Terpenes are the aromatic compounds that give every plant its smell. Pine trees, lemon peel, black pepper and cannabis all use the same family of molecules. They are the reason two jars with identical THC figures can smell nothing alike.
Why they matter more than the percentage
Aroma is the best predictor of whether you will enjoy a cultivar, and terpene content is aroma made measurable. Producers who print a total terpene figure are generally confident in it. Anything at or above 2 percent tends to be noticeably fragrant on opening the jar.
The ones you will meet most
- Myrcene. Earthy, musky, a little like cloves and ripe mango. The most common terpene in cannabis.
- Limonene. Citrus peel. Bright and sharp on the nose.
- Caryophyllene. Black pepper and warm spice. The one that makes your nose tingle.
- Pinene. Exactly what it sounds like. Fresh, resinous, forest floor.
- Linalool. Lavender and soft florals.
- Terpinolene. Herbal, faintly sweet, a bit like fresh-cut apple and hops.
- Humulene. Hops and dry wood.
- Ocimene. Sweet, green, tropical.
A word on what they do
You will find a lot of confident claims online about terpenes producing specific effects. The research is genuinely interesting and genuinely unfinished. What we can say without overstating it is that terpenes shape smell and taste, and that most people who find a profile they like tend to keep coming back to it. We will leave the rest to the scientists.
Using your nose in a shop
Legal packaging is sealed, so you cannot open a jar at the counter. What you can do is ask. Our staff have usually smelled most of what is on the shelf, and describing what you liked last time is far more useful than naming a strain. Strain names travel badly between producers, aroma does not.
Keeping them
Terpenes are volatile. Heat, light and air strip them out, which is why a jar left on a sunny windowsill loses its character within days. Cool, dark and sealed. See how to store cannabis.
The same rule applies to concentrates and vapes, where temperature control is the whole game. See extracts and concentrates.
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