Hi Tech might be the “Best Distribution at Large Scale” brand on the market. They’re crushing the game right now with flower from their Starship 1 facility ending up in bags from Doja and The TenCo. Looking at their releases, it’s clear they’ve saved some of the most elite crosses for their house brand, such as SS1 and Ray-K 41, Hi-Tech’s version of White Cherry Gelato. However, you might know them best from strains like Lemon Popperz which were sold in those mylar bags illustrated with busty anime women. Look, I’m only here to judge the cannabis, not whatever weird thing you got going on. Let’s get to it!
Review: Lemon Gelato Pop
If you’ve been paying attention to the Cali scene over the last year or so, you may have seen Hi-Tech and Dubz Garden climbing the Billboard charts of cannabis to a #1 hit. We checked out Hi-Tech’s SS1 recently and noted that it was truly potent. This time around, they hit us with Lemon Gelato Pop, Hi-Tech’s take on the super-popular Runtz strain. Lemon Gelato Pop is an expression of Runtz (Gelato #33 x Zkittlez). This expression had a lot of foxtailing in the nug structure, which to me says the batch was grown with more care than the average bulbous greenhouse Runtz examples.
This Lemon Gelato Pop was a three-way collaboration with Hi-Tech, Dubz Garden and La Coz’ Exotics, the latter two being responsible for hype releases such as White Gelato Plus, Bubblegum Horchata and the Cookies collaboration Berniehana Butter. The scent of this concoction was pure candy with some gas on the end. It was smooth to smoke, had bone-white ash and burst with flavor in the joint. If you’re looking for the bleeding edge of quality that you could get in the retail market in California, Lemon Gelato Pop is a great choice. It’s got great potency and great flavor, and I recommend it to anyone looking for an example of Runtz that was well cared for in a commercial garden.
Review: Ichiban
Ichiban (Japanese for ‘#1’’) was the only major release produced at Hi-Tech we didn’t get to try until recently. This cross debuted as their collaboration with Dubz Garden and Cookies called Berniehana Butter, a portmanteau on the hibachi garlic Benihana Butter. Later last year, Doja also got this cross and released it as Sour Candy, and somehow it just eluded our stash. Now that we finally have our hands on Ichiban, we can comfortably say it was well worth the wait.
Our evaluation of Ichiban was reminiscent of early experiences with Sunset Sherb and the Sherb/Cookie backcrosses. It’s a poly-hybrid cross of ({Jet Fuel Gelato x Guava} x {Blue Cookie x Oreoz}) produced by Hi Tech in LA. Readers who’ve tried Apples & Bananas are familiar with the Jet Fuel Gelato diesel & cherry candy primary flavor, but with much more doughy gas on the back end than pepper and leafy greens. The effect was relaxing and euphoric but without the dry eyes and mouth users experience from older, less refined Cookie crosses. We quite enjoyed the aromas, the effect, and how refreshed we felt after Ichiban wore off, so these cutting-edge genetics are an easy recommendation.
Review: Hi Tech’s SS2
We just had to check to see if the SS2 (named after their Nor Cal facility Starship 2) is better than the SS1, which now boasts the addition of Zkittlez to its genetics. While Hi-Tech has an elite lineup of flavors (RS-11, Bubblegum Popperz, Mega ‘C’, Zoap, and Gelato Plus 2.0), SS2 is one of their flagship cuts and we were dying to try it.
Gentleman Toker actually reviewed this cross before from TenCo as Zoy, but this is the first time the staff is trying the SS2 (Sherbacio x Zkittlez) and right out of the bag we notice pungent candy gas with an overtone of grapefruit rind in the scent. The flavor expands upon the scent, bringing more musty fruitiness and making it a much more complex experience.
When we smoked it in a joint, we noticed unbelievable ash quality and expert-level smoothness, which we both expect and are delighted with from a flower that boasts this pedigree. Compared to SS1, SS2 is much more even-keeled, relaxing high to the SS1’s no-holds-barred punch. Hi-Tech’s SS2 is one of the freshest and most elite branded products around.