Taste and flavor are significant factors that influence how people enjoy cannabis. Besides its many health benefits, marijuana also comes in a variety of tastes.
According to most users, cannabis has an earthy aroma – pretty much like the dark, rich, and earthy. Other users claim that weed has a fruity and lemony taste. Some users can even detect unusual flavors, such as cheesy flavors.
Cannabis contains three prominent aroma – Earthy, Fruity, and Floral. But it’s possible to detect many indistinct tastes in between.
Now, it’s essential to understand how weed tastes before purchasing cannabis-based products. That’s especially true if you’re a new user. If the aroma isn’t right, you simply will not be able to enjoy marijuana.
In this article, we shall explore everything there is to know about marijuana aroma and what you can do to improve it.
What Gives Cannabis Its Taste?
The taste of marijuana depends on the kinds of terpenes in the product.
Terpenes are organic hydrocarbons that give cannabis its distinctive flavor and aroma. They’re often contrasted from cannabinoids, compounds that account for most of marijuana’s healing benefits.
Besides giving marijuana its distinctive aroma, most terpenes also contain medicinal properties. So far, medical researchers have identified over 100 terpenes in the cannabis plant.
Another thing worth noting is that marijuana comes in a variety of strains. These strains are sometimes called cultivars.
Cannabis strains fall into different categories depending on various parameters, including cannabinoids and terpenes’ nature. For instance, Afgooey strains contain a blend of other terpenes like myrcene and humulene. As a result, the strain has a mix of earthy and skunky flavor, with hints of pine.
The following table highlights common marijuana terpenes and their distinctive aromas;
| TERPENE | AROMA | POTENTIAL EFFECTS | POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC VALUE |
| Myrcene | Earthy, musky, cardamom, and cloves | Sedating | Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant. |
| Limonene | Citrusy | Mood-lifting and stress-relieving | Analgesic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory. |
| Pinene | Piney | Mentally-stimulating and memory retention | Analgesic, anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, decongestant, and asthma treatment. |
| Caryophyllene | Peppery, spicy, woody, and cloves | Stress-relieving | Analgesic, anxiolytic, and antidepressant. |
| Terpinolene | Herbal, piney, and floral | Uplifting | Antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and antitumor. |
| Linalool | Floral | Mood lifting and sedating | Analgesic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, and treatment for insomnia and degenerative disease |
| Humulene | Earthy, woody, and hops | Mood-lifting | Anti-inflammatory. |
| Ocimene | Woody, sweet, and herbal | Stress-relieving | Antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antiseptic, and decongestant. |
Ways to Enhance the Aroma of Cannabis
- Choose Quality Seeds
Ever heard of the famous phrase ‘you get out what you put in?’ Well, it also applies to cannabis.
To harvest cannabis buds containing your desirable aromas, you’ll need to begin by planting seeds that can produce those flavors. But, again, this underscores the importance of understanding cannabis strains and terpenes.
When looking for cannabis seeds, ask the trader what the dominant strains in the seeds are. If you’re in doubt, consider modified seeds.
Modified seeds are also known as hybrids or clones. These seeds usually bring together some of the best qualities of different cannabis strains.
- Increase Cultivation Stress
Cannabis produces more terpenes when the plant is under stress. Stress generally occurs due to nutrient deficiency or pest infestation.
No marijuana grower would want to deprive their plants of essential nutrients. But you can apply gentle stress to increase terpenes production without harming the plants.
Several ‘Low-Stress Training’ techniques you can follow to manipulate how your marijuana plants produce terpenes. Just be sure to follow these rules diligently to avoid starving your plants.
- Feed Your Plants Adequately
We’ve already mentioned starving marijuana plants as a helpful tip in increasing terpenes production and overall aroma. However, supplying cannabis plants with the requisite nutrients might also help the plants to produce more terpenes.
That’s especially true for organic and natural nutrients, such as blackstrap molasses. The best time to use these nutrients is during the last weeks of the plant’s flowering phase.
But before adding nutrient supplements, experts recommend taking advantage of base nutrients. The base nutrients include Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium.
Like all plants, marijuana requires high amounts of nitrogen for vegetative growth. However, you should consider reducing nitrogen levels during the flowering stage. Too much oxygen could hinder bud production.
On the other hand, cannabis plants need plenty of phosphorus during the flowering stage. This is because phosphorus plays a role in increasing the number of flowers.
Lastly, remember to nourish your marijuana plants with potassium during the flowering stage. That may help to increase the size and density of flavors.
- Increase Ultraviolet Lighting
Another valuable tip for enhancing cannabis aroma is by increasing ultra-violet lighting. This tip also applies, particularly to marijuana growers.
Increasing ultra-violet lighting translates to enhanced trichome production. And high trichome production leads to more terpenes, which ultimately increase marijuana aroma.
As you increase light intensity and duration, be sure to maintain other ideal growing conditions. For instance, keep daytime temperatures around 65-80°F (18-26°C) and nighttime temperatures around 68-75°F (20°-24°C) during the flowering stage. Humidity between 40% and 50% works excellent for the cannabis plant.
Final Word
Enhancing cannabis aroma mostly happens during the plant’s growth cycle.
However, you can still increase the flavor of store-bought cannabis products using additives. For instance, you could make cannabis-infused e-juice taste lemony by manually adding lemon flavors to it.
As a thumb rule, always read up the ingredients in weed-based products. That’s the only way to be sure they contain your desirable flavors.
