Choosing the Best Cannabis Edible

While plenty of bud connoisseurs are picky about the flower they smoke, the average consumer of cannabis-infused products may have trouble believing that all edibles are in fact not created equal.

If you’re old enough to legally consume cannabis, you may remember a time when it was a mission to find a trendy, boutique cafe with locally roasted beans and non-dairy milk alternatives. Many were content starting their day with a hot cup of gas station coffee, cut with two percent and sugar. No disrespect to good ol’ gas station java, but the point is that we didn’t always consider coffee as something that could be segmented into different tiers of quality, influenced by factors as nuanced as the origin of the beans, the brewing method, or even the size and freshness of the grind. 

Today, we find ourselves in a similar place with edibles. With so many options available, understanding how and where the ingredients within your edibles are sourced, can help pinpoint which cannabis edible is right for you.  

So, what makes a truly premium edible? Well, as you might expect from the above coffee analogy… quite a lot of things! Here are a few key tips for selecting the product that’ll give you the most high-quality bang for your buck.

Pay Attention to Ingredients

This might seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how much undesirable stuff makes its way into your average bargain-priced edible. Artificial sweeteners, mineral oils and other fillers can cause an upset stomach and leave a nasty taste in your mouth. You want to look for an edible that uses real sugar or other natural sweeteners.

But it’s not all about the sweet stuff. One of the biggest no-no’s for THC gummies, in particular, is using gelatin as a thickening agent. A protein derived from animal byproducts (like bones and connective tissue), gelatin is not only off-limits to vegans and vegetarians, but it has a shockingly low melting threshold. The average gelatin gummy gets gooey around 90 degrees Fahrenheit – no match for the average summer day in Colorado, let alone Arizona or California. Gelatin also tends to produce a tougher, more rubbery texture than you’d find in gummies made without it.

Cannabis edibles company Wana Brands is setting the standard for quality ingredients. Their 11-years-in-the-making recipe contains only kosher, gluten-free, all-natural ingredients (including organic sweeteners and no high-fructose corn syrup). They also thicken their gummies with fruit-derived pectin, meaning they’re not only completely vegan, but they can stand up to even the hottest weather without losing their satisfying, chewy consistency.

Try New Technology

The introduction of lab-testing into the legalized cannabis market has guaranteed consumers a new degree of potency and consistency. But beyond that, recent advances in technology are allowing edibles manufacturers to bring their customers highly customized experiences, including precisely dosed CBD/THC ratios and a range of distinct effects.

Wana Brands is a great example of a company on the cutting edge of new technology. They’ve harnessed a number of important innovations, but one of the most exciting has allowed them to make new inroads in the realm of both onset and effects. Specifically, their fast-acting Wana Quick Gummies that are powered by a new nano-technology allowing THC to enter the bloodstream without detouring through the liver first. Not only does this result in an onset time of just 5-15 minutes, but it delivers a lighter “head high” that feels more like smoking a joint than the intense, body-focused experience of traditional edibles.

When looking for an edibles brand, do a little homework to find which companies are investing in research and technology. They’re likely to bring you an experience you might never have thought possible.

And speaking of technical innovation, that brings us to our final tip…

Think of the Terpenes!

Terpenes are the chemical compounds that give all plants – including cannabis – their unique smell, taste and biological effects. They play a big part in determining how a particular strain of cannabis might make you feel.

Some people don’t believe it’s possible to include terpenes in your edibles, since they are stripped away when creating THC distillate. But research suggests it’s possible to reintroduce terps at a later stage of the cooking process (we delved deeper into this topic in a previous post). Wana Brands believes so strongly in the power of terpenes that they’ve partnered with a leading research company to create three proprietary blends based on the terpene profiles of leading cannabis strains.

Why does this matter? Because these blends – each of which contains more than 30 unique terpenes –allow them to offer their products in class-specific varieties: relaxing indica, energizing sativa and balanced hybrid. In other words, edibles companies that traffic in terpenes can provide their customers with a more nuanced, specific experience than those who don’t… and the more terps a product contains, the closer it will feel to your favorite variety of flower.

In Conclusion…

When it comes to what makes a quality infused treat, THC potency is really only the tip of the iceberg. Hopefully, these pointers have armed you with the knowledge you need to find the perfect, premium product you deserve!