It’s Not Just for Wine: How to Host a Cannabis Tasting

Have you ever been to a wine tasting? To wine lovers, a wine tasting is an opportunity to learn about the vino they love, to enjoy a variety of wines, and to meet with others who share their passion for wine. These events have been done for ages in a variety of settings and styles. But how does one plan and carry out a cannabis tasting?

While this is an event type that’s on the up and up, there’s certainly no standards for how to do one. From an elegant affair that leaves guests talking about the distinctive flavonoids of that OG Kush, to a kick-back that’s remembered for great conversation fueled by a few different blunts, the options are truly endless.

Cannabis Tasting: Choose Your Mission

Planning any event begins with a goal. Why are you having a cannabis tasting? Do you want to share information with your canna-curious friends, or do you want to show them how amazing cannabis strains taste with your new vaporizer? Other reasons one might want to have this kind of shindig are: to socialize with like-minded people, to discover new strains you love, or to introduce your favorite strains to friends.

Different missions entail different plans. If you’re setting out to compare the effects of different strains – say which ones are best for socializing – than you’ll want to limit your tasting to a few strains that are spread out over a half hour or more, as effects start to fade from the last one tasted. But if you’re our friend with the new vaporizer, it might be more fun to pass around a bunch of different strains and enjoy the variety of flavors.

How to “Taste” Cannabis

Whether your tasting is indeed centered around the actual taste or if it has a different focus, you’re going to want to pay attention to certain factors of each strain to get a clear idea of how they’re different and what you prefer. If you were tasting wine, you’d pay attention to the smell, nuances in taste, mouthfeel, and other factors – similarly, cannabis has its own components to pay mind to.

First, you’re going to want to look at the bud. Note differences in color, looking for bright oranges and sensuous purples; identify its crystal-like trichomes (where the power in cannabis is stored); and note if it looks more dense or more fluffy. Now, touch it. Is it moist, or does it crunch when pressed? It ought to be dry enough to easily catch flame but wet enough that it feels a bit sticky.

Now, time for the actual tasting. We found a great article from a Massachusetts’ newspaper that interviewed a couple of canna-loving wine, cheese, beer, and cigar aficionados on how best to taste cannabis. A few tips from their article:

• Inhale the smoke, hold it in your mouth, then exhale while it is still in your mouth.
• Start with the mildest flavor or THC content and work your way up.
• Clean the cannabis palate by smoking CBD flowers between samples.
• Plain crackers are also a good cleanser for the mouth.
• And for the nose, he suggested a taster sniff their own arm.

Once the cannabis strain has been tasted and its individual profile appreciated, pay attention to how you feel. Are you loving chatting with your party-goers? Do you find everything wildly funny, or fascinating? Did your headache go away?

Get to Cannabis Tasting!

No matter what kind of cannabis tasting you’re after, your Have a Heart budtenders will be stoked to hear about it and advise you on strains or products that will lead to a great time had by all. And, of course, don’t forget the party playlist.