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Some of us eat when we’re happy, others eat when we’re sad. Many of us eat only when we’re hungry, some of us eat all the time. No matter your eating habits, we’ve all gotten to know our comfort foods during the early 2020s.
We might be slurping up pasta, chomping on cheesy chowder, or mowing through mounds of moose tracks ice cream. Our favorite comfort food of 2021, however, is anything infused with THC. To celebrate a successful year of edibles coming to market, we’re highlighting the 15 best THC edibles of 2021 by emphasizing the tastiest and most potent products on the market.
A Quick List of the 15 Best THC Edibles of 2021: Tastiest & Most Potent
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Everest’s Delta 8 THC Gummies – The best hemp makes the best gummies with a delicious Delta 8 twist.
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Kiva’s Terra Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans – Exactly what it sounds like, but even better.
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Keef’s Orange Kush Soda – Pop it open, let the THC bubbles bounce through your nostrils, then down your carbonated dose of orange soda infused with THC.
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Kiva’s Mint Chocolate Bar – Kiva does it again with their irresistible mint chocolate bar. Good luck finding this before it sells out to dedicated fans.
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Big Pete’s Lemon Mini Cookies – Long-time favorites for long-time edible THC consumers.
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Pop-up Potcorn Jalapeno Cheddar – Pick your spicy THC popcorn, 10 mg or 100 mg?
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1906’s Bliss Peanut Butter Cups – Dark chocolate and organic peanut butter, that’s all we need to know.
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Kikoko’s Positivi-Tea – A 10 mg dose of THC, a minty pick-me-up that leaves one looking forward to the day.
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3Chi’s Fruity Pieces Treat – A classic, fruity, crunchy, melty treat with 50 mg of Delta 8 THC goodness.
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Midnight Bar’s Chocolate Banana Bar – 200 mg of THC in the experience of a banana wrapped in warm chocolate.
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KushyPunch’s Private Reserve Strawberry Gummy – Some call it “the dab of edibles”. Others just fall asleep after satisfying their taste buds.
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Coda Signature’s Coffee and Doughnuts Chocolate Bar – Cinnamon, sugar, milk chocolate, and coffee, blended with pure THC.
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HOPE’s Cannabrew Cold Brew Coffee – Over 100 mg of THC to wake you up without coughing up a lung or burning your tongue.
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Moon’s Cinnamon Mints – The spicy flavor reminds us of the hot candies we got during trick-or-treating as kids, the dose of THC reminds us we’re still adults.
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Cali Flwr Farms Chili Mango Gummies – For just $10, you get spicy and fruity gummies loaded with 100 mg of THC.
How will we decide on the 15 best THC edibles of 2021?
When we’re devouring all there is to see on the marketplace, we’ll have a difficult time fitting everything we want onto one plate. We’ll have to leave out plenty of tasty and potent THC edibles to nibble down our list to just 15 products. That being said, we’ll use some of the following criteria to make our choices:
Flavor and potency above all.
If it doesn’t make mouths water, we don’t want it near ours. If it isn’t strong, we aren’t interested. We’re looking for the most delicious, most powerful edible THC products of 2021. Of course, this won’t be our only criteria, but if our taste buds and homeostatic needs aren’t satiated with one or two doses, then you won’t see that edible on our list.
How it’s made.
When we’re thinking about how our THC edibles are made, we’re not just thinking about their time spent in the oven. We’re concerned with:
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The source hemp’s cultivation from seed to harvest
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How the product is processed post-harvest, including the extraction method
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The manufacturing process all the way through the full-panel lab testing
That’s not the end of it, though. If we see packaging that’s environmentally friendly or particularly appealing, we’ll give bonus points for an improved delivery method.
How much it costs.
We suspect that searching for the tastiest and most potent products will lead us to the most expensive THC edibles on the market, as well. However, we don’t want our top 15 best THC edibles list to also be a list of the priciest cannabis snacks. So, we’ll also look for edibles that offer superb flavor and customer satisfaction at a lower price, even if they have to skimp on ingredients.
