My friend asked her favorite budtender, with the day-glo yellow hair, to recommend her favorite edibles and Dutch Girl Stroopwafels were on the top of her list. They come in a resealable container of ten 25mg cookies, equaling a total of 250 mg. The price she paid was $25.00 a container. That comes down to $1.00 per 10 mg, a very nice price!
Image courtesy Gary Uncle G Brown
The waffle is cinnamon and caramel. Crunchy on the outside and pleasingly chewy on the inside. It was a little weedy tasting, but not too bad.
She highly recommend when trying Dutch Girl Stroopwafels that I wait one and a half hours before eating more. They are slow to create a full buzz, but are VERY powerful. She was stoned for more than 3 ½ hours.
The waffles gave her a heady high. A nice, strong buzz. Once feeling the high, she began to de-stress and chill out. It was a creative, happy, stoned feeling. Dutch Girl Stroopwafels didn’t give her the munchies.
It was so nice she decided, rather quickly, to double check this product. It really is delicious and very strong. Just like her favorite budtender, she said she absolutely would suggest this to my friends, so I decided to try them.
Image Cannabis.net
I tried them one weekend afternoon at 5pm. I had a late lunch so my stomach was half full. I didn’t have caffeine with it or anything else to boost the potency. The waffles are already made with a good amount of fat from the butter, so I didn’t feel the need to follow my usual practice and eat it with something with some fat in it like an avocado or some mac & cheese.
Heeding the warning about this being a very strong product, I decided I would try half of a single waffle first. My usual dose is 10mg so trying half would bring me close, with about 12.5 mg in half a waffle. One issue for me is that they don’t easily break in half. If they are cold, they are solid enough you could cut them with a sharp knife. My attempt to break one in half gave me more like 60% and 40%, so I started with the 40%.
Image courtesy ILoveStroopwafel.com
The taste is good, the sweet caramel mixes with the crunchy sweet ice cream cone-like waffle cookie. There is definite cannabis taste at the end and it lingers with the caramel as the aftertaste. If you are familiar with Stroopwafels you know they are meant to be enjoyed with a hot drink like coffee or cocoa. As seen in the image above, you can let them warm on top of your hot beverage and then they can melt in your mouth as you eat them.
It took a while for me to feel the effects – be prepared to wait a while for this edible to hit you. Don’t take more if you don’t feel anything in the first hour, it takes a little longer for this to wind up its punch before it hits you! I was sitting for the first 60 minutes after I took it and when I stood up and walked around, I got a distinct head rush.
I ate some dinner after 90 minutes and expected that to retard or reduce the effects. After about an hour, I felt a tiny bit of body relaxation but the primary response was one of a stoned, heavy head. I am very sensitive to any sedating effects that Indica strains have, so I usually feel that more than many people. This was a “don’t drive or operate heavy machinery” kind of a very relaxed feeling with sluggish thinking and slowed reaction time. I didn’t have strong munchies.
So if you are looking for a strong, relaxing effect this is a good edible for that. Perfect for late afternoon or early evening if you want to just relax and stay in. It is not an edible I would have with my morning coffee unless I planned to do almost nothing all day :).
Kanha cannabis infused Tranquility gummies contain a 1:1:1 ration of CBD to CBN to THC. Each piece has 5mg CBD, 5mg CBN, and 5mg THC, to support relaxation and sleep. They are some of the most popular products at our local dispensaries and we understand why. Kahna Tranquility do a great job of relaxing, supporting calm and sleep. There are 10 pieces making the package total 50mg each of THC, CBN, and CBD.
These gummies are made with gelatin, so they are not vegetarian or vegan friendly. They are gluten-free. They contain no food allergens like dairy, nuts or soy. Each piece has 10 calories so the whole bag only sets you back 100 calories.
Taste & Effects
The smell from the package is a sweet blue raspberry-like berry smell. Each gummy is covered in a fine sugar coating that provides an initial sweet taste. Once that disappears, there is a semi artificial non-specific berry taste I can’t put my finger on mixed in with a slight cannabis oil taste. That taste lasts for quite a while, transitioning to something of a fake cherry aftertaste. Like other Kanha gummies I’ve tried, they are not the most pleasant tasting cbd gummies I have had, since I don’t like artificial flavors, but they are perfectly fine tasting.
