If you walk more South than West in your walk from Barney's Lounge to Mellow Yellow, you will pass through my favorite section of Amsterdam. The beautiful buildings line small canals and quiet streets. This was the first time I had been in Amsterdam in August, and I found the crowds in the main sections of the city a bit overwhelming and unpleasant. This sleepier section of the city remained much more peaceful as they were away from the tourist attractions.
Mellow Yellow was bustling when I came in and there was a brief line for the bud counter. This shop services more locals than the ones closer to the city center, and I feel like that shows at the counter. Even when the shop is crowded, the tender is efficient but doesn't rush a customer. Meaning they still try to help advise you about what's good and are still generous with showing the bud under discussion. I love this as I would prefer to wait and have good service than be rushed.
Blueberry Mellow Yellow
Cheap Blueberry (25e/4g) seems to be one of Mellow Yellow's big draws lately, as is the blueberry haze and the blueberry haze isolator hash. (Neither of which I've tried. I'm always hazed-out by the time I get to MY, maybe next trip I'll start there and then I can report.) I had really been hoping to try the LA Confidential (14e/g) but it was low when I was there and just didn't look like it was worth the price.
There has been a lot of discussion lately that Blueberry isn't as good as it used to be, not the same anymore, etc. I can't speak to that, but I can say MY's blueberry is nicely grown bud, tasty, and a great deal for the price. It has a light fruity smell and taste and a moderate, mildly energetic high with a bit of head fog. It would be a nice daytime weed or for a morning when you didn't want to be stoned off your face all day.
Blueberry Mellow Yellow
I also picked up some Chocolope (14 e/g) because the nugs were frosty and smelled like chocolate and port wine. I had tasted Grey Area's Chocolope last month and found myself disappointed, so I wanted something to compare it to. Mellow Yellow's seemed like a good choice because I was already comfortable with the quality of their gear.
The Sleezestick (10e/g) caught my eye because of the price and the fact that it looked like a new addition to the menu (was pasted on on white tape over something they were out of). I asked to see it and I was almost knocked out by the smell. Super grassy, piney, and skunky at the same time, it has a smell that made my mouth water immediately.
Sleezestick Mellow Yellow
We also got some drinks and headed upstairs to chill in the slightly quieter area. I love the upstairs, because the padded deep benches around the walls are very comfortable, and if you pick your table right you can get a view of the counter downstairs. (If you are feeling hungry or tired, their hot chocolate with whipped cream is made with real milk, and comes in a tall glass with a lot of whipped cream.)
First we lit into the Sleezestick. It had a super oily smoke with a piney dank flavor, just like the aroma had promised. One of the strongest tasting weeds we had smoked the entire trip. It was neck and neck with the OG Kush for taste. It also had a strong stone most characterized by a strong, energetic, head rush. I am really intrigued by this weed, does anyone know if it bears any relation to Grey Area's Sleezestack? It almost seems like a skunk/sativa cross, but that's a little hard for me to tell as I'm not a grower or an expert. Seriously though, I wish you could smell this:
Sleezestick Mellow Yellow
After chilling on the Sleezestick for a bit, we hit the Chocolope. It was positively sticky and had a knock-out chocolate flavor. It also just knocked our faces off, although I suspect from later smoking that it was more the combined effect of Haze ^ + Haze ^ + Sleezestick ^?^ + Chocolope that had us heading for serious brain fog. Later tasting suggests that the Chocolope definitely is a more balanced and moderately strong sativa/indica high that causes a lot of munchies, relaxation, and enjoyment of food music and visual stimulation. MY's Chocolope also didn't have the bitter-lemonaide undercurrent of flavor that Grey Area's did (under flushed?). Honestly I think the MY batch now was way better than GA's back in July.
Chocolope Mellow Yellow
We decided to get some dinner and go back to the room because we weren't sure we had it in us to be educated consumers at that point. On the way out I stopped by the counter to get more Sleezestick. In front of me was a poor young chap who wanted to buy hash, but instead of admitting to the tender that he didn't know much about hash, just kept pointing blindly at the menu asking, "Is this good?"
BT, "If you like black hash."
C, "How does it compare to the Super Polm?"
(All I could think at this point is, uh, it kind of doesn't) and the BT was at a loss for what to say as well. The tender tried to sell him some Caramello, and then some nice Moroccan, but the Chap seemed resistant because he thought that the BT was trying to sell him weak sauce because he was a total novice.
Which is of course what was going on, but seriously, if you don't seem to have any idea about hash, and therefor are clearly a novice hash smoker, perhaps you should work your way up? I'm a hash virgin, more because I am a pot ho than because of any real commitment to abstinence on my part, but still, would I just start with James' terminator? Do I expect a tender to sell me his strongest stuff after I have just made it clear that I might roll the hash up and try to stick it in my arm?
Anyone Home?
