Cheap Thrills Bake-Off! Honeyleaf Vs Lolo – Which Canna Is Top Banana??

Photo by Mr. Ubetchakoff for the LA Beat.

Welcome once again, my heavy-lidded hep cats, to the Cheap Thrills Bake-Off! I hope your holiday season has been warm, safe and rewarding. In a situation where we had to communicate holiday wishes with loved ones over the internet, I’m sure some of us found out whether it was possible to burn one together over a Zoom connection. Is that warming glow the joy from familial bonds, or a particularly skunky OG Kush descendant?

Today, we will be placing two marijuanas against each other in an attempt to find the kind, the best choice for both the head and the pocketbook. In order to qualify, contestants must be regularly found in the LA area at a retail price of $34 per 8th ounce or less. This $34 window is based on Leafly’s reported average price in California during 2019. We are seeking to find the brand providing above-average quality for a below-average payout.

None of these products have been comped. I’m just writing about my own experiences as a consumer, trying to make an educated guess and come home with the best bag for the buck. This week’s recommendations came once again from Blaze on Demand delivery. Both of these brands include their low-price ambition right on the label, making them perfect candidates for a cheapskate connoisseur like me.

May the best bag win. Let’s get high!

THE COMPETITORS

Lolo Cannabis – #FreeBritney, indica, 21.5% THC, packaged 10/28/20, $25 per 8th

Honeyleaf – Wedding Gelato, hybrid, 19.7% THC, packaged 11/4/20, $41 per quarter which works out to $20.50 per 8th

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

First of all, let’s acknowledge that this week, not all things are equal. Honeyleaf is that rare pot that comes in a 7 gram sack rather than the standard 3.5 gram sack. If it looks like more in the picture, you’re not hallucinating. Its pricing at $41 per 7 gram sack also makes it the cheapest option on the shelf at Blaze, by a considerable amount.

So is this a fair comparison? At the end of the day, the question that determines the winner of this contest is: which of these products would I buy again over the other? So with that thought in mind, I think we can move forward and have a competition.

There’s an immediately noticeable difference in appearance. While the Honeyleaf buds are compact and dense, Lolo’s are pleasantly fresh and pliable, with deep runs of purple and orange flowing under the green surface. This is one of those strains that smells like a fruit jar when you crack it open.

There’s a nice, dank scent from the Honeyleaf bag when I open it, but the buds themselves don’t have much of a smell. These pebble-like nugs are hard to crack – this is going to require a grinder.

THE COMPETITION

On the days that I was using the Honeyleaf, I would grind up a gram or so at a time and pack bowls. Storing it this way, at least for a day or two, had no noticeable effect on the taste or potency. The head was pretty pleasant, I felt that layer of creamy smoothness implicit in the strain name Wedding Gelato (isn’t that just what other growers call Ice Cream Cake?).

Though a hybrid rather than a pure indica, I’d say this one had its relaxation/ pain killing properties at the forefront. I found it hard to write even a few sentences when this was at its peak, but it wasn’t a couch locker either. I managed to do every piece of laundry in the house in between squeezing out the last few sentences. This would be decent travelling bud, good to soak into your surroundings and wile away the hours.

The Lolo bud, flavorwise, was less creamy and more fruity/ citrusy. Though said to be a pure indica, this one was giving me the wandering mind I associate with a good sativa, Combined with the indica’s mellow body sensation, leaving you feeling like you just had a massage, it was a winning combination. At 21% THC, it comes on smooth and slow, but smoke enough of it and off to space we go.

Flavor and texture wise, this was honestly some of the better bud I’ve had all year at any price point.

It happened to be Christmas week when this bag was open, and some of it ended up going into the stockings of family members. Upon sampling, the recipients all complimented its luxe appearance and beneficial effects at relieving holiday anxiety.

THE RESULTS

This week’s competition wasn’t close. The Lolo #FreeBritney sack was everything a $25 bag of weed should be – tasty, memorable and so satisfying.

Congratulations, Lolo, on winning this week’s Cheap Thrills Bake-Off!

There was nothing wrong with the Honeyleaf bag, and the price was right. They are, quality-wise, about where Pacific Stone was a year ago. PS has upped its game since then – my last purchase from them was a feathery soft Wedding Cake that improved their status in my eyes at least one notch. Hopefully Honeyleaf can keep raising the bar at the bottom end of the pack. I think it’s honorable to want to be the most affordable product in the shop, that is also a good product.