The Amsterdam Dream

Journal

Jun 2

Written By Damian Nicholas

An experience with cannabis and coffee.

Journal | Cannabis & Coffee

Words By Foli Creppy

For as far back as I can remember I've always wanted to try the perfect pairing of cannabis and coffee. Growing up the idea of sitting in a cafe in Amsterdam, near the waterfront, while smoking the most premium house flower - a flower that had gone through hours of research and development, raised with the love and care one would have for a small human child, sparked an intense desire to want to recreate this moment in real life.

As time went on and the routine of life took over, this desire started to fade into the background as the daily grind of work and life took hold. Until a few months ago. Although I still haven't made it to Amsterdam, I was able to create my own localized version of this teenage desire at home. As some of you may know, NYC has entered what I would say is a "The Grey Area Renaissance." Marijuana, for the most part, has enjoyed a bit of relaxation from the laws that it was once heavily scrutinized under. One does not walk a block without seeing a bodega or smoke shop that doesn't offer cannabis products openly. Our major city parks have experienced a level of entrepreneurship from individuals who would have once faced hefty prison time for selling out in the open. That which was once operated in a highly covert manner in the shadows, now enjoys the freedom to sell their wares with little to no issues.

With that being said, I made my way to Queens to purchase from one of the many dispensaries that seemed to have popped up overnight. I walked through the doors of SkyClub after a basic background check. I was met with a very nicely curated selection of strains from highly esteemed companies in the market. However, this evening, I was on a mission. As a follower of the SkyClub Instagram, one of the options they recently got in stock caught my eye. That option being the Melon Bar strain from Cookies.

Melon Bar is a cross between Big Apple x Kush Mints, it offers a honey drizzled melon and whipped cream aroma with a bubble gum and gassy flavor. I made my purchase and made my way back to brooklyn, but first stopped at High Grade Coffee for an espresso. With my cannabis and coffee in hand, I rolled up two joints. A few minutes went by, and I was ready to go.

My overall experience smoking with coffee was as follows; Next time I will do more research about the effects of the strain. Pairing Melon Bar (which, for me, had a more couch lock effect) with coffee was the equivalent of being very tired and drinking a double espresso. The coffee cancelled out the couch lock effects and within a few minutes I felt more alert but with a bit of a head high left over from smoking. Taste wise, the coffee did not have an effect on the taste of the cannabis which was good, in my eyes. It did not add anything nor did it take anything away from the overall experience.Would I ever try it again? Yes, maybe next time I’ll pair a sativa dominant strains with coffee.