019s best to know where the compounds you\u2019re consuming come from.<\/p>\n TELL US<\/b>, do you seek out certain terpenes when you\u2019re choosing a new strain to try?<\/p>\n The post The Art of Terpene Recreation: Replicating Cannabis Strain Profiles<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
While cannabis strains are typically praised for the strength and effects of their cannabinoids, a growing number of connoisseurs and industry pros alike are recognizing that a strain\u2019s terpene profile can be of equal import. Terpenes, the aromatic compounds found in all plants, give each strain its particular taste andContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7435,50,136,240,643,7436,4224,1020,1598,7437],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32585"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32586,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32585\/revisions\/32586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}(Re)making the Magic Happen<\/h4>\n
Twisting Terps Into Innovation<\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: The Art of Terpene Recreation: Replicating Cannabis Strain Profiles<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"