Leafly Buzz: 13 Top Cannabis Strains of August 2023
Labor Day or not, summer just keeps simmering on the west coast.
Up in the Humboldt County cannabis highlands, the summer light plant is migrating to the stores while the full sun plants develop their buds.
This month’s Leafy Buzz comes straight from a major pot competition in Eureka, California – the Transbay Challenge IV. There we judged 18 flowers in six hours and came back with loads of bud to examine.
Here are the cheat codes for the best bong loads in August. Here’s another issue of Leafly Buzz.
data grinder
This August, stresses are picking up on the west coast. (Sasha Beck/Leafly)
moonbow
⬆ 2%
Moonbow #99 bred by Archive Portland. Indica hybrid. (David Downs/Leafly)
Moonbow is getting lighter this fall – Traffic on Leafly is up 2% thanks to the amazing amount of Moonbow cuts in the west. Crossing Archive Seeds’ Z x Dosidos makes for a much juicier, fuller-bodied and less fussy Z. Our fresh Archive Portland buds had a lot of the spiky granddaddy Face Off OG behind the pretty purple buds. This strong indica hybrid worked great strolling among the giant sequoia trees or playing with the homies.
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headband
⬆ 2.7%
Headband by UpNorth. Sativa hybrid. (David Downs/Leafly)
Classic OG Kush x Sour Diesel is up almost 3% this month thanks to its essential diesel and lemon pungency and hybrid sativa effect. Despite its age, phenomenal cuts of “Headband” are still floating around, showing that the old stuff bangs just as hard as the new flavors. Take your 3,000 steps or plunge into a cool river with the headband on.
lamb bread
⬇ 12%
Lamb Bread from UpNorth. sativa (David Downs/Leafly)
We look at another classic, iconic strain spotted again in the Humboldt heartland: Lamb’s Bread. What sativa is it made from? Who exactly bred it? We may never really know. But since the ’80s, this Bob Marley-approved strain has fueled cookouts, soccer games, jam sessions, and gardening.
Purple Urkle
⬆ 24%
What’s up with Purple Urkle on the West Coast? Page views for the strain are up 24% over the previous month due to repeated sightings of Purple Urkle in the wild. Purple Urkle has been in the Leafly database since its inception in 2010 and is considered a type of Mendo Purps with a grape, berry and plum flavor. It will leave you sleepy, happy, and so relaxed you don’t care if it’s the real Urkle or a new name. (The real Urkle is out there though.)
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New to the Leafly strain database
Fresh tree for ’23. (Sasha Beck/Leafly)
“The 26” by Canna Country
Several sources spoke in hushed tones about this must-have new strain from the Canna Country farm in the Emerald Triangle. We’re still learning more about it, but “The 26” as it’s called is supposedly Forbidden Fruit x the breeder’s own Cherimoya. The 26 has already excelled at the Emerald Cup and reportedly has the highest score in the state for the terpene ocimen. It is purple with notes of citrus, floral blossom and candy. Reggie Weedman reportedly bred number 26 with Canna Country owner Ted Blair.
cartel cut
Cartel Cut from So Hum Royal. Indica hybrid. (David Downs/Leafly)
There is a new major OG Kush phenotype all around Humboldt – the Cartel Cut. Growers So Hum Royal gave us a handful of these on August 26th at the Old Town Farmers Market in Eureka. Meanwhile, large-scale grower Xotic Flavorz is producing hundreds of pounds of dried flower per week, including the Cartel Cut. It has the prickly, green appearance of OG and the piney, hashy, OG smell. Everyone knows what to do with OGs – roll them into fat joints and indulge in some indica-hybrid chillaxation.
Sherb Haze
Sherbert Haze by Moon Made Farms. Hybrid. (David Downs/Leafly)
Modern blockbuster Sunset Sherbert and 1980s classic Haze – how come these two never go together? Tina Gordon from Moon Made Farms presented us with a pouch of this perfect cross, fresh out of the ripening room for her summer outings. Sherb Haze layers the creamy berry body of Sherbert beneath the bright, sugary, grassy top note of Haze. You can wake up and bake with it, smoke it in the afternoon, or party with it to stay up late. Grab Moon. Made for flowers that are Sun+Earth certified, sun grown and aligned with Mother Earth.