Kanha gummies are robust, taking a good five minutes to dissolve in the mouth. I am willing to overlook a less-than-wonderful taste when the edible delivers the effects I like and this is a good example. As with all new edibles, I took half of my usual dose the first time to judge how strong they are. My usual dose is 10mg of THC and up to 20mg of CBD. Since these CBD gummies come in 5mg THC/CBD pieces, I started with one. I took it first one evening about an hour before I was going to bed. Within an hour I could feel the CBN start to have an effect. Yawning told me I was experiencing the relaxing and sleep inducing qualities. I was able to finish what I was reading, brush my teeth and settle in for a good sleep. I slept through the night and felt no “hangover” the next morning.
With 5mg of THC, I did not experience any of the psychoactive effects from taking higher dose THC edibles. When I take an edible with 5mg of THC, I usually get some mild psychoactive THC effects. I found the Kanha gummies to have little of those effects, although I wasn’t awake for too long to experience them. In my experience, CBD lessens the impact of THC, so that I get a stronger effect from 10mg of just THC than I do when there is 10mg of THC and 10mg of CBD in a gummy.
THC does work together with CBD, so I like the equal ratio of CBD to THC in this gummy because it helps activate the CBD. I find these work better than products that only contain CBD. If you are looking for a CBD gummy edible with an equal dose of CBD, CBN, and THC, this edible is a good choice. Many products contain only CBD and no THC, which I find much less effective.
The package suggests taking between 1 and 3 doses. Since even 3 doses would have 15mg of THC, you would have to be careful about psychoactive effects. I usually find 15mg of THC to be too much, but with the CBD reducing the impact of the THC effects, I can sometimes take a higher than usual amount without undesirable side effects. Some folks are sensitive to the CBN component – a little goes a long way for some people. Always start low and go slow with edibles and judge the impact for yourself, as we all react a little differently.
Wrap Up
For relaxation and solid sleep support plus a healthy dose of pain relief, Kanha Tranquilty CBD:CBN:THC gummies are a good choice. While I don’t love the flavor, it is not enough to prevent me from enjoying the powerful effects. Overall a good choice if you are looking for support with getting asleep and staying asleep plus the anti-inflammatory and other effects of a 1:1:1 CBD:CBN:THC gummy edible.
Now available in California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Illinois.
Kikiko has a line of four tasty teas that deliver various combinations of THC, CBD and CBN. Each one is formulated to deliver specific effects, as their names indicate: Tranquili-Tea, Positivi-Tea, Sympa-Tea and Sensuali-Tea.
Tranquili-Tea is for relaxing and to help you sleep, with 5mg of CBN and 3mg of THC. Positivi-Tea is for mood lifting and pain relieving effects with 10mg THC and 5 mg CBD. Sympa-Tea is for pain management and anxiety relief with 3mg of THC and 20mg of CBD. Sensuali-Tea is described as being “for passion and play” on the website, with 7mg of THC.
Kikoko uses organic ingredients and high quality cannabis in their products, so they are a premium product. This creates a price point per dose that is higher than the average edible or beverage. I am frugal so I usually re-use the teabag once. The label clearly says that there is no increase in potency after one minute and that these are single use teabags, but they have enough good flavors that they make a nice second cup of tea even if it doesn’t deliver any cannabis effects.
Tranquili-Tea
The Tranquili-Tea works very well. About 45 minutes after a cup in the evening I start to feel very relaxed, after an hour I usually feel like heading to bed. I am able to fall asleep easily and stay asleep. If I do get up it is not hard to get back to sleep. I sometimes feel a little something different in the morning, but too slight to call it a hangover, let’s call it a fuzziness that dissipates quickly. I especially love the tastes of peppermint, camomile, lemon myrtle and licorice root that come across without a medicinal taste. I had a friend who has gone through cans and cans of these as he has trouble sleeping and they work like a charm for him.
I’m a tea drinker and really like the taste of Tranquli-Tea. It’s THC dose is low, but you definitely feel the calming effects of the Indica cannabis. I would surely recommend their use as part of an evening wind down or anti-anxiety routine.
Positivi-Tea
Positivi-Tea has the most THC of any of the Kikoko teas at 10mg. Due to that dosage, this tea has the strongest THC flavor of any of the teas we have tried. It is still barely noticeable and does not make the tea taste bad or medicinal. You have to like mint flavors if you want to like this tea as it has both peppermint and spearmint in it. Some folks are not a fan of peppermint, so this is not a taste they might like. I have fond memories of having tried teas in Amsterdam, so I was excited to try this.
While I usually take some caffeine with our edibles, the green tea in this product provides a good amount of caffeine to help boost the effect. Instead of having an edible with breakfast, I had this tea along with a medium sized breakfast. I started to feel the effects in a mild way in about an hour, which is longer than usual. Everyone is different and reacts differently to different products. Be aware that these may take longer to have the effects felt than other edibles or “drinkables”, so be patient when waiting for the effects.
After two hours I was only feeling a mild effect, what I usually expect from a 10mg THC dose when it is paired with CBD, because for me CBD reduces the impact of THC. The effect was noticeable, just weak. So many things effect how we respond on different days like the type and amount of food in our system. Whatever the reason, after two hours I felt I wanted a stronger effect so I augmented the tea with Mary’s Medicinals THC Transdermal Pen for a boost. The boost helped temporarily but soon I was back to only a mild effect. My experience is that this product is good for people who want a mild effect from a 10mg dose. It isn’t strong enough for me to use without boosting it with something else, or making a tronger batch.
Have not tried the Sensuali-tea, but the Sympa-tea has the pain relief you expect from a CBD dose.
These are one of the more expensive cannabis edibles per 10g dose that are available. For our chart of comparing your cost per 10mg THC dose, see our COst Per Dose post.
Kikoko’s teas are an excellent, high quality and unique way to elevate. Great flavor profiles and good strength make this a solid choice, especially when you want to treat yourself or those you love.
These “slips” remind me of those Listerine strips that were so popular years ago, that allowed you to use mouth wash on the go by just dissolving the strip in your mouth. In a similar fashion, Kin Slips allow you to discretely pop a strip into your mouth and let it dissolve.
The slips come in three formulas – uplifting with sativa type effects (Cloud Buster), relaxing with indica effects (Nice Dream) and a CBD-rich mixture (Park Life) formula. We appreciate that they indicate the effects they are formulated to produce, as so many edibles give no indication.
While the strips are certainly convenient and discreet, they are possibly the worst tasting edible we have ever had. Despite the attempt at flavoring, as these dissolve there is a tiny hint of flavoring but it is overpowered by an unpleasant chalky, medicinal taste. Even the flavoring tastes artificial. Even with drinking something to mask the taste, when using these before bed it is not unusual to still have the nasty aftertaste in your mouth the next morning.
We find them quite strong, part of which is likely related to taking them under the tongue. For using the Nice Dream to help fall asleep and stay asleep, often half of one is enough to feel the effects. Nice Dream is on our short list when we need help with sleep.
Photo Courtesy KinSlips
KinSlips have a good strength, are convenient, discreet and specially formulated to produce specific effects, all of which which are big pluses. The taste is a big drawback for us, since there are so many other better tasting cannabis edibles available
Like the other Sensi Chew products, this edible is a chocolate caramel confection that does a good job of hiding the THC taste. If you are not a fan of the taste of cannabis oil, this is good product for you to try, as the taste is on the mild side. There is an “Insomnia Plus” product that has no THC, just CBD and it has almost no cannabis taste. This edible is usually described as having a “tootsie-roll” type flavor and Sensi Chews have a similar consistency as those treats.
I like that Sensi Chew has a short ingredient list and that the ingredients are something your grandmother might use in making treats (except maybe the cannabis extract, depending on your grandmother). They are not full of chemicals and fillers. They do contain dairy so they are not an option for those who avoid dairy, be it for allergy, by choice, because of being a vegan and cruelty-free or any other reason.
Effects & Dosing
Usually within 30-45 minutes of taking one of these I begin to feel sleepy. I am sensitive to melatonin and each dose has 2mg of it per dose along with either 10mg of THC or CBD. Once the effects begin to set in, I am able to get ready for bed and I last about another 30 minutes before my eyes are too heavy to keep open. I would not take more than my usual does of one 10mg THC piece as I find the effects are strong enough.
Sometimes I do experience something of a groggy feeling in the morning, which I don’t like. I experience that with several other types of sleep aids, so I think it is the melatonin. I prefer to wake up refreshed and not groggy. I am fortunate that insomnia is only an occasional issue so I don’t usual use a sleep aid. Folks who are more tolerant of melatonin, might not have the grogginess. I don’t have it every time, but close to half the time when I use products like this.
Wrap Up
If you have problems getting to sleep or staying asleep, I would recommend giving Sensi Chew Insomnia or Insomnia Plus formulas a try. these might not be your best choice if you are sensitive to melatonin. If you find you experience the grogginess, experiment with half or a quarter of a 10mg dose, to see if that reduces the impact.
Whether you are beginning to try edible or topical forms of cannabis, or are just interested in knowing more, we share are some good basics to know from our considerable experience. We share about effects, selecting, dosing, consuming – and what to do in case you consume more than feels good.
Effects
If you have not smoked Cannabis before and are unfamiliar with the effects that smoking it creates, understand that you will likely be experiencing new sensations. Well known side effects of smoking Cannabis flowers include euphoria, relaxation, heightened senses, pain relief, dry mouth and “the munchies”. These effects come from various chemicals in cannabis including CBD and THC.
If you have smoked pot, know that it is different than the almost immediate effects experienced when you smoke. The effects can sometimes take two hours or more to be felt fully. We usually feel effects from edibles within 45 minutes to an hour, but the effects can sometimes continue to increase up to 3 hours later. Every time is s little different. When compared with smoking flowers, it takes longer to feel it and much longer for the effect to fade. We have turned to edibles more as we want to smoke less. When we smoke, the effect can last an hour or so, sometimes two, but with edibles the effects keep giving!
Everyone is impacted differently, so make sure you have the free time to experience the effects – which may last up to 6 hours and for transdermal patches or large doses up to 12 hours. Ideally you are in a comfortable, familiar environment, preferably with someone nearby or in close touch who is supportive and experienced.
Eating or applying the compounds to your skin can have quite different effects. Some effects that we experience from smoking, like heightened senses or the munchies, do happen with edibles. Effects of edibles can include focus, energy and creativity with Sativa strains, pain or anxiety relief with Indica strains and anti-inflammatory effects with CBD rich strains.
Sativa, Indica & Hybrids
Indica, Sativa and Hybrid options. flickr: extensivlyreviewed
Cannabis comes in two main types – Indica and Sativa. Indica primarily effects the body – relaxing, anti-tension, and sometimes “couch lock” for stronger strains. Sativa primarily effects the head, increasing focus, creativity, energy and sense perception. There are many hybrids that are dominated by one set of traits or the other and some hybrids that try to balance the effects of both.
Wikipedia: On average, Cannabis indica has higher levels of THC compared to CBD, whereas Cannabis sativa has lower levels of THC to CBD.[5] However, huge variability exists within either species.
In the case of CBDs anti-inflammatory and pain relief are the usual effects Taking CBD with THC is reported to reduce the power of THC or at least it helps limit how high you get. Some suggest taking CBD to combat taking too much.
Within the types – Sativa, Indica, Hybrid – there are many specific strains. Some strain names have become well known and we prefer edibles where the strain name appears, so we can look up the effects if it is an unfamiliar strain. Also, If I want energy and uplift in the morning, I might not want to take an Indica dominant strain like Grandaddy Purple or Gorilla Glue or Chem Dawg that will relax me. I want a Sativa dominant strain like Sour Diesel or Jack Herer or Blue Dream. Some of the CBD strains are AC/DC, Harlequin and Ringo’s Gift. Sites like Leafly and others have reviews that provide details and reviews of strains.
Selecting
With the effects in mind, select what you want thoughtfully. Get something that either comes in small doses or something you can easily cut up into the portion size you want. Brownies, cakes, chocolate treats and similar edibles are often easy to cut into portion sizes. Hard candies and suckers are not easy to cut up, so consider that when making your selection.
To find edibles that are a good fit for you, look for items in flavors and types that appeal to both your taste buds and the effects you desire from your experience. There is a wide variety of cookies, brownies, cakes, chocolates, hard candies and other portable edibles available, so look around at different dispensaries to find the ones that are best for you.
Some dispensaries offer small diary’s or logs for you to keep track of what works for you and what doesn’t. It is a great idea to keep some notes on what you like and don’t so you can refine your choices and see what is best for you.
Always start with a low dose, like 2 or 2.5 mgs (milligrams). Do not to use edibles that are not clearly labeled with the total amount of THC either in the whole thing or per item (like with gummies). You cannot tell potency by the size of the edible. A normal size brownie could contain 5mg or 500mg, you just don’t know.
While a typical dose is usually 10mg, if you are totally new to edibles you may want to start at 2-3mg. While sometimes the effects can take up to 2 hours to be felt completely, usually after 60-90 minutes you should feel something. With a new edible, always wait 2 hours to see what you experience. If you feel nothing or almost nothing, possibly add another 2-3mg and wait 2 hours again, or next time try 5mg if the lower dose was not too strong for you.
