The strains that made Compound Genetics

Find the Flavor Crystals strain and smoke it ASAP. It’s one of the best strains ever.

I came across Flavor Crystals in Portland during the pandemic and it was the brightest spot in the darkest world. Aesthetics? Beautiful. Taste? Unique. Experience? Enough to make a friend of mine who doesn’t even smoke, who exclaims, “Oh my god, what’s that ?!” after i hit my joint. So when I was thinking about which breeders to cover in Weedmaps’ Strains That Made series, Compound Genetics was one of the first creators that came to mind.

I had the opportunity to speak to Christopher Lynch, the brand’s founder and chief executive wizard, to discuss the history of Compound and the grades that have spread over the years.

The origin story of Compound Genetics

Compound Genetics was born in Portland, Oregon in 2017. It was founded by Christopher Lynch, a San Jose born, Portland raised cannabis breeder who has been planting plants for over 15 years. “I started smoking weed in high school as a freshman. I had access to good quality cannabis. I was really lucky to have good marijuana from the start. “ said Lynch.

He started growing cannabis in 2006 after returning from a two-year stay in Amsterdam. It enabled him to see cannabis from all over the world and to fuel his fascination with cannabis strains and cultures. “I just wanted to learn more about cannabis culture. My friend lived there and offered me a place to stay. It was kind of ambitious, I was worried about it at first, but all the pieces kind of fell apart. “

Ten years later, Lynch and a friend founded his first cannabis genetics brand in Portland, Tiger Trees. Regarding the strains they had back then, Compound’s genetics expert said: “I had a Chemdog D x Sour Diesel IBL male. We made a collection of seeds with it, and that was the main project Tiger Trees worked on. Then it went on to Compound. Tiger Trees only existed for about two years. ”

Speaking of the brand name change, Lynch said, “I wanted to create a brand that would have broader market appeal. I felt like Tiger Trees was a niche brand that was too stoner-friendly. I wanted to be seen in all kinds of businesses and to appeal to a wider audience. My understanding that I learned from the industry was [that] Tiger Trees needed a new brand. An image that is described to me as a more polished, entrepreneurial and professional and overall as a better consumer-oriented brand. ”

With the end of Tiger Trees, Lynch was ready for a new business, brand, and city. In 2019 he started Compound Genetics and moved to San Francisco. “I worked with Node Labs. They basically offered to support my breeding projects where I maximized my potential in Portland, Oregon. For the next chapter, I had to get into a bigger market. California has more players and is the home of cannabis on the west coast. ”Since then, Lynch and his small team of less than five have been feeding the game some of the tastiest weeds around.

These are the strains that Compound Genetics made.

2017-2019: Legend Orange Apricot

The first variety that Compound put on the map was Legend Orange Apricot, a variety that Chris took from a packet of seeds that MAC’s father Capulator had given him in late 2016. How he acquired Legend Orange Apricot, says Lynch, “Jungle Boys invited me to be at their booth at [the Chalice Festival]. I knocked over seeds and came across Capulator. I gave him some seeds and he gave me an unpublished one [Legend OG x Orange Apricot]. I took it home and found a female guard and a male guard. I asked Capulator if I could do a breeding project; and he gave me permission, which is quite rare for Capulator. I used the male to collect seeds. “

Legend Orange Apricot was then used to create a full line of hybrids that included Ice Cream Man, Purple Apricot, and my favorite: Flavor Crystals.

2017-2019: Jet Fuel Gelato, Menthol

Jet Fuel Gelato, a gaseous gelato hybrid, was Compound Genetics’ next big hit in the tribal sphere. “It was when Gelato first came on stage. It really hadn’t caught on yet, and I saw the window to do something with it – make a name for yourself for it. I had the cut and ran with it. I was kind of the first on the market with hot gelato seeds. It had the fuel for the name, it had a good profile; In terms of growth, she is very robust in vegetables, she had good yields. All the tribes I crossed were fire. Gelato was new to the scene and trending, the breed and the varieties, then all this hit and it was like a magic recipe. “ Lynch Jet Fuel was able to extract gelato and menthol from these flanks.

Find Jet Fuel Gelato

Find menthol

2019: apples and bananas

With his success with gelato varieties, the name of Lynch and Compound began to crack in California. It enabled him to connect with Berner and Cookies to begin a collaboration.

The famous apples and bananas were the first collaboration between the brands. It was released in 2019 and is from one of Compound’s Jet Fuel Gelato seed collections. “I was at MJBizCon in 2019 and met Berner at one of the events. I gave him a couple of glasses. I had the apples and bananas – back then it wasn’t called apples and bananas. I created the strains, gave them to him, and he did the marketing and branding. It was a pleasure to work with him. ”

Compound Genetics is currently preparing to launch an entire apple and banana seed collection at the Emerald Cup in December. “I crossed apples and bananas with all the hitters of cookies, all the staples. Apples and Bananas x Pavé, Apples and Bananas x Big Face, Apples and Bananas F1, Apples and Bananas x White Runtz, all the unique flavors, ”said Lynch. “I’m also doing a Gary Payon x Apples and Bananas at the Emerald Cup with Powerzzzup.”

Find apples and bananas

2021: Pavé, big face

With the success of Apples and Bananas, Compound Genetics and Cookies have collaborated on many more strains, including Laughing Gas, Fish Scale, Gummiez, the coveted Big Face and the famous Pavé, a collaboration with Migos front man Quavo. “Pavé is encrusted in trichomes. It’s almost white how. Really strong gaseous profile, more like an earthy gas. She has a very unique bud structure and appearance, she’s also great for hash production. “

About the connection with Quavo and how Pavé has been received by the community, Lynch shared: “I think the Quavo thing helped him, but I think people liked it more because it was a really unique profile and a really unique strain in general. It ticked all the boxes, Berner really had to make sure that it was a hitter for the Cookies brand. “

As with apples and bananas, Compound will offer a full pavé seed collection in 2022. Be on the lookout for it, as well as the upcoming Compound Genetics flavor line with 2 Chainz.

Find Big Face