Barcelona 2018 pt. II Review & Running Notes

[Nuggz]

Barcelona round-II

What a trip, took it easy on the partying and drinking for the most part this trip. Enjoyed the end days of 'summer' in Barcelona, sunshine, beach, good food and ample ganja (+ face time with the various associations I'm a member of).

Going in had memberships to The Plug BCN, The Backyard BCN & Terps Army (aka Club Marley), and a reaffirmed invite to join at La Kalada - for which I was very excited as it seems to be one of (if not the) most esteemed club on the Barcelona-scene.

Day-I

Arrived and first stopped at Tamarindo Taqueria for some excellent authentic Mexican tacos, checked into hostel and made for Backyard as my first port of call.

Backyard I grabbed a gram of Banana Puschicle & a gram of Blueberry Cheesecake on the flowers front - opted for some 'Flavor Hunters' Orange Sorbet diamond sauce. Banana I'm a fan of up front, frosty well developed buds, perfect moisture content, creamy and fruity nose and potency to boot. The Cheesecake has very little nose and does little to impress on the initial assessment. The Orange Sorbet sauce is terped out and has gassy Tangie-esque terps, a bit like a really lush 24k esque nose and palate on the exhale.

Next stop La Kalada, I hoof it 20ish minutes eastward. Buzzed in, lovely Spanish girl sits me down tells me there's different memberships options. I go for the 3 month option at a meager 5 EUR. Buzzed past reception I take in what lay before me, a splendid spacious scene that looks like a hippie hangout utopia. A vegan-friendly coffee-bar area straight ahead, a back area with tvs and catches, the main foyer with ample seating, a dj booth, the bud-counter, heady wall murals, etc. Very busy and buzzing the vibe here, like Hill Street Blues west in that all the clientele and staff seem to be Italian or Spanish (obviously the latter being unsurprising given the location but still).

Staff at the counter in Kalada are friendly enough, nice Spanish bud-tendress shows me various wares and patiently lets me look at everything. I settle for some of the 'jar' weed (their top-shelf) the Peach Ozz 2.5g for 35 EUR. Very, very gorgeous and lush smelling weed. Citrusy, sour and tropical fruity nose, very distinct. In the vape she opens up amazing on the first hit or two, but then takes on a toasted note quickly (I've noticed this to happen with certain strains such as Forbidden Fruit cali import I had recently), however in a pure cone she burns blindingly white ash, with a full-bodied fizzy, creamy and tropical fruity notes and a potency to match.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Top Extracts:
1. Orange Sorbet diamond sauce by Flavor Hunters
2. Jahkirevi Kush Ice Hash Rosin by K-Gourmet
3. Grandaddylope shatter by Bhoss Lady
4. Strawberry wax by 23 Oils
5. Master Kush sugar wax by Bhoss Lady

Top Flower:
1. Banana Punshicle from Backyard
2. Peach Ozz from La Kalada
3. Space Confidential from La Kalada
4. Forbidden Candy from La Kalada
5. Blueberry Cheesecake from Backyard

[OneHighMofo]

Nice dude hope you're having a blast.
The BackYard's menu was probably 15 or more flowers strong when I was there. 5-6 BHO's, a number of ISO's and a bit of Cali import.
Have they shortened that a bit then?

I just had some Orange Sorbet sauce from our mutual friend Mr Element. TBH I got very little flavour from it compared to his Harybo and then he went and won the dopefiend cup with it despite entering both. I'm a bit stumped by this. What am I missing? What's your vedict on that Orange Sorbet Vs the volume of Oranges in the EE Mimosa for example?

Great reports - keep it coming. La Kalada sounds like the tits.
Oh and give me a heads-up next time you're headed out there asshole

[Papillonkit]

What am I missing? What's your vedict on that Orange Sorbet Vs the volume of Oranges in the EE Mimosa for example?

Award for twat goes to ....

You.

[OneHighMofo]

What am I missing? What's your vedict on that Orange Sorbet Vs the volume of Oranges in the EE Mimosa for example?

Award for twat goes to ....

You.

Listen asshole - it's polite not to butt into conversations you're not invited to. No-one here is asking for your opinion.
With 4 posts on the board - you're not exactly doing your best to make friends here are you?
Be nice. Or fuck off. Just a friendly tip.

[Nuggz]

What am I missing? What's your vedict on that Orange Sorbet Vs the volume of Oranges in the EE Mimosa for example?

Award for twat goes to ....

You.

Wow thank you for that enlightening, most valuable contribution to this forum. Next time try coherency and complete sentences bud, oh and not so kindly go sodomize yourself with a cactus.

[Nuggz]

Nice dude hope you're having a blast.
The BackYard's menu was probably 15 or more flowers strong when I was there. 5-6 BHO's, a number of ISO's and a bit of Cali import.
Have they shortened that a bit then?

I just had some Orange Sorbet sauce from our mutual friend Mr Element. TBH I got very little flavour from it compared to his Harybo and then he went and won the dopefiend cup with it despite entering both. I'm a bit stumped by this. What am I missing? What's your vedict on that Orange Sorbet Vs the volume of Oranges in the EE Mimosa for example?