The baker’s creativity.
Brownies and cookies have dominated the THC edible realm since Mary Jane Rathbun was delivering them to patients in San Francisco General Hospital many decades ago. Since then, the idea has expanded well beyond what anyone could have imagined. These days, anything edible can be infused with THC using isolates or oils, for example.
However, we’re looking for ready-to-go products that come out of the oven with their own style, creativity, or flair. If we see a creative item that no one else is yet recreating, we applaud such uniqueness.
How We Decided the 15 Best THC Edibles of 2021: Tastiest & Most Potent
Flavor and Potency
What’s more important: flavor or potency? We’re asking you not to decide. We say you should get both. We want a potent product that’s also incredibly delicious. We know, it can be easy to overwhelm any edible THC product with the taste of earthy hemp. However, there are ways to prevent the smell and flavor of THC edibles from tasting like bitter, clumpy grass. That’s why we’re expecting the best when it comes to combining flavor and potency.
Ingredients
The best ingredients are what we’re looking for. We love organic, vegan, non-GMO or otherwise healthy cannabis edibles. However, with our overall strategy of finding the tastiest and most potent, we’ll simply give bonus points to companies that manage to reach our standards while using premium ingredients, even if it may cost a little more.
Of course, when creating THC edibles, using the best ingredients also means using the best cannabis possible.
Source of Cannabis
Many cannabis-derived products, and even the source itself, can be shipped internationally. That means not all THC edibles are made the same because their source material isn’t all grown the same. Even more differences arise when you consider the farmer, processor, and manufacturer getting involved. From seed to shelf, many consumers want to know exactly what they’re getting. If we see a company that tracks this information and shows consistent quality, we like the taste of their edibles even more. Moreover, when a company uses better source material, the final product often has a cleaner, better cannabinoid profile.
Type of Extraction
When the cannabinoids are drawn out of flower, some companies will use extraction processes that leave behind some residual components, such as hydrocarbons. That’s because they’re extracted with things like butane or propane. While many extractors know how to properly flush their products of any harmful compounds, we always appreciate companies that are extracting cannabinoids with cleaner, more advanced methods. We prefer extraction methods such as:
Extractions like these create larger costs for businesses, which may result in higher prices at the counter. That’s why we won’t exclude companies for not using one of these methods, so long as they’re able to deliver quality, tasty, potent products on a consistent basis.
Lab Testing and Results
Labs for testing cannabis products are ubiquitous. There is no reason for a product to not be thoroughly tested on a regular basis. With the availability of testing facilities, we also like to see businesses use facilities that test for more than just cannabinoids. We want to see the results for:
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Microbes
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Heavy metals
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Pesticides
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Herbicides
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Myotoxins
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And more
Anything a lab can tell us, we want to know. What we can’t see on the lab results, we expect to find on the nutrition label. If we didn’t have such a sweet tooth, we’d never bite into any of these products without knowing precisely what they’re made of.
Payment Options
Can we pay with Bitcoin when it’s crashing? How about when it’s swinging for the moon? We don’t require that we can pay in crypto, but we do appreciate companies that let us pay in a multitude of ways. We like when we’re allowed to use Paypal or our credit cards. One company offered us an interest-free payment plan and we found that intriguing. The more ways we can pay for our THC edibles, the better.
One more note: Keep in mind that hemp-derived Delta 8 products are not yet legally available in every U.S. state, so check your state laws before attempting to purchase.
Our 15 Best THC Edibles of 2021: Tastiest & Most Potent
1. Everest’s Delta 8 THC Gummies
Not only are Everest’s Delta 8 THC Gummies super potent and legitimately delicious, the hemp they use is sustainably sourced, organically grown, and made right here in the USA. At 20 mg per serving, these are the strongest gummies on the list. With 30 gorgeous blue raspberry squares in each exquisite package, Everest’s gummies not only pleased us enough to make number one on our list, but we have a few gummies left over for later, as well. We also love the fact that they use a federally legal version of THC.
