Marijuana Strain Review: Cali-Orange at the Denver Clone Store

Fall has finally arrived. Everyone who was asking for it, I hope you’re happy. I’ll take summer sunshine and 85 degrees anytime over pumpkin-flavored everything and dreary weather. Recently resigned to the fact that my mornings on the patio were nearing an end, I tagged along with a friend who was running some errands around town. His last stop was buying clones for his personal grow, so we ended up at a newly recreational shop in north Denver: the Denver Clone Store. While my buddy was shopping for a set of newborns, I checked out the recreational side to see if the Clone Store focused on its flower as much as its namesake product.

The clone selection was sparse for a place called the Denver Clone Store (I’ll cut it some slack, though, since the rec side just opened), but the bud selection was strong and made for a tough choice. The Purple Erkle kept pulling me in like a frosty, purple magnet, but I already had an indica at home for sleep. I needed something sativa-leaning to round me out, so my budtender opened a jar of Cali-Orange. The classic, ripe smells of oranges and rubber were like putting a Led Zeppelin playlist on shuffle: You don’t know exactly what you’re getting, but you know you’ll like the flavor. I bought a gram for $15 after tax.

Cali-Orange is a sweet-smelling sativa-dominant hybrid that is very popular among growers for its stability and high yields. Another standard-setting strain from the ’80s that doesn’t get its fair share of love, this gram of greatness instantly validated my choice after I opened the bottle. A few sniffs of sour citrus and pungent jet fuel had me back at Huntington Beach with a joint in my mouth and sand on my feet. Beautiful, milky trichomes covered each bud so well that Cali-Orange’s trademark orange hairs struggled for space.

A few hits out of my vaporizer produced the intense orange flavors I anticipated, and the initial high was energetic and euphoric. It almost felt like a waste — vaping it at home, alone, while I transformed into more of a social butterfly with each puff. This would’ve been great for a party, but instead I ended up watching an Avalanche game that ended with a disappointing loss, which led to more vaping. Another delicious bowl out of the Volcano brought me down to the point of couch-lock, making me think I’d underestimated Cali-Orange’s potency and indica heritage. I might’ve bitten off more than I could chew the first time, but that won’t stop me from returning to the Clone Store. As colder weather inevitably inches closer, this Cali-Orange produces a much-needed mirage of buying oranges on the freeway with the ocean in the air. 

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