Buying Hemp Flower: 5 Things To Look For In A Hemp Strain

Table of Contents: What To Look For When Buying Hemp Flower

1. Terpene Profile
2. Mood: The different types of hemp flower
3. Lab Testing / COAs
4. Appearance of hemp flower
5. Customer reviews

Different hemp flower strains have different terpene profiles

Hemp flower contains hundreds of different kinds of oils. Some of these oils are aromatic, meaning they have a distinct scent. In addition to smelling nice, certain aromatic cannabis oils called terpenes have their own unique effects that augment the way hemp affects you.

Lots of other plants aside from hemp create their own terpenes, which is why they might smell familiar. The terpene linalool, for instance, is what makes lavender so attractive to the nose, and pinene smells just like pine sap when isolated. Here’s some basic info on three of the most common hemp terpenes:

Myrcene

Myrcene is the most abundant terpene in hemp, and it has spicy attributes that are somewhat reminiscent of hops.

Caryophyllene

Present in lots of other plant species as well, caryophyllene has an herbal aroma and flavor.

Limonene

Also found in the peels of citrus fruits, limonene has a zesty, sour flavor and a very citrusy aroma.

Lab Testing / COAs

Hemp has exploded in popularity recently, pushing the “green rush” to even greater heights. As a result, lots of aspiring entrepreneurs have gotten into the hemp industry, and some hemp flower companies are better than others.

Unlike lots of other crops, hemp is a bio-accumulator, which means it absorbs and stores toxins from soil or other substrates. Therefore, it’s necessary to grow hemp very carefully in controlled environments. It’s just as important to process hemp safely, but some companies don’t follow generally accepted hemp production standards.

Thoroughly independent, third-party lab testing is the best tool at your disposal if you want to make sure the hemp flower you’re purchasing is safe and high-quality. Here are some of the testing criteria that good hemp lab reports might contain:

Total cannabinoids

Every hemp lab report should show the total percentage of cannabinoids present in the tested flower.

CBD concentration

CBD is the dominant cannabinoid in most hemp flower strains, so the total concentration of CBD is an important value to represent in hemp lab tests.

Terpene profile

By providing the percentage of each terpene present in a hemp flower sample, thorough hemp lab tests tell you what to expect from the strain’s flavor and aroma profile.

Pesticides

As the most prevalent contaminants in hemp, chemical pesticides are one of the most-tested toxin categories.

Bacteria, fungus, and mycotoxins

If applicable, lab tests may also provide information on other potential contaminants.

Customer reviews

There’s nothing that entrepreneurs won’t do to make money. As a result, you can’t trust the marketing that hemp companies use to attract customers. No matter how amazing a CBD company says its flower is, you’ll need to rely on customer reviews to get to the bottom of the matter.

Customer reviews tell you what it’s like to use the products you’re considering. If a hemp flower product provides the results that are advertised, reviews from customers who have tried that product will back it up.

In some cases, you might learn more from customer reviews of a hemp product than you can from what its producer has to say. Little details, like the packaging, shipping time, and overall usability of a hemp flower product truly shine when customers who have actually used the product take center stage.