2. Kiva’s Terra Chocolate-Covered Espresso Bean Bites
Sure, these are some of the least potent products on our list, but they’re also some of the tastiest. These micro-roasted Tanzanian coffee beans are gilded in dark chocolate and deliver a flavor not found elsewhere. Eating one of their coffee bean bites is like sipping on a hot cup of coffee in the African countryside while chewing on artisanal chocolate.
3. Keef’s Orange Kush Soda
With a pop and a fizzle, you’ve found one of the tastiest THC edibles on the market today. But this edible is actually drinkable. Keef’s Orange Kush soda tastes just like your favorite orange soda pop but with something extra special. In fact, some locations allow these cans to be infused with up to 100 mgs of THC. This makes them one of the most potent products on our list. In many recreational locations, the size is limited to just 10 mg per can. But that just means you get the honor of buying more cans of one of the top 15 tastiest and most potent THC edibles of 2021.
4. Kiva’s Mint Chocolate Bar
It was difficult to narrow it down to just one chocolate bar. So we didn’t. We’ll include three. It’s a staple of any THC company that sells edibles. However, when it comes to efficacy and flavor, Kiva’s Mint Chocolate Bar takes home the gold. Its flavor is a crowd-pleaser, its activation time is rapid, and it lasts. These mint chocolate bars are better than any Girl Scout cookie you’ve ever eaten, and the dose is enough to deliver exactly the relief you need.
5. Big Pete’s Lemon Mini Cookies
Big Pete’s has been making their yummy cookies since 2009. As long as they’ve been making them, customers have been raving about them. We love Big Pete’s Lemon Mini Cookies for a variety of reasons. It’s a mood-elevating Sativa line of edible THC that goes great in the morning with tea.
6. Pop-Up Potcorn Jalapeno Cheddar
Towering at 100 mg, the largest bag of Pop-Up Potcorn that you can buy comes in an outstanding flavor that’s to die for: jalapeno cheddar. This spicy and crunchy treat is just what you need for movie night or a midday snack. We also love their website, though it has nothing to do with taste or potency. You can almost smell the popcorn through the web browser.
7. 1906’s Bliss Peanut Butter Cups
When we heard someone was covering organic peanut butter with dark chocolate, our ears perked up. When we found out it was 1906 bringing us Bliss, their tastiest THC treat on offer, we got excited. When we dove in and enjoyed 1906’s Bliss Peanut Butter Cups, we knew they belonged on this list. Granted, this isn’t the most potent product on our list. It’s even blended with CBD, as well. But since they’re so tasty, we ate a couple of them to reach the experience we desired.
8. Kikoko’s Positivi-Tea
This minty pick-me-up is intended to help you start the day off right. Elevating mood and increasing joy is the goal of this tea bag and it all starts with how it smells. Hints of peppermint, spearmint, and lemon wake up the senses as energy is massaged into them with the scents of licorice root, organic cane sugar, and green tea. At just 10 mg of THC, it’s not the strongest, but one of the best tasting teas we’ve ever come across.
9. 3Chi’s Fruity Pieces Treat
Remember having marshmallow and crispy rice treats as a child? Don’t you wish you could have those again, but better? With 3Chi’s Fruity Pieces Treat, that wish can come true. These 50 mg bars pack a serious punch, and for less than $8, they’re an absolute steal. You may find yourself having to eat this THC edible in bites rather than by the bar. While you can go classic on this old favorite and select their plain crispy rice product, we prefer the fruity version.
10. Midnight Bar’s Chocolate Banana Bar
One of the tastiest and most potent products on the market: this chocolate banana bar gave Kiva’s Mint Chocolate bar a run for its money. The creamy milk chocolate blends perfectly with the smooth banana flavor. Moreover, it’s so strong that even the most tolerant THC consumer would react to this edible.