On The Rise Edibles Medical Cannabis Gingerbread
Do your math and plan ahead when cutting up edibles. The On the Rise Sativa dominant edible pictured has 210mg of THC and it says it is six (6) doses. That means each dose will have 35mg of THC each – way too much for most people. If you want 10mg pieces, how will you cut it into 21 sections? One way is to cut it in half then cut those pieces in half, then cut those pieces in half, but that means you end up with an even number of pieces. In this case you end up with 20 pieces of 10.5 mg each which is close enough to the target dose.
This was an old style edible, before adult use became legal in California in 2018. Most edibles now – and in most states where it is legal – have the standard required dosing of 5mg or 10mg per dose, with some having higher limits for medical use, like 25mg per dose.
Consumption
How much food is in your stomach impacts the effects of edibles, and so does what you eat with it. We notice a definite difference if we take the same dose of an edible with very little on our stomach or if we take it soon after a meal. We get a much more pronounced and often quicker effect when our stomach is near empty. If our stomachs are full, the effect is usually weaker overall and can take more time to develop.
What you take the edible with can boost its effects we have found. From what we understand, the THC binds with fats to be distributed into the body, so it helps to take the edible with food that has some healthy fats in it like an avocado, some nuts or some seeds like sunflower, sesame and chia seeds. Too much food, however, and you will loose the benefits of a little fat, so having a big meal with a lot of fat in it isn’t a good choice if you want to feel the full impact.
Caffeine and spices that increase blood flow (like cinnamon, ginger or cayenne) can also help to boost the effects of edibles. If we are looking for an energetic experience, we usually take our edibles with some form of caffeine, be it coffee, tea, mate or cocoa. While Ruth is a black coffee lover, Alton prefers a modified cafe mocha made by stirring cocoa powder into coffee with milk. Since he loves spicy foods, he will often mix cayenne and cinnamon into the cocoa powder and add that to coffee for a spicy mocha. We find caffeine and these spices boosts the effects of most edibles I’ve tried. A favorite edible, the On The Rise brownies, come in both chocolate and gingerbread formula. We find that with the gingerbread we get a slightly stronger effect than we do with the chocolate brownie.
Flickr photo: JurrasicBlueberries Cookies 2017
Hydration
Staying hydrated is always important and I find it more so with edibles. I usually need more water than usual when I use edibles as I often experience dehydration and dry mouth. I usually go through four or five 16oz glasses. It’s fine to drink other liquids, being aware that sugary drinks could reduce the impact of the cannabis you are using. If you drink alcohol or caffeine or soda or all three, they do dehydrate you, so avoid them, limit them or pair them with regular intake of water – your body will thank you.
Overdose
It happens to most people at some point. With edibles it is possible to overdo it and feel like you have had too much. Sometimes this feels like you are ill but you cannot pinpoint what is wrong. Some folks get a feeling as if they are “dying” because they feel really bad, but don’t know what is wrong. We’ve experienced this as an all over feeling of being very uncomfortable, feeling nauseous in a way but not sick to the stomach. If we are inside, we can feel like we need to go outside for fresh air, and sometimes that helps. You are not actually sick, it just feels like it.
The easy antidote for too much THC edibles is to eat and drink. Sugar, protein and carbs are especially good at mitigating the effects of too much THC. Try having some form of protein, some cereal or some ice cream, even a sandwich. You may be feeling strange and it may feel strange to be eating, but do your best to finish what you are eating until you feel better. When we have the right dose, the taste of food is amazing, but if we’ve had too much eating is what has always worked to bring us down from an overdose of THC.
We have also heard advice to use products high in CBD’s to offset the effects, such as taking a high CBD tincture so it will bring down the THC effects. We do notice that we never seem as high with an edible that has a 1:1 THC to CBD ratio than one without. We have not tried taking CBD to combat taking too much THC it makes sense – as long as it doesn’t add more THC to the mix.
Experiment
Everyone is impacted differently, so first try each new edible by itself and when you have the time to enjoy the effects, not when you have to be somewhere or do something soon. Trying different types of edibles over time and at different doses will help you to find out what produces the desired effects for you.
Tranquili-Tea is for relaxing and to help you sleep, with 5mg of CBN and 3mg of THC. Positivi-Tea is for mood lifting and pain relieving effects with 10mg THC and 5 mg CBD. Sympa-Tea is for pain management and anxiety relief with 3mg of THC and 20mg of CBD. Sensuali-Tea is described as being “for passion and play” on the website, with 7mg of THC.
More Than Buds 