It’s the middle of the afternoon and I am sitting on our patio in the hi-desert – looking out towards Joshua Tree…

The temperature is around 78 degrees in the shade with a slight breeze. It’s a near perfect spring afternoon, and I’m taking advantage of it by indulging in a nice fat joint I’d just rolled up. The herb is of a strain called Hippie Crippler and this one came to me from Herb & Zen.

[Disclaimer: This herb was provided by Herb & Zen in exchange for an honest review]

I just finished editing the video review and I feel relaxed. My only plans for the rest of the afternoon is writing this review, which is a pleasure, so I’ve got very little stress and anxiety as I head into this joint. This is my set and setting, and quite frankly, it’s pretty close to perfect – just me, a joint and my thoughts.

Hippie Crippler is, in my opinion, a rather strange name – and I wish I had some background information on how the name originated. When I first heard the name I had several thoughts. The first was picturing a bunch of stoned hippies sprawled out on sofas, too zoned out to move. The second thought was someone taking out old hippies’ kneecaps with a baseball bat. Somewhere in my thoughts was definitely the idea of incapacitation!

This strain is not likely to cripple you – in that couch-lock fashion, because it is a strongly Sativa-leaning herb at 70% Sativa to 30% Indica. The herb is a cross of the Sativa classic AK-47, and Blue Satellite, which is a cross of Blueberry and Shiskaberry, making it rather Indica-dominant. This sample I looked at had 22.687% THC…

The Look and Smell

Meanwhile, back at the red bench while filming the review – I opened the eighth jar and immediately I smelled something earthy. Holding the jar to my nose I was hit with a strong, stanky cheese aroma. Very pungent and powerful. It was hard to detect any other smells as the cheese aroma was so strong. This was more dank than the cheese nose of a UK Cheese strain, for sure.

I took the nugs out of the jar and there were four nice mediums that looked very frosty – light green with orange hues.

The trim on the dense, chunky nugs was like a buzz cut, and I couldn’t find any sugar leaves left behind. Cutting up the first nug I could tell the cure was very good, and the buds were just a touch dry, but certainly not dry enough to affect the smell.

I must mention that the eighth I looked at weighed in at 3.69 grams, which is generous! The herb was mildly sticky as I loaded it up in the bong for the video review – and I was in anticipation of what this one would taste like, having such a strong cheese nose.

The Taste and Effects

Because of my anticipation, the flavor of the first hit underwhelmed me a bit… sure there was a cheese taste, but it was very mild. All the flavors seemed muted. There were sweet and sour notes, and I think I detected some mint in the background. I quickly took a second hit to see if I could further define what I was experiencing.

The second hit left me puzzled. Such a quiet flavor from such a loud aroma?! I don’t want you to get the impression there was anything wrong with the taste – I was just a little thrown off, and it’s evident in the video.

The flavor, once I got past my expectations, was a classic “marijuana” taste – in an understated way. It was earthy and mildly dank, it had a slight sour cheese flavor mixed with an undefinable sweetness. Nothing unpleasant at all, just a little quiet. I smoked through the bowl and by that time the effects were already saturating my system – mentally and physically.

Buzzed! That’s the simplest way to describe the strong effects that hit after just a minute or two. Something about the buzz that rolled in made me think of being in a single engine airplane. Once, a long time ago, I flew from Orange County to Catalina Island in a small Cessna plane and the initial effects of the herb took me back to flying along in that plane – the buzz of the engine, the rumble, the sound of the wind… just everything in that one instant.

I found this is to be a great herb for flying through my day, because it has an energetic high that doesn’t leave me couch-locked – even after a bunch of hits. The high has a pick-me-up, can-do attitude. Pleasant, upbeat, happy – all these words describe my mood after smoking the Hippie Crippler. I got thoughtful and contemplative from the herb, yet talkative. In my opinion it’s a great herb for socializing, sitting with your thoughts, or getting up and working on a creative project.

The Wrap Up

I smoked this one using my bong in the video review, but after taking more time with this herb I enjoyed this strain best in a joint. I ended up having a few seshes, kicking back with a joint on the patio and every time it was a great high – very contemplative with an active mind. And then I felt all motivated to get to work! One joint got me through editing this week’s video, and another for writing this review, then another just for the fun of it… there really was no down side for me in smoking this herb.

This one might work for a well-seasoned smoker who wants a nice, motivating Sativa buzz – or a new smoker who is feeling adventurous and likes a Sativa high.

Do you like to make mixes of your herb? I do, and I thought this strain would mix well with a strain I reviewed a few weeks ago, also from Herb & Zen – Strawberry Runtz. Well, the mix was even better than I expected in both flavor and effects. I’ll be smoking the last of my Hippie Crippler mixed with Strawberry Runtz – it was that good!

Until later, best of health.