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Last month, I was propositioned by a San Francisco pop-up art space to host an event during its two-month run in the city.<\/p>\n
At first, I was a little squeamish. I hadn\u2019t taken part in the production side of any major cannabis events in some time. Back in the day, I helped get the ball rolling on the original\u00a0New West Summit<\/a>\u00a0cannabis conference in the Bay Area before part of the ownership changed hands. Since I\u2019d exited the cannabis event space on such a high note, I didn\u2019t want to come back and do anything that wouldn\u2019t be up to past standards.<\/p>\n But the allure of putting something together in the art space just before harvest season kicked into full gear would prove too tempting. In recent years, I must humbly admit that I\u2019ve been pretty ahead of the curve when it came to cannabis genetics journalism and I\u2019m lucky to have made some great working relationships. With so many Bay Area names from both sides of every bridge on the list, I figured The Transbay Challenge was a perfect moniker and I sent out the invites.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, about a week later, the art pop-up got shutdown. Thankfully the folks at\u00a0Gold Seal<\/a>\u00a0offered to host and we were on once again. In the end, we\u2019d have multiple time Cannabis Cup and Emerald Cup winners in the mix, and one smoky barbeque.<\/p>\n I knew I had to get some great judges onboard quick. Despite\u00a0calling podium spots<\/a>\u00a0at The Emerald Cup\u00a0the last two years<\/a>, a few more pros would be critical to keep the process as legit as possible. The diverse group included Cannabis Now Senior Editor Ellen Holland and longtime comedian, weed critic on Netflix\u2019s \u201cCooking on High<\/a>\u201d and Emerald Cup Judge Ngaio Bealum, who provided his years of experience combing through the world\u2019s best outdoor pot every November. While the competition was flower only, leading edible journalist Elise McDonough joined to remind all that she puffs tough.<\/p>\n The flowers were the star of the show. Each jar presented something different than its peers on the table. In the end, only one would be selected unanimously by all four of the judges: the Ziablo from\u00a0IC Collective<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ziablo from IC Collective. Diablo OG x Skittlz. Gas and funk. Super sticky. Tastes like gas and cardamom cherries. Made me kinda chatty. pic.twitter.com\/Mm4G6KlbPq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ngaio Bealum (@ngaio420) September 23, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n We\u2019ve mentioned the Ziablo a couple of times already lately. It was one of our\u00a0Strains of Summer<\/a>\u00a0and without a doubt one of the best things in the room at\u00a0Hall of Flowers last week<\/a>,\u00a0where growers showed their wares direct to buyers. This batch was a pinch sweeter than some of the other batches we\u2019d seen on opening the jar, but a little crunch and that sugar-laced gasoline aroma jumped right out.<\/p>\n \u201cPuffing on the Ziablo cut through the effects of the previous two joints and got me incredibly high!\u201d said McDonough.<\/p>\n The runner-up was Red Congolese from hosts\u00a0Gold Seal<\/a>. Three of the four judges had it on their list. Third place saw a tie between\u00a0Commune\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0fantastic Durban Poison x Gushers F1 and\u00a0Triples SF<\/a>\u2019s exceptionally authentic Triple Scoop Gelato.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a sucker for landrace genetics so the Red Congolese from Gold Seal and F1 Durban x Gushers cross from Commune bubbled to the top,\u201d said Holland. \u201cBoth had very impressive bud structures. The Red Congo buds were absolutely massive and the Durban x Gushers buds were such a deep beautiful purple hue. While the Durban x Gushers cure was a bit fresh, the stone was an undeniable upper that had me feeling chatty. The Red Congo has this lovely herbal spice, I pulled a taste of lemongrass from the dry hit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n McDonough agreed with Holland\u2019s take on the Red Congolese, saying it\u2019s one of her go-to stains for creativity and energy. She then gave her thoughts on the Triple Scoop Gelato. \u201cThe Gelato was the best smoking experience of the bunch, it was expertly cured, smooth and creamy on the palate,\u201d said McDonough.<\/p>\n Bealum was a big fan of the whole lineup.<\/p>\n \u201cWeed needs more tasting parties,\u201d he said. \u201cI had a great time. We definitely need to make space for craft growers and the Transbay Challenge does a great job highlighting cannabis made with love.\u201d<\/p>\n And just because it didn\u2019t win doesn\u2019t mean it wasn\u2019t awesome pot.\u00a0Compound Genetics<\/a>\u00a0was kind enough to bring by his amazing Marshmellow OG, which smelled like someone pressed peppermint patties against a pine tree. Another one the judges liked was the Old Mother Gorilla from\u00a0Foxworthy Farms<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Foxworthy Farms\u2019 Old Mother Gorilla, with that Old Mother from the hills of Laytonville crossed with Gorilla Glue #4, was a sleeper hit that brought on an immediate potent stone,\u201d said Holland.<\/p>\n Sponsors for the event included\u00a0The Cannabis Buyers Club of Berkeley<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Casa Sanchez San Francisco<\/a>.<\/p>\n TELL US,<\/strong>\u00a0have you ever had cannabis from the Bay Area?<\/p>\n The post The Transbay Challenge: Growers Battle for San Francisco Bragging Rights<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Last month, I was propositioned by a San Francisco pop-up art space to host an event during its two-month run in the city. At first, I was a little squeamish. I hadn\u2019t taken part in the production side of any major cannabis events in some time. Back in the day,Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":38478,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[148,50,5764,12570,1556,12571,151,107,12572,12573,11839],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38477"}],"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\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38477"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38479,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38477\/revisions\/38479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Transbay-Judges.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
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\nRead More: The Transbay Challenge: Growers Battle for San Francisco Bragging Rights<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"