Great reports - keep it coming. La Kalada sounds like the tits.
Oh and give me a heads-up next time you're headed out there asshole

Barcelona was great. At Backyard the flower menu was probably under 10 items, but all that I sampled were quality and reasonably priced, so yes it appears flower menu has shrunk, there was no cali flower either. However, concentrates menu was about the same, maybe even a tad bigger.

Orange Sorbet I had was very orangey, largely tangie-esque but something different too, so much more decidedly orange than Element's Mimosa shatter.

La Kalada is indeed the tits, though I think after heavy face time with all spots (the Plug not withstanding, that explains itself though) Backyard easily comes up tops, the service comfort, cleanliness, dog, prices and quality all put it above the rest.

Damn, I even thought to give you a shout - but didn't feel like being disappointed by your assured "no" to my request. Still thinking myself about another jaunt to the dreary stoned island northwest of here though...

[Papillonkit]

Sodomy is frowned upon by Allah.

[Nuggz]

So insert lazy stoner excuse here, I just cannot be fucked to go on in excessive detail (as I so often do) for 5 days worth of excessive pot-smoking so I'm gonna try to condense and reformat my key points I reckon.

STAND BY - UNDER CONSTRUCTION - WORK IN PROGRESS

The Backyard BCN:

A smallish club with very simple and spartan, but quality and comfortable furnishing decor. The offerings on the menu tend to follow this ethos, small selection of flowers but almost all quality and well priced. They also have a few edibles including Protenazine THC syrup made by Team 10 Extracts. While not as potent as the Deep Concentration THCyrup (IMHO) it gets the job done and does have added 'beetroot extract' to give it a sweeter taste as well as a purple coloration (trying to replicate the culture of 'lean' or purple codeine-promethazine cough syrup, the latter being the pun namesake of the Protenazine, insert bitching and roll-eyes, whatever). I digress, they also boast a respectable concentrate menu, with a few half-gram options to boot. Bhoss Lady and Kippax seem to be extractors whose wares regularly make an appearance (as well as at other associations in town). Overall they have the best quality and pricing IMHO. All the third-party wares such as the extracts and syrups have tended to be substantially cheaper when the exact same product was in-stock elsewhere i.e. on my June visit Kippax DIamond Sauce going for 80 EUR/gram at Backyard and I wanna say 100 EUR/gram at Terps Army.

For flower I had Tangilope which was 9 EUR/gram and a nice Tangie-esque strain for the price, but I had a lot of similar terpene profiles in my stash at that point, so I think that underwhelmed my impression of what was better bud than I'm implying here. Also sampled Blueberry Cheesecake, was not impressed on the first go, but later assessment revealed a lovely fruity and earthy palate with decent enough potency, at 11 EUR/gram I thought it was a more than fair enough value. My favorite smoke of the trip was arguably the Banana Puschicle - Purple Punch terps, with an extra tart creaminess, a subtle tang, a hint of vanilla as subdued earthiness on the back end of the exhale, excellent bud in all facets burn, buzz, potency, appearance, smell, etc. at least for my tastes - at 12 EUR/gram it was also an excellent value (my rubric for value regarding flowers being what comparable bud would cost in AMS coffeehshops).

Flower menu on my last trip ranged from 7-12 EUR/gram the first few days, then towards the end of my trip they at Z-Cube (a Zkittlez cross) but only had it in 3.5g pop tops which were 50 or 55 I believe (15-16 EUR/gram range). When I did smell it, it had that distinct proper Zkittlez aroma to it, and looked lovely - secondhand reports of it were rave, so I regret not having tried it but it appeared on the menu too late and many bags of weed into my trip so I couldn't really justify it. Refreshments here are very reasonably priced .50 cents for a bottle of water, 1 EUR for most other soft drinks as well as beer. Big bonus points for cute house dog Tangie - the sweetest Staffordshire Bull Terrirer bitch ever. They also (despite only having Ti-nails and no quartz-bangers) offer well clean and maintained dab-ware for concentrate consumption, which is a big plus.

La Kalada:

Definitely the quintessential Barcelona-style association in many ways. A certain individual who some on this forum may recall ("it's not a grinder it's a separator!") who now lives in Barcelona is regular there, when I saw him he told me "this is the association where other association owners come to hang out, chill and take notes [on how to replicate]" and I could definitely see why. Spacious, friendly staff (including some quite a few very easy on the eye Espanolas), they have a Sasquash Rosin press in the back, ample seating, funky lively decor and setup. Weed menu is relatively extensive, and has quite a few budget options - as well as the 'jarred' top-shelf strains which are "pre-bagged", ranging from 2-3 g per jar and 30-35 for each one. I think the most expensive came out at just under 16, but the two I tried - the Peach Ozz and Forbidden Candy (14.50 EUR/g I believe) were top-notch smokes i.e. they didn't vape as well as some other strains but in a pure cone both produced snow white ash and full-flavored potent smoke. Also tried their more budget weed menu with the Starbud - 10 EUR/g didn't smell up to much but had a lovely gassy-chem palate when vaped, better than I expected as I wasn't impressed on the nose and only bought it to try some non-jarred weed per the owner/president/bud-tender's recommendation. At a later point I came back and tried the Space Confidential at 9 EUR/gram and that was a very surprisingly complex and interesting smell/flavor at that price - definitely the best value flower of the trip I'd say. Their extract selection is surprisingly decent, similar prices to Backyard, and the K-Gourmet Rosin I got was probably the best value extract of the trip, at a rate of 50 EUR/gram. Points docked for not having as good of dabbing equipment as the others - though this 180'd on 7/10 when they set up the dab-station and brought several other rigs with quartz bangers (even the places with nicer glassware that's not exactly common), but normally their dab rig selection leaves much to be desired.

