How we choose the leaf variety of 2023
Leafly combines some damn doinks with deep data dives to arrive at an unassailable choice for Leafly Strain of the Year every year. Few share our 6,000+ varieties in the Leafly database, 3,000 store menus, and 10,000+ news articles. We also literally have filing cabinets full of new weed and travel all over the world comparing strain trends with actual samples and vice versa.
Our goal? Reinforce a virtuous circle. Witness a strain on its path to exponential growth and hurl it into the stratosphere.
We also strive for something new and contemporary. We love the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – but unfortunately Super Lemon Haze. We're aiming for Billboard's Album of the Year, Grammy Artist of the Year and Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year – only cooler. We choose the leaf variety of the year.
Our research includes tracking changes in menu availability, search traffic and flavor orders year over year across the country. We also try to choose something new that dominates the variety discussion and is really tasty. Previous Leafly Strain of the Year winners include Gelato, Runtz, Wedding Cake and Jealousy. And we still stand by Dosidos. Dosidos is tight! The leaf variety of the year cannot be purchased. Seed Junky isn't even an advertiser.
Jealousy unpacked
How did the 2022 Leafly Strain of the Year Jealousy fare?
Jealousy recorded numbers in 2023 after we named it the 2022 Leaf Variety of the Year.
We put a rocket on it and it shot into the top ten in monthly traffic before falling back to a more sustained increase. It's like taking off from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, where you're catapulted high into the sky to keep the noise of jets away from the houses below. Then the captain slows down, you fall free a little and someone is always screaming.
Be that as it may, Jealousy was ranked the 24th most visited strain (by page views) on Leafly in October 2023, up from 98th a year earlier.
Jealousy increased 100% year-over-year in stores from 1,313 stores in October 2022 to 2,553 in October 2023. It is now the No. 93 most-available menu variety in the U.S., up from No. 319 a year ago.
Jealousy or its hybrids also won at least four awards in cannabis competitions in 2023.
In terms of orders, Jealousy is currently the 48th most ordered variety in the US, up from 339th place a year ago.
Monthly Leafly reviews on the Jealousy strain details page have increased nine-fold compared to last year.
Finally, Jealousy or its hybrids also won at least four awards in cannabis competitions in 2023. Praise some brands growing epic Jealousy in the comments.
Thank you to all the phenomenal breeders, growers, shops, budtenders and smokers who are driving this golden age of cannabis forward.
For all the runners-up and overlooked talent, remember what The Boss says:
“You can’t make a fire / Don’t sit around and cry over a broken heart.”
Stay hungry, weed creators. We can't wait to smoke the transcendent new things that are maturing in these growing rooms.
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