As cannabis moves into the mainstream, new users are overwhelmingly choosing to vaporizers over smoking flower. Let’s face it, as much as we love the experience of breaking up sticky buds and puffing on a jay, smoking is significantly smellier. If you’re looking for a discreet, clean, and safe way to use cannabis, the distilled concentrated oils found in vaporizer cartridges are ideal.
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When choosing a vape, evaluate the hardware quality, the cleanliness of the oil, and ask about the effects of the source strain. Leafly’s California Bureau Chief David Downs explained, “the best carts contain pure, ‘full-spectrum’ cannabis oil with all the plant’s cannabinoids and terpenes intact.”
While there’s plenty of generic oil blends to be found in dispensaries, connoisseurs should seek out brands who focuse on strain-specific vapor cartridges in order to truly experience what unique cannabis varieties have to offer. Below, discover 11 single-origin cannabis vaporizers lining California shelves.
AbsoluteXtracts
(Courtesy of AbsoluteXtracts)
Check these menus for it:
- Apothecarium Castro — San Francisco
- Elemental Wellness — San Jose
- Green Solutions — Sacramento
- 7 Stars Holistic Healing — Richmond
One of California’s biggest cannabis extraction companies, AbsoluteXtracts controls every aspect of production from farm-to-cart, enabling them to offer affordably priced, high-quality strain-specific oils, widely available in many dispensaries across the state. Offering a “strain library” of 18 classics including Blue Dream, Grand Daddy Purp, and Sour Diesel, Absolute vape carts retain the distinctive smell and flavor of their namesake strains by employing their own secret, proprietary methods to preserve distinctive terpenes. Look for their amazing limited edition “Fish Tank” designed by artist Jeremy Fish, as well as cutting-edge collaborations with Lagunitas Brewery.
Bloom Farms
(Courtesy of Bloom Farms)
Check these menus for it:
- 7 Stars Holistic Healing Center — Richmond
- Big Sur Cannabotanicals — Carmel-by-the-Sea
- Treehouse — Santa Cruz
- Berkeley Patient’s Group — Berkeley
An extremely popular and widely available brand, Bloom Farms is well-known for their Highlighter product line, which includes blends of cannabis oil designed for daytime, nighttime or anytime use. While these simplified formulas are aimed at new users who may not be interested in the subtle differences between different strains, there’s also a Single-Origin product line designed for cannabis-savvy connoisseurs. Look for these limited-edition, single origin reserve cartridges featuring strains like Diamond OG, Bio-Diesel, and Kali Kush, all sourced from boutique producers in the Emerald Triangle.
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Showing you dispensaries nearChemistry
(Courtesy of Chemistry)
Check these menus for it:
- Treehouse — Santa Cruz
- Buds and Roses — Los Angeles
- Zen Garden Wellness — Sacramento
Founded by a chemist with two decades of experience, Paul Roethle Ph.D combined his two passions in life—cannabis and chemistry—to create extracts, tinctures, and strain-specific vape cartridges. Applying cutting-edge technology to capture the nuance of each plant, Chemistry offers the essence of modern favorites like Royal Orange, Sinmint Cookies, and Tangerine Power for your vaporizing pleasure. Perfect for the science geeks out there, each tastefully-designed package comes with a very extensive lab report on the terpene and cannabinoid profiles present in each full-spectrum cartridge.
Eel River Organics
(Courtesy of Eel River Organics)
Check these menus for it:
- Caliva — San Jose
- Grass Roots — San Francisco
- Canna Culture Collective — San Jose
Focused on eco-friendly cultivation techniques including dry farming, Eel River Organics exemplifies the best of traditional Emerald Triangle values, where people care for the planet as much as they care about cannabis. Tending land near the Eel River in Humboldt County, this family farm uses biodynamic farming processes to keep their plants in sync with cosmic rhythms, preserving these good vibes in a vapor cart by using CO2 to extract cannabinoids and terpenes from their plants. Eel River offers unique heirloom strains including Salmon River OG, Sequoia Dream, and Fog Berry in their line of Nectar vape carts.
