420 All Month: Guava Tangie

Years ago I discovered that there was a micro-generation whose members were born on the cusp between Gen-X and Millennials – somewhere in the ‘77 – ‘82 range, into which I fall squarely – and not only that, but among the names for this group were the more commonly used X-ennials, and the more flavorful Oregon Trail Generation. The idea for that second name comes from representing the peak of kids who grew up with a single computer in their 4th grade classroom or maybe a modest computer lab in their elementary school, and all of those computers had the game Orgeon Trail, where we famously all died of dysentery. I will admit that that game doesn’t hold as special a place in my heart as it does for so many of my contemporaries, but I do still identify with that specific time very much. Some other defining features include growing up without an abundance of technology while things like social media and cell phones would start to take off just as we were entering adulthood and so we are mostly comfortable with both being tech free and having too much tech around, and seeing the end of the suburban latch-key/drink-from-the-hose type childhood. Being an older sibling to a brother who is at the very very tail end of this micro-generation, and being a spouse to an elder Millennial, I am gently pulled toward the Millennial end of the cusp quite a bit, but there are some things that bring me squarely back to the Gen-X side that lives deep in my soul. Guava Tangie makes me feel like a Gen-Xer. Let me explain.

Guava Tangie gives a high that at first I had wanted to describe to my customers as a good date night kind of high. But after a few conversations using this, I still wasn’t feeling that it was quite right. Something was off. The body high from Guava Tangie wasn’t a date night body high, which I think also might need some explaining. Is a date night body high something that is setting a certain mood? Is it something that calms the nerves? What kind of date night are we even talking about? First date? Blind date? And then all of this came together for me. Date night, for me, at this point in my life, has one clear and consistent component: all of our children are accounted for and the responsibility of other people. No matter what else a date night will entail at this point, if I’m using the term to describe an occasion for me and my wife to do something together, the only thing that they all share is that we don’t have the kids that night. And then I got thinking that the body high from Guava Tangie is a little too relaxing for a wild night out (or in, or whatever). And because I like to joke -particularly at work – that I’m actually an old man due to some of my health issues (arthritis, cardiac stuff, and the like), it got me thinking that this is a good date night strain for what I think of as a low-stakes date night, a one-on-one social engagement where there’s no fear of getting a next date or being stood up or fumbling who’s going to pay for what. Because you’re married, and the another date will certainly happen even if it’s 3 months from now the next time all the kids will be the responsibility of other people all at the same time, and you can’t be stood up because you live together, and it doesn’t matter who pays because it’s a joint bank account but maybe one of us has some cash left over from something else and we should tip with that to not use the account that all of out auto-pay bills come out of. But we only get to do this quarterly, so we’re making the best of, dammit!

That’s a Guava Tangie high. I’m happy. I’m chill. I’m not tired but oh my god could I have a nap any time anyway, and boy does the arthritis in my knees feel a bit better. I’m excited to go out and do things, but if all we do is go to our favorite bar or restaurant because we know we’ll both get something we like, that’s great too. If it’s the kind of date where we end up coming home and just watching some comfort tv before going to sleep, cool, but if we get home and get to making out, awesome. This is all how I got thinking about generations, and came to the conclusion that for me, Guava Tangie is a perfect Gen-X/Oregon Trail Generation date night high.

Because this wouldn’t be complete without talking about the flower itself, let’s wrap with that. The buds are tight and tidy, bright green with few orange pistils. The trichomes aren’t as abundant in number, but look large individually. It’s really quite a good looking flower, even cured. The nugs are dusty from those fat trichomes, and crumble easily in the hand. I still used my grinder, but I didn’t have to. I had smoked this strain several times before my recent refresher for the review, and had forgotten, even having been selling it consistently for months and months now, that the aroma is quite pungent. It’s not unpleasant, but with a name like Guava Tangie, I forgot how not tropical it smells. There’s a very light citrus note beneath, but the primary aroma is a musky pungence. The smoke is surprisingly easy, with a very clean body and very little flavor. What flavor did come through was an extremely light bitter pungence. Again, not unpleasant, but if you’re looking for big flavor in your smoke, this might not be a top pick. It’s not a bad smoke by any means, but the real strength of this strain is the high. To recap that high, it’s uplifting, energizing, and social, with a touch of euphoric creativity lurking in the back. The body effects are calming, relieving of aches and pains, and giving that digestion a bit of a boost, excellent for helping with the rich meal and complex beverage of a good Gen-X date night.