Back in the day, top shelf weed used to mean the strongest ‘rocket you to the moon’ high money could buy. But now that the industry is growing and evolving, it’s no longer just about “getting baked”. People are becoming connoisseurs and using cannabis for all sorts of different reasons to enhance their lifestyle, whether it’s for medicinal benefits, to help with anxiety, to unlock creativity, or take live music experiences up a notch. (That will always be a weed truth: a good toke makes good music even better.)
What this means is that the goals and definition of top shelf weed have changed. Now it stands for premium quality flower that has been grown with the greatest care and handled with respect. That’s not to say there’s no fun involved: quite the opposite, actually! Let’s dive in.
What Makes Weed Top Shelf?
At a dispensary, top shelf weed will generally cost more since it is not a mass produced item. Growers spend more time and resources caring for it. Many steps need to be followed carefully in order to produce the highest quality plant:
- Strains with the best genetic make-up must be selected
- The plant has to be grown in nutrient dense soil
- The amount of water, light and nutrients must be continuously monitored throughout its life cycle
- No chemicals or pesticides can be used
- It has to be harvested at just the right time
- Meticulous trimming
- Dried and cured well
- Packaged thoughtfully and delivered with care
In order for weed to truly be top shelf all of these components must come together. A grower who spends good money on a genetically superior strain but uses inferior growing or curing methods, for example, ends up with a middle-of-the-road product.
How To Tell If It’s Top Shelf?
Unfortunately, there are many producers and dispensaries who rely on marketing gimmicks and high prices to make their weed seem worthy. A genuine top shelf weed dispensary will help you determine quality flower; the level of service and attention also makes premium dispensaries, whether online like CanEx or in-person at your neighborhood shop, stand apart. They will and should work to help you learn about the different types of weed and how each may affect you, while also offering insights into the community of growers they work with and source their products from. Transparency is key!
Once you’ve decided which type of flower you’re in the mood for, you can use the attributes listed below to help you to determine if a particular weed is top shelf.
Aroma
There is nothing in the world like the heady perfume of a quality flower. Top shelf-quality cannabis will have a strong and distinct fragrance from its terpenes, which are the compounds that make up the different aromas and flavors that each strain has. Well-grown flower will have a complex and vibrant smell with several different notes on the nose. If the bud smells like hay or straw or has a musty odor, it’s past its prime.
Appearance
There’s a reason most top shelf weed dispensaries have magnifiers. When viewed up close the bud should have a robust dark green color mixed with either a purplish or silvery tinge. Even if the weed is grown outdoors, making it slightly tanner in color, quality buds will still have a vibrant green tint. Red or orange hairs should be visible and the bud should have a shimmering coat of trichomes, which are what’s responsible for producing the psychoactive and therapeutic effects weed is known for. If it is dull looking, rust colored, brown or yellow then it is not top shelf weed.
Feel
Due to the high concentration of trichomes, those teeny tiny hairs that grow on the cannabis plant, the nug should feel sticky but not damp. It should also have a spongy quality with a little give and spring back action. Quality weed will be carefully trimmed and appear full. If it’s rock hard or too light and fluffy then it is not top shelf.
A Top Shelf Weed Delivery Service
At CanEx, we take all of these factors into consideration when curating our online cannabis store. We work hard to ensure that your weed delivery order meets both your standards and ours. You can relax knowing that our entire inventory is only filled with top shelf weed, grown in California by expert cultivators, who are as passionate about good weed as we are.
As leaders in the top shelf weed delivery serving the greater Los Angeles area, we’re proud to provide Southern California counties with exceptional cannabis products and services. Most orders will be delivered within an hour of purchase. Let us worry about rush hour traffic so you don’t have to!
Interested in more than just top shelf weed flower? Visit our homepage to browse our huge selection of top-quality edibles, vapes, wax and other cannabis products.
And remember, at CanEx there is no bottom shelf!