11. KushyPunch’s Private Reserve Strawberry Gummy
The “dab of edibles” is how many people refer to this edible. But KushyPunch’s Private Reserve Strawberry Gummy is also a taste explosion. While the purest and most potent THC is the true kicker of this edible, we could gnaw on these from morning to night.
12. Coda Signature’s Coffee and Doughnuts Chocolate Bar
Literally, all the best tastes on Earth combined into an edible THC chocolate bar: milk chocolate, cinnamon sugar, robust coffee. Though this bar is only half as strong as the previous chocolate banana bar, its superb flavor keeps it floating above the competition.
13. HOPE’s Cannabrew Cold Brew Coffee
If you like to wake up and immediately start consuming, we’ve found the tastiest, most potent way to do it. Many consumers will grab their pipe or joint so they can cough themselves full of energy. We prefer to grab one of HOPE’s Cannabrew Cold Brew Coffees. We never burn our mouths or lungs when we choose this style of wake-and-bake.
14. Moon’s Cinnamon Mints
Sometimes, when trick-or-treating as a child, you’d get a candy that you didn’t know what it was. It didn’t take long to learn that the little red ones would set your mouth on fire with spicy flavor. Moon’s Cinnamon Mints take us back to that time, without the mouth scorching scream of pain, and with an addition of THC. Each piece lacks potency on its own, however, the good thing about a low-dose product like this is that you can always take more.
15. Cali Flwr Farms Chili Mango Gummies
These fruity and spicy gummies are the best deal on our top 15 list of THC edibles of 2021. They’re only $10 for a bag of gummies that add up to 100 mg of THC. The chili brings a flavorful spice while the juicy mango flavor balances it all out and has us begging for more.
How Do They Make THC Edibles?
Do you know how they say there’s more than one way to make a THC edible? Well, if they don’t say that, they should. There’s a wide range of ways to make THC edibles. So, how are businesses making THC edibles today?
Any THC edible begins with the extraction of cannabinoids from the plant material itself. This could be done in the home quite simply by soaking decarboxylated cannabis flowers in olive oil. In fact, this has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to remove cannabinoids from plant material. The compounds are easily drawn into the lipid-heavy environment where they can be dribbled over a salad or used in any olive oil recipe, for example.
However, this method of extraction has been rendered obsolete by other methods that release the cannabinoids into a medium with a higher burning temperature. With olive oil’s low boiling temperature, heating it until vaporization results in the destruction of the cannabinoids before their benefits can be released to the consumer.
Thankfully, cannabis scientists have found plenty of ways to extract cannabinoids into edible goods. Some of them, like isolate powders and distillates, have no flavor at all. Some are even made to be water-soluble, so you can easily put them in any drink.
With this technology, it’s easy for any THC edible chef to make an assortment of infused foods.
How is Eating THC Different Than Smoking or Vaping?
You might think that eating a THC product would be no different than smoking it. You may assume that the feeling and effects are quite similar. In many ways, you’d be correct since you’re metabolizing cannabinoids in both instances. However, the method of metabolization changes dramatically when you eat it. As a result, the activation time, length of effects onset, and general feeling are all quite different than smoking or vaping THC products.
When smoking or vaping THC, the product immediately passes into the bloodstream where it’s circulated throughout the body. It binds with the CB1 receptors on our endocannabinoid system (ECS). However, when cannabinoids enter the stomach, they go through a two-stage metabolization process. From the gut, it’s sent to the liver via the portal vein. There, it’s rearranged into 11-OH-THC. According to research published in 2016, 11-OH-THC is “more potent than Delta 9 THC” and “readily crosses the blood-brain barrier”. Perhaps even more importantly, the research showed that 11-OH-THC appears in the blood in higher quantities as compared to when cannabis is smoked or vaped.
In layman’s terms, the key differences between the two versions is that 11-OH-THC:
