I recently found out that a few dispensaries near me sell individually packaged chocolates and candies that are infused with 10mg of THC. Depending on the store and brand, the individually packaged edibles sell for $3 to $5 each (so you know my cheap ass got excited).
Why not buy in bulk?
Although buying in bulk is probably cheaper in the long run, I don’t buy and/or consume edibles often enough to worry about the cost difference. Not to mention the fact that I don’t know what I do/do not like, so I want to avoid wasting money. For example, if I buy a 10-pack of infused chocolates but they taste like shit, I’ll have 9 edibles left that I can’t return. I could try to get some of my money back by selling them to a friend for a discounted price, but I’d still be losing money. It’s also cheaper to try a few different types of edibles all at once without spending a bunch of money at once.
I don’t have a problem with trial and error, I have a problem with wasting/spending money when I have the ability to be smart about it.
Hot Sugar by Phat Panda
Initially, I traveled to Royal’s Cannabis in Spokane to buy Koko balls, another brand of edibles. Unfortunately, Koko balls are no longer sold individually wrapped packages. When I told the Budtender that I was looking for individually wrapped edibles, she brought out their Phat Panda stock.
Hot Sugar edibles are produced by Phat Panda (i.e., Grow Op Farms). Currently, its primary operations and sales are based here in Washington State; however, according to its website, Phat Panda is working on expanding into California, Oregon, Nevada, and a few other states.
The individually packaged treats were $3 a piece. I bought two (2) types of infused chocolates and two (2) types of infused caramels ($12 in total). I taste-tested all four (4) treats in one sitting and in the following order: Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Salted Caramel, and Dipped Apple Caramel.
General Thoughts and Feedback
I don’t know if this is true for the edibles that are bought in bulk, but the individually wrapped packages don’t come with a perforation or tear to make it easier to open the package. They’re also double-wrapped. My guess is that it is a safety measure to keep children from opening the packages and accessing the candy.
Now, while I understand the safety efforts, the packaging will likely make it difficult for people with physical disabilities — and/or a lack of fine motor skills — to access their edibles. Personally, I used my pocket knife to open the packages. Those with fewer fine motor skills should use scissors or ask for assistance to avoid injuring themselves.
Also, although this plays no role in my overall rating of the edibles themselves, I wanted to talk a little bit out the package design. The package design for the chocolates is easily distinguishable from the package designs for the caramels. The chocolate packaging is loud and colorful; while the caramel packaging is minimalistic with a small pop of color around the flavor label. Also, each caramel package has a faint sugar skull watermark in the background. It’s subtle but effective.
THC-Infused Salted Caramel (10mg)
The salted caramel candy had a really weird taste. The caramel flavor was good, and the salt did its best to mask the cannabis taste, but the overall combination was … odd. For some reason, while I was chewing the caramel, I kept imagining myself eating a tree stump. Why? I have no idea.
All in all, the caramel wasn’t gross, it was just more “earthy” than I expected. Looking back, though, I might have enjoyed the salted caramel more if I had eaten it at a slower pace and actively concentrated on the caramel flavor.
THC-Infused Milk Chocolate (10mg)
The milk chocolate candy was gooooood. The flavor of the chocolate was much stronger than the flavor of the salted caramel, which made the cannabis flavor a lot easier to dismiss. If I had to guess, I would say that it’s probably because cocoa has a pretty strong taste on its own. Add milk and sugar and there’s not much more for cannabis to out-flavor.
THC-Infused Dark Chocolate (10mg)
Because it’s dark chocolate, the dark chocolate candy was dryer and harder to bite into than the milk chocolate candy. However, it definitely had a potent cocoa flavor, which successfully masked the majority of the cannabis flavor. I could barely tell there was cannabis infused into the dark chocolate candy.
Unfortunately, the packaging did not state what percentage of cocoa it had, but according to the nutrition label, the dark chocolate candies do have some milk. Unfortunately, that means that — depending on their individual limitations — people with lactose intolerance may or may not be able to eat the dark chocolate candies. Based on the color alone, I guessed that the dark chocolate candies were around 75% cocoa.
THC-Infused Dipped Apple Caramel (10mg)
I was really excited to eat the dipped apple caramel because I intentionally saved it for last. On the one hand, I was worried that it was going to be disgustingly sweet; on the other hand, I fricking love caramel apple flavored candies. Caramel apple tootsie pops? Want. Caramel apple cowtails? Yes, please! Sliced granny smith apples with dipping caramel? Ungh. I love caramel on its own of course, but adding sour apple flavor makes it so much better.
Thankfully, the dipped apply caramel wasn’t atrociously sweet. I also liked the balance between the apple and caramel flavors. However, as I chewed the dipped apple caramel, I realized that it the infused salted caramel might not have been completely responsible for its weird taste. The cannabis flavor was not subtle in the salted or apple dipped caramel, which lead me to believe that caramel just isn’t strong enough to hide the taste. Nonetheless, the salt + caramel + cannabis flavor in the first caramel was not a great combo. I guess I don’t like the way salt and cannabis taste together.
Final Thoughts
If I had to list the candies in order of least to most obvious cannabis flavor, it would go: dark chocolate, dipped apple, milk chocolate, and then salted caramel. Listing the candies in order of my most to least preferred flavor, I would say: dipped apple caramel, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and then salted caramel.
Obviously, salted caramel was my least favorite flavor. It tasted weird and the cannabis taste wasn’t subtle enough. Although I’m not opposed to dark chocolate, I don’t think I would ever buy it in bulk. I would, however, buy milk chocolate and apple dipped caramel in bulk without too much hesitation. If I had to choose between the two, though, I would probably buy milk chocolate in bulk. The dipped apple caramel wasn’t gross, but it didn’t mask the cannabis flavor as well as the milk chocolate candy did.