Mama’s spaghetti
(Courtesy of Clout King)
Hype flower brand Clout King from California and Michigan sells this unique, state-of-the-art cross of GMO Rootbeer x Carbon Fiber. Looking luscious and gorgeous, Mom’s Spaghetti smells of smooth fuel with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. Such indica hybrids work best with a relaxing hobby, like chewing through The Lord of the Rings books or boozing Real Housewives.
Selection of pharmacies
(Sasha Beck/Leafly)
New on the shelf
Sake Bomb from Bombatta, CA
Sake Bomb from Bombatta brand. Hybrid. (David Downs/Leafly)
All the flavors of the moment make Sake Bomb the star it was born to be: Runtz, Gushers and Lemon Cherry Gelato are combined and blended with Zkittlez and Kush Mints. Of course it’s a flame. The new Bombatta brand uses these dope glass jars with an integrated grinder in the lid. But a grinder is only as good as what’s in it. The Sake Bomb felt like the grand finale of an explosive introduction to Bombatta flavors. You get a deep syrupy berry cherry tropical smell and taste and that cool hybrid indica effect that will melt away the stress of a road trip. Great camping medicine.
Burn the charts
Z by Alien Labs, CA
Alien Labs Z Hybrid. (David Downs/Leafly)
Grab one of the last glasses while you still can – Alien Labs Z summer batches tick all the boxes. Years after the strain’s release, Z continues to eat up market share, as does the Omicron variant of weed. If you’re on the podium at any competition this year, it’s a fair bet that Z or a child of Z will be up there. Royal Budlines Z again prevailed against almost all competitors at the Transbay Challenge IV qualifier in Eureka, California. 26th of August. The Z by Alien Labs smells and tastes tart, syrupy, gassy, rich and ideal. The powerful hybrid triggers a vibrant neon head swap that makes “Oppenheimer” even more badass on IMAX.
bestseller
Ballin out
MAC Flurry of Lyfted, CA
Lyfted Farms MAC Flurry. Hybrid. (David Downs/Leafly)
Breeder Capulator’s MAC1 is so good and versatile that brands can easily re-release it under different names and it will sell on the top shelf. The indoor grow MAC Flurry from Lyfted brand from Modesto, California shows why we keep coming back to the MAC. It is spicy and smells complex with notes of butter, vanilla and citrus reminiscent of gogurt. A MAC competed in the elite Ego Clash competition at Humboldt last year, and you can bet it’s going to win even more.
Bale on a budget
Sherbanger #22 of 530, CA
Sherbanger 22 of 530. Hybrid. (David Downs/Leafly)
Sherbanger strain #22 has continued to make waves this month since it was released last October. Many, many seeds and clones of this Sherbert/Headbanger cross have spread across the country and the results are impressive. A fire pruning of Sherbanger 22 is grown on Central Coast ranch 530 that costs less than $40 and keeps until the last bloom. We love it when you pour OG Kush’s gassy lemon and pine on top of Sherbert’s creamy berry. Roll up a guilt-free hash hole with this inexpensive flower.
High grade
We close with some Fuerte. (Sasha Beck/Leafly)
Peanut Butter Breath Rosin Syrup, by Arcata Fire, CA
Peanut Butter Breath Rosin Syrup disposable vape by Arcata Fire. (David Downs/Leafly)
The sleepy little town of Arcata, California is home to arguably the most successful street in all of hash-making. One of the local manufacturers, Arcata Fire, won the entire Emerald Cup rosin car category, winning first, second and third place. So we were delighted to receive a disposable cart of Peanut Butter Breath Rosin Syrup from Arcata Fire themselves over the weekend. They hand fill each high-quality pen with clarified, cold-cured, 100% live rosin made from fresh-frozen bud and solvent-free extraction. Bred by Thug Pug in Michigan, PB Breath crosses Dosidos with Mendo Breath and Arcata Fires rosin syrup pen ports, turning the flower experience into a vape. It hits deep, rich, savory, sweet, and nutty with no artificial, harsh, or foul notes. Disposables come in handy on car rides, after long plane trips or when the nosy neighborhood kids are hanging around.
And that’s what’s floating around on my desk this August for Leafly Buzz. Sign up for the newsletter to never miss a buzz. In September we got yet another report on Fireflowers and then our annual Strains of Harvest. Peace.
About Leafly Buzz
So good they steal it—the popular monthly strain review summary Leafly Buzz is now in its third year. We independently report on the cannabis conversation among connoisseurs, focusing on strains and branded flower from the western United States. Reporting includes:
- review copies
- Shopping at the pharmacy
- increase visits
- events
- Leafly search data
- Employee and reader tips and more
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