Candy Fumez, Because it’s Summertime

As I type these words I already fear I’ll be betraying myself, but I’m going to keep it short and sweet today. It’s July, the weather is generally summer weather right now, and with that brings some seeming trends to the cannabis industry, and to be more specific, customer buying trends. I’ve been saying for three summers now that come mid-June we see an uptick in joints, vapes (specifically disposable vapes), and sativa edibles. I refer to it as the “We’re here for a wedding, so we’re only in town for three days, and I just need something to help deal with all that family” season. It lasts until the cruise ships stop arriving, sometime in September. This extends beyond weddings to other family events, and a lot of camping too.

But beyond this, this year I’ve keyed into another trend, and that is the move to move sativa in general. And I know, because I’ve said it and written it and so forth, that sativa and indica don’t matter for effects, and it’s all terpenes and cannabinoids, but I’m using sativa as shorthand today. See? I’m trying to keep it short. Shorter. A bit.

But sativa. There’s been a general shift away from “sativa gives me anxiety” already, but this summer, I’m seeing a lot more people interested in strains that have that “classic sativa high” than before. As long-winded as I am normally when describing strains, a lot of the strains I’ve had less to say about – because they largely fall into that “classic sativa” category – are getting a lot more attention. Don’t take that to mean that I have a lower opinion of them. Generally it’s just that the finer points of the strain simply didn’t speak to me in way that made me feel like I would have to write about it. Sometimes I too am just enjoying the ride.

Candy Fumez, another fantastic cultivation by Firefly Organics, has become one of these strains. I first encountered it as a live rosin, and I wasn’t too excited. The gassy characteristics I’ll get into below weren’t doing it for me at first pass on the aroma. And especially on a concentrate, if the aroma doesn’t grab me, I’m not going to be terribly interested. But now that I’ve had the flower, I might go back and try it anyway. But on to the flower.

The aroma on the flower is quite nice. At first I tossed it in the “fruity and dieselly” category. The high was nice, and this became one of my “classic sativa.” But a coworker was telling me about their experience with it a week or two ago, and so I went back to it, and gave it another look with a closer eye (and nose, etc). Taking all the discrete components together (moderately gassy, with light floral, fruity, grassy, and pungent tones), it comes out sitting in a new car, parked in your driveway on a warm afternoon, windows or doors open, and the gentle aroma of freshly cut grass (with that hint of gasoline) drifting by.

The nugs are large, neatly shaped, dense, and a little sticky. They’re a fairly even medium green throughout, with light clusters of brown pistils peppering the bud. They broke apart easily but didn’t crumble immediately, making them excellent for the grinder, if just a bit sticky, so grind in both directions if you don’t already.

Most fascinating was the change in flavor from the aroma. While a bit of the generally fruit and gas quality lingered, it was underneath an entirely new range of notes: butter and herbal and pepper, but all a little bitter. The bitter wasn’t offensive, and while it wasn’t the subtle bitter of a specific flavor, but more the broad bitter of smoke, it didn’t overtake the other flavors so much, and it was still a very enjoyable smoke, buttery and clean, easy and light.

The high, well, I basically started the post with that, but of course there’s more. The “classic sativa high” of Candy Fumez falls into the stoned and social group. It was my coworker talking about how chatty they were with their friends that really caught my attention, and so I expanded my trials of this strain specifically to more social settings than I am most commonly taking my copious notes from (the couch, in the evening, frequently solo). I brought it to a few social gatherings to share. And it was a hit. No occasion went without someone noting that they were really enjoying whatever it was that we had smoked, and I found myself enjoying much more than normal some of the conversations I was forced to endure with family or friends of friends I may not normally choose to socialize with, and of course it also elevated my mood for those conversations which I did want to be a part of. All in all, a great summertime strain, perfect for get togethers and large crowds, but also something I’d like to take on a solo or maybe a couple’s walk on the beach in the evening. This feels super versatile due to its easy and uplifting high, and I recommend it very much.