Mood Ring Craft Golden Berry
Intro
Squid Pants here and today we have some old familiar tastes and scents. I’m long winded far too often so let’s just get to it! (*Spoiler alert* I get long winded.)
Craft Golden Berry
*EDIT: So it seems I slightly misread an email and assumed the I was being told some parts of the background, instead it was the whole of the background. Craft Golden Berry IS Kushberry x Afghani x Cherry Pie. So, the following is not fully correct, but not fully wrong. Just wanted to kosher up the info here.*
Craft Golden Berry is Black Cherry Punch adjacent. I wrote them and asked what exactly the genetics are, and while they gave me a few clues I am not completely convinced I have figured it out exactly. Really though if you like Black Cherry Punch then this will scratch the itch and may even be a bit richer in berry tastes.
Golden Berry is Kushberry X Kosher Kush. Kushberry is confirmed to be in here but being a Kosher Kush fan, I didn’t detect any expected notes from it in here. It could be that just Kushberry alone as a parent was used to breed this but considering the name it’s likely that Golden Berry itself was used, just given a bit of a spin to put their signature on it. So if Golden Berry specifically is a parent, then after the cross leading to the generation used the selected offspring was just not so kosher. Another hint given is the disclosed presence of Cherry Pie, so the question becomes is this a cross with Cherry Pie itself or was the Cherry Pie descendent, popular-in-the-legal-market Black Cherry Punch used? Looking at the buds themselves they look so much like Black Cherry Punch that that’s where my guess is: I think that Craft Golden Berry is Golden Berry X Black Cherry Punch. Do note it’s a guess, there were details clearly withheld from the background I was given (Afghani was mentioned, which considering how ubiquitous Afghani genetics are it’s sort of like saying it contains “something special” followed by a wry grin and a bunch of winks). It’s hard to stand out in the market without everyone jumping to produce the same thing so I don’t begrudge them their secrets.
Mood Ring
Mood Ring operates out of Quebec and is part of a group of companies under the aegis of Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. who produce packaged goods from various plant products, including cannabis. Mood Ring purchases, processes and packages cannabis products but does not produce the cannabis themselves. I asked them if the producer and/or genetics are fixed for this product, as a consumer may be worried about inconsistency on future purchases, and they assure me it’s always going to be the same plant from the same growers. They seem committed to consistency in their offerings but as this is my first time purchasing one of their offerings I have no idea if they achieve it.
Packaging
Another example of nitrogen flushed tuna can packaging, which is readily recyclable but does also have drawbacks. Here specifically the tin is narrower and taller than the more common hockey puck shape. As is the case for this package style in general it’s just too big for a half quarter, so size could be better. That said the buds were in fine condition despite the excess space. Also I would note that this type of packaging does not have the problem seen with plastic bins where some types have static charges that cause the inside walls to get completely caked in trichomes. I can’t stand that, it’s really the trichome contents that you primarily bought the cannabis for after all.
A personal opinion here, I am very much not a fan of the design language the brand uses. It’s about as far from my aesthetics as one can get but really it’s the contents that matter. If it was up to me everything would be minimalist, stark and coloured like a venomous arthropod. So if you are like me it’s important to look past the presentation of the brand.
Once the metal lid was removed and the tin was resealed with the included plastic lid the container heavily leaked scent and we can assume moisture too. The plastic lid is just not at all up to task. Immediately transfer this to a proper container after opening. Really this should be a rule with any of the tuna tin containers.
This was packaged on November 1, 2021 and I opened it on January 24, 2022, 84 days later.
Looks
Buds are a nice size, even the smalls used to bring everything up to weight are acceptable. Coverage is very dense and underneath a majority of the surface is a deep indigo with orange stigma visible throughout. Trim is quite good and shows off the shape of each bud nicely. The shape is rounded and plump.
A strong showing here, but a point is lost for the visible seed on the tip of one of the buds. The seed is visible in one of the photos. No other seed was found.
Feel
Very dense buds with a slightly dry feel. Hard to compress and has insufficient return due to the dryness.
Grinding isn’t satisfying and grounds come out a mix of proper sized granules with a bit becoming full on powdered, again due to the dryness. Cohesion is not quite satisfying and yes, again this is attributable to the slight dryness. Rolling a joint is nicer than the consistency would suggest.
Store with a humidicant pack to help correct the dryness.
Scent
Scent is somewhere between Concord grapes and dark cherries with a hint of anise. Bright, fruity and acidic, the lack of low tones and earths is noteworthy. Enticing but simple, it’s friendly in an open and completely non threatening way. If it was a human friend you wouldn’t be discussing anything deep like the heat death of the universe with them, but they are always there with a smile and a hug.
Taste
Volcano: Flavours start out as strong cherry and grape with a hint of anise. Just bright, fresh and tart tastes that are very reminiscent of Black Cherry Punch but without any low earthy contribution. These tastes fade disappointingly fast and without the earths to support the dry down the taste is soon reduced to a nondescript bitterness with a faint hint of blueberry.
Joint: Clean burning and here the cherry notes never quit. Again flavours are locked into berries and fruits with that whisper of anise so may be a bit too single note for some paletes. Not me though, I enjoyed this composition and preferred this method of consumption.
Price and Value
This was purchased from Green Merchant which has the distinction of being geographically closest to my home during a pretty cold winter here in southern Ontario. I paid $38.36 for the half quarter but you can find it cheaper. Green Merchant does price match though so I could have paid less myself, my own fault as I just failed to check other posted prices beforehand (See note about cold weather dictating I just go to the closest place).
For what I paid it works out to $10.96 per gram. The label lists potential THC at 211.80mg/g and CBD at 0.60mg/g. Terpene percentage is reported as 1.68%, dominant terpenes tested for are limonene, caryophyllene, myrcene, linalool and farnesene, ratios not disclosed. *Insert my rant about how terpenes are not at all the only scent and taste compounds and terpenes only tell a little bit of the story here*. Price per 100mg of THC is $5.17.
This offering does have a craft designation here in Ontario, which is too vaguely defined to definitely mean anything but I tend to see higher quality in such products when I inspect them.
I found value here. . .BUT, I found the effects to be really mild. A few others online also felt effect wise it punched below its weight but also of note is by far many more people said it hit hard. I am far in the minority, your mileage may vary and even in my case I found a lot to enjoy here. I really don’t want to scare anyone off because of this, after all not having a huge tolerance I really didn’t mind and think that this is still a worthy offering but I do feel I must note it.
Conclusions
In the mid market ideally you get a bit of luxury with a few compromises that wouldn’t be acceptable from the true luxury offerings. Since that’s my ideal, then that’s what I’ll judge this on. Luxury is present in colour and scent for sure along with a great presentation. Compromises are few, primarily with respect to lower than ideal humidity and the presence of a seed.
I did find the effects milder than expected, but it would be a lie to say that that detracted from my experience. Besides it’s almost definite that you will find it respectably strong.
The closest competitors are the myriad Black Cherry type offerings, and this one can favourably compete with those that are in a higher price tier easily.
