Somatik Cold Brew Coffee

Somatik Cold Brew Coffee
Full disclosure -- we love to pair marijuana with coffee. The combination of the right bud and the right bean gives us a really great feeling. But until now, we’ve never mixed them like this before. We were pleased with the results, but ultimately, we aren’t sure if this product is right for us.

Appearance 3/5
The drink comes packaged inside a nice, portable bottle. It’s been infused with 10mg of THC, along with less than 1mg of CBD. We saw another bottle for sale that was CBD heavy, and our budtender informed us that the THC heavy potion would give us a strong “high” feeling, while the CBD bottle would provide a more relaxing, subdued experience. Since we drink our coffee to get wired, we chose the THC bottle.

Aroma 4/5
The aroma is strong and clean, like most cold brew coffees we’ve tried. Phenomenal.

Flavor 3/5
The instructions recommended we start with half the bottle, and go from there. So, that’s what we did. The taste was mild on our tongues, and there was no hint of THC flavor whatsoever. It just tasted like another cup of cold brew. The label told us it would be 15-20 minutes before we would feel, in their words, “euphoric.”

Effect 3/5
Another full disclosure -- this was our first THC-infused beverage. So, we had no idea what to expect. Our history with edibles has been dodgy, at best. We mostly stay away from them these days because we hate it when we fall asleep too soon. We were hoping that wouldn’t be the case this time, and it was only a few minutes before we started feeling the effects.

There might not be a more subjective marijuana experience than the edible high. In our experience, everyone reacts to an edible differently, and it’s all based on the uniqueness of your body. And this cold brew was definitely chilling our body out.

We felt a lightness in our step. Our muscles were relaxed, and our mood was chipper. The high wasn’t strong, which was good, because we didn’t want it to dominate our attention span. Coffee still needs to be coffee, and this brew perked us up in just the right way.

While we enjoyed this product, it’s hard for us to view it as anything other than a novelty. As a cup of coffee, it was a pretty mild buzz. As a THC delivery system, it provided a pleasant feeling, but it wasn’t strong (or special) enough for us to want to reach for another bottle. If you’re a fan of the coffee-and-cannabis combo, this will be a nice variation on your regular high, but we doubt it will find its way into your daily routine.

Long story short -- we can’t deny that we enjoyed this beverage, but for us, this was an example of a product trying to do something that we can do better by ourselves. We find it a poor substitute for our usual routine, which consists of a cup of coffee and a bowl of some bud. But that’s just our personal taste. That said, if you’re in the mood to try a coffee with a cannabis-infused kick, we highly recommend this bottle of brew.

In a neighborhood full of tough competition, as far as dispensaries are concerned, Mary Janes Hollywood soars high above the rest. It offers a highly-personalized shopping experience, with an expert budtender to inform you about their catered selection of products. The prices are high, but so is the quality. So, whether you’re looking for a good eighth or a CBD balm, if you come to Mary Janes Hollywood, you’re going to be satisfied with your purchase and your overall experience.

Address:
4901 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90029
Hours: Mon-Sat: 10am - 10pm; Sun: 10am - 8pm

If you’re a smoker and live in East Hollywood, you’re probably familiar with Melrose Ave’s “Cannabis Row” -- named (by us) for the awesome collection of dispensaries located within just a few blocks of each other. We love this strip, and often come down here to visit some of our favorite shops. But the last time we visited, we found ourselves at Mary Janes Hollywood for the first time. And, to be honest, we might have found our new favorite spot.

Unlike some other places in the area, Mary Janes is hard to miss with its bold signage and small parking lot out front. As soon as we entered, we immediately noticed several small, black blimps placed around the room. Then, we saw a large sign featuring their dirigible logo with the slogan “Get high with us” hanging on the wall.

We liked that, mainly because we love a good pun. But, considering humor is often a rarity at most places, it really stood out to us. Bravo, Mary Jane. We would love to take you up on that offer.

After a short wait, we were admitted into the showroom, with another customer who arrived before us. As we entered, we spotted more black airships in this room, too. Our eyes had to slightly adjust to the room, to be honest.

The waiting room was bright and noisy, yet the inside is much darker and more subdued, with light strings arranged inside the cases to give their merchandise a warm, mysterious, glimpse-inside-the-briefcase-from-Pulp-Fiction vibe.

As we leaned in for a closer look, we were greeted by our budtender, one of several working the counter at the time. She was cheery and soft-spoken, as well as full of useful information about their products. She quickly gave us a rundown of the display case, and let us roam free to explore what they had to offer.

First, we browsed the bud. They had some good-looking plants here, but the entire selection was pre-packaged and supplied by big name brands. That meant no big jars of bud, and limited quantities available for purchase.

No grams. Just eighths and above for sale.

For some people, that’s not an issue. For others, that might be a turn-off. Personally, we like to sample a few strains on our first visit -- but we also have to keep our budget in mind. But if there’s one thing we could say about Mary Janes Hollywood, it’s that they stock high-end products at an equally high-end price point. The rest of their items -- concentrates, edibles, oils, topicals, even pipes -- are all carefully laid out in the rest of their cases.

We were shadowed (not stalked) by our budenter, who gave us additional information about any product that we asked about. This felt like concierge shopping, and we were loving it. Our budtender’s soft-spoken voice had us leaning in and forgetting we were in a showroom with other customers and salespeople. We were having a one-on-one shopping experience, and couldn’t have been happier about it.

After giving everything it’s due, we decided to purchase something that we’ve never tried before, but ultimately couldn’t resist -- a bottle of Somatik Cold Brew Coffee.