Eden Extracts
(Courtesy of Eden Extracts)
Check these menus for it:
- Berkeley Patient’s Group — Berkeley
- Airfield Supply — San Jose
- Urban Pharm — San Francisco
Displaying deliberate attention to detail, the Diamond line vape cartridges from Eden Extracts deliver smooth hits of pure, terpene-rich vapor that soothes the mind and tantalizes the taste buds. Popular strains like Sunset Sherbet, Gelato, and Grandaddy Purple get refined down to their essence, a golden, almost-clear oil that’s consistently delicious.
Gold Drop
(Courtesy of Gold Drop)
Check these menus for it:
- Phytologie Wellness — Oakland
- Shambhala Medical Cannabis Collective — San Francisco
- Bloom Room — San Francisco
- CBCB — Berkeley
With a shelf full of Cannabis Cups, the cannabis oils produced by Gold Drop have become synonymous with quality terps and intense highs. For their top-shelf “Gold Standard” line, cartridges made of glass and stainless steel are filled with translucent distilled cannabis oil and Blue River terpenes derived from the namesake strain. These seasonal cartridges are extremely limited, so be sure to snap up oils made from Sour Tangie, Kosher Kush, and Gelato while supplies last!
Heavy Hitters
(Courtesy of Heavy Hitters)
Check these menus for it:
- A Therapeutic Alternative — Sacramento
- Mellow Delivery Service — Oakland
- A Higher Path — Los Angeles
- Bloom Room — San Francisco
Known for clean-tasting, nearly clear oils, Heavy Hitters purifies their oil beyond standard distillation, utilizing a cold-filtering technique combined with ceramic-core cartridges to provide consistent hits, refined flavor and hard-hitting potency. Available in a wide array of 20 strain-specific varieties including Blueberry, Grape Ape, and Strawberry Cough.
Kurvana ASCND
(Courtesy of Kurvana)
Check these menus for it:
- A Higher Path — Los Angeles
- Shambhala Medical Cannabis Collective — San Francisco
- Alpine Alternatives — Sacramento
Packaged like high-end perfume, the ASCND line of vape carts from Kurvana adds chic branding to the vaporizing experience. Inside this pretty package, you’ll find a very potent product with lab-tested results topping 90% THC and up to 97% total cannabinoid content. With 10 strains to choose from, including flavorful favorites like Key Lime Pie, Amnesia Haze, and Purple Punch, ASCND promises full-spectrum, single-origin cannabis oil complete with all the flavor of the original flower.
Legion of Bloom
(Courtesy of Legion of Bloom)
Check these menus for it:
- Barbary Coast — San Francisco
- Elemental Wellness — San Jose
- Airfield Supply — San Jose
The Monarch premium vape cartridge from Legion of Bloom is packed with cannabinoids and terpenes derived from strains including Cherry AK, Exodus Cheese, and Sour Diesel, aimed at recreating the taste, smell, and feel of smoking your favorite cannabis flower in a healthier, concentrated vapor free of chlorophyll and carcinogens. Paired with the Legion of Bloom battery base equipped with three temperatures settings (low, medium, and high), as well as a 10-second pre-heat option that heats the oil in advance to accommodate a larger draw, these cartridges deliver thick clouds of vapor that you’ve been looking for.
Moxie Extracts
(Courtesy of Moxie)
Check these menus for it:
- Alpine Alternatives — Sacramento
- Cookies SF — San Francisco
- Green Wolf — Los Angeles
- KindPeoples — Santa Cruz
When you take a dab of live resin, the high hits you as fast as the flavor. The combination of extreme tastiness and immediate potency is tough to replicate when vaping, but the award-winning team at Moxie Extracts has done it! By harvesting fresh cannabis flowers and freezing them immediately, Moxie is able to maintain tasty terpenes from strains like Tangie Glue and Lemon Surfer, creating full-spectrum extracts high in cannabinoids that pack a punch.
Sublime Canna
(Courtesy of Sublime Canna)
Check these menus for it:
- Elemental Wellness — San Jose
- Berkeley Patient’s Group — Berkeley
- Florin Wellness Center — Sacramento
These glass-tipped “gold line” cartridges from Sublime Canna hit like a dab, making each sip from your vapor pen supremely satisfying. Strain-specific cannabis oils are renamed for far-flung places in an attempt to match the effects of the varying highs with the moods of exotic locales. If you like excitement and novelty, try Tokyo, a lively Green Goddess strain, or if you’d rather chill and get in touch with nature, seek out Malibu.
