Connect with us

Cannabis Now

Cannabis Now

CRAFT Cannabis Brings Bud Lovers Legendary Lemon

Super Lemon Haze Strain Review C.R.A.F.T. Cannabis
Super Lemon Haze by CRAFT — Photo Gracie Malley for Cannabis Now

Cannabis

CRAFT Cannabis Brings Bud Lovers Legendary Lemon

Believe the hype — this cut of Super Lemon Haze boasts European genetics and boutique, NorCal cultivation quality.

Its heady blend of fresh lemon flavor and invigorating sativa effects have made it a multiple-cup winner, and once you taste it for yourself, it just might become your main squeeze.

Super Lemon Haze was the most iconic European sativa of the new millennium’s first decade. It has proved itself to be growable at championship quality levels across nine time zones, but no version is more beloved by discerning cannaisseurs than Northern California’s CRAFT cut.

Prior to SLH hitting the scene, its Dutch breeder Arjan of Green House Seeds, had already won plenty of cups with his Ultra Haze line, with phenos #1 and #2 still holding a special spot in the hearts of many old-school heads.

It wasn’t until 2007, when Super Silver Haze pulled off a 3rd place cup win, that the cannabis community got its first glimpse of half the genetic magic that would blow the lid off the cup just one year later.

When the Super Silver Haze was crossed with Lemon Skunk, the resulting blast of limonene was off the charts — far stronger than the original cross of Original Skunk and Citral.

To imagine the limonene profile of SLH, think a basket of chopped lemons — the terpene profile jumps out of the jar at you and goes straight to your sinuses. Only the most absolute fuego Sour Diesel and Trainwreck phenos — we’re talking an Arcata grandma’s decades-old head stash — can even hope to compete with the nose on SLH when grown to full effect.

And when it was first unleashed onto the world in 2008, it was absolute hype — multiple pairs of factory-fresh Air Jordan VI 92 Dream Team Editions found in  a storage locker hype.

SLH took first place in the world’s biggest cannabis competition and was a universal best-in-show for many who had never seen anything like it. Word of it crossed the pond before the cup even ended, and after the cup, the first batches of seeds were already making their way stateside.

One of those early batches made its way to the team now known as the Citizens Research Alliance for Therapeutics, better known as the bar-raising delivery service CRAFT in California’s Bay Area.

CRAFT’s Founders and Chief Cultivators, Alex and Allen, got their hands on a large batch of SLH seeds in 2009 at the peak of the Euro-hype. They immediately got to work on a major propagation project at their Emerald Triangle facility, which was basically a barn modified into a greenhouse with very tall walls.

Allen said this style was a result of the fear cultivators lived in during the era of prohibition it was constructed in.

“The way they used to do it in the ’90s,” he said, “they would build an old logging style barn and put a corrugated roof on it.”

Inside the greenhouse, they popped 50 feminized seeds of the SLH (directly from the Dutch master himself) resulting in the first batch of 10 winner phenotypes that were worth keeping.

Super Lemon Haze Strain Review C.R.A.F.T. Cannabis

“It was great for the greenhouse because it didn’t mold,” Alan said. “We were off the grid, with solar fans, and the area we were in at the time was definitely prone to mold issues.”

Alan knew from the first time he’d seen SLH in Amsterdam that it was the strain for him. He loved the name and, more importantly, it was a haze.

He’d loved a Northern Lights #5 x Haze, as did many, back in the day. At one point he was even in possession of a killer phenotype from SoCal.

It didn’t last forever, but it did set Alan on his haze hunt long before he’d arrived in Amsterdam. Once SLH was in his sights it was a done deal,

“When it’s grown well and healthy it’s amazing how crystally and terpy it is,” he said. “It also makes incredible concentrates.”

This marijuana myth grew wings at Harborside Health Center, which was more than happy to take the SLH off the team’s hands. Word on its (always brief) appearances on Harborside’s menu spread quickly, and a new bay area favorite was born.

“I gave it out to everyone back in the day!” Alan said with a laugh. “Now it’s kind of sought after. A lot of the people I’d given it to back then are coming out trying to get it again.”

Alan said while the SLH has a sativa stretch to it, the phenotype they developed finishes flowering in 65 days. It doesn’t even take as long as some of the cup-winning hybrids CRAFT runs despite the obvious lack of indica. The learning curve on SLH was also the best out of all the boutique strains they’d worked with.

The SLH was involved in some serious breeding projects at CRAFT, but they haven’t had the space to develop the line further. In the future, you can expect pairings with the NorCal cup winner Tahoe Chem, as well as the Acai pheno of Gelato.

And like a true prepper, Alan is hoping for the best, but prepared for a worst case scenario. He’s still holding onto to some of the seeds from Green House’s 2008 drop.

TELL US, have you smoked Super Lemon Haze?

More in Cannabis

To Top