The Plug:

Both on this trip and the last one, I only made it there one time on each trip. I'm not surprised it's somewhat out of the way (not far from Kalada but not nearly as badass so...) and get this, they don't even serve beer here, I mean fuck that's like one of the best parts about associations (or 420-friendly cafes) versus coffeeshops. It's kinda pricey too, though the top-shelf of local produce isn't too much different than the pricing at the other place at least for flower. Concentrates seem to be a bit pricier here than elsewhere, vape carts are average priced I'd say. I believe they also sell the Protenazine for the same rate as Backyard (as well as Yellow Brick vape carts). Last trip the Cherry Pie was some of the best flower I picked up, again on this go nothing else on the menu wowed me, I saw Cherry Pie was still on the menu so I opted for that - same amazing nose as last time, but the bud was bit too moist/spongy for my liking so it wasn't at its full potential unfortunately. The staff here is nice enough compared to an AMS shops, but not exactly noteworthy - though similar to Kalada some nice Espanolas. Truth is I haven't actually sampled enough here or spent enough time here to make a firm verdict but it hasn't really done anything to compel me to do so, so there's that...

Terps Army:

I stayed right next door to here last time, and it was definitely my favorite for hanging out, not just due to proximity but also staff and vibe, decor, etc. However this trip there were one or two small blunders (very minor at the end of the day) that ever so slightly soured by view, but also just was not too happy with the extract purchases I made. The flower i had - Spanish-grown Gelato for 10 EUR/g was unimpressive looking and smelling, and was bought just as "well might as well try some of their local-grown bud", but when vaped (just like the starbud from La Kalada) it surprised me in depth of flavor, and at 10 was good value in my book. The refreshments here are cheap, the space and seating room ample. Staff are nice enough, but it definitely helps that I know Italian - not sure how they are to interact with otherwise (the small blunder I had was a bud-tender who didn't remember/recognize me at first telling me I stood too close the counter while he tended to another customer, but as soon as it was my turn and I spoke to him in Italian he remembered me and softened his tone dramatically). The dab-ware is up to scratch, despite not being as clean as Backyard they still do a good enough job maintaining the health of their dab-rigs.

Overall I'd rank the clubs as follows:

1. Backyard
2. La Kalada
3. Terps Army
4. The Plug

[titus wong]

Sincere thanks for the well written account of your travels on the Iberian peninsula. Such valuable intel will no doubt prove useful on my trip to Barcelona next year. Pity you didn’t visit Club Relax as it’s nearby where we’re staying.

[OneHighMofo]

Damn, I even thought to give you a shout - but didn't feel like being disappointed by your assured "no" to my request. Still thinking myself about another jaunt to the dreary stoned island northwest of here though...

With a couple months notice I'd probably be able to make it out mate, and you're welcome here any time you know that.
House renovations are coming along well and we should be ready to accept vistiors over the coming couple months (we have two rooms that aren't building sites now - woop!)

February would be a good bet if you fancied a trip brother

[Judo]

Excellent write up. Enjoyed reading.

I tried a shop called the Dragon Coffee Club (I think). Everything was expensive and just so so

[Nuggz]

Excellent write up. Enjoyed reading.

I tried a shop called the Dragon Coffee Club (I think). Everything was expensive and just so so

Used to be a member of Dragon when I actually lived in BCN. Back in the day it was nice, cool decor, ample space, nice enough staff, cute dog, multiple edible options, great hash and flower selection (and prices), they had playstations did movie night every Sunday. Was a great place - and then at some point from what I hear they just went down the shitter!

[DjShaggy]

enjoyed reading this, hopeful that i can get into lakaleda this time, ill be in BCN from the 3rd-7th of december for a birthday session.

glad you had a good time bro

[Nuggz]

enjoyed reading this, hopeful that i can get into lakaleda this time, ill be in BCN from the 3rd-7th of december for a birthday session.

glad you had a good time bro

Cheers for the kind words bro - even though this thread basically turned into one giant mess of an abandoned project - much like my other Barcelona TR .

Yeah I'm not sure but Kalada may be on of the places that requires a current member to physically bring you for registration, so I got my fingers crossed for ya, but I also may be wrong - I'm sure you can find someone that'll help you out though.

I'm wondering if I'll make it back out before spring time, but not sure may hold off until Spannabis, I've never been to Barcelona in winter.

[RoMoney]

Always like a Barca TR, thanks for sharing.