This is not a review, but I feel this is the best section to post this. I've talked about this to several community members before, sometimes publicly. As many of you know, I've been doing a lot reviews ever since I found MOMs and I'm really enjoying it. Not only does it allow me to share my passion for this plant, but it also allows me to read back on my notes/reviews, allowing me to better chose / recommend strains, etc.
One thing that always comes up whenever someone does review is the fact that it's a very subjective process. We all have different things we like and dislike, we all have different taste buds, we all have different expectations and experiences, so when we review weed, it's very hard to do it in an objective manner. I've fallen into that trap myself, especially when doing my first reviews, and in the end, doing subjective reviews doesn't mean much to others unless they know you and your preferences very well.
A few months ago I set out to define a template for myself with the main goal of coming up with a method of reviewing strains in a way that is extremely objective, all while leaving some place for subjectivity. What I want is for anyone who reads my reviews to be able to relate to it, whatever their likes/dislikes/expectations are.
Here is what I came up with:
Strain Name: Name of the strain and grower (if available)
Strain Fidelity: 0-10 How accurate it is to the "standard" of this strain, based on Leafly description/comments, past experiences, etc.
Size of buds: 0-10 How big the buds are, from shake to huge colas
Bag Appeal: 0-10 How good it looks, from brickweed shwagg to breathtakingly gorgeous
Cure & Humidity: 0-10 How well cured and dried/humid the bud is
Smell Intensity: 0-10 How strong it smells (good or bad, doesn't matter, just how intense it is)
Harshness vs Smoothness: 0-10 How smooth it is, from choking on a tiny draw to being able to take huge rips without coughing at all
Taste Intensity: 0-10 How strong the terpenes and other aromas come through
Taste Complexity: 0-10 From bland/discernible from smoke to a complex bouquet of different flavors interweaving together
Buzz Intensity: 0-10 How stoned you get from it, based on other stuff you've smoked. Needs to be adjusted to your tolerance obviously.
Price: Just how much you paid (no score)
Value: Objectively, what you feel the value is vs the price (good deal, overpriced, just right, would never buy again, etc)
"A" Scale Rating: A- to AAAA+ Based on all the notes you've given, how you feel it rates on the AAAA scale
For every review point that has a 0-10 score, that score is optional. This way, if there's one you simply aren't sure, or don't understand, or don't feel qualified to answer, you can leave it empty and just comment to the best of your ability.
The reason I'm sharing this is what we've had endless debates on the AAAA scale and everyone seems to agree it's very subjective and kinda bullshit. I'm trying to offer a solution to this problem and I encourage everyone to comment and review this proposed method, suggest extra review points and of course, I'd very much like others to adopt this template for their own reviews. I feel that promoting objectivity as well as "bullet point" list of review points to address will benefit the whole community.
Thoughts? Comments? Feedback?
Here's the review you can use to copy/paste in your own reviews:
Code: Select all
[b]Strain Name: [/b]
[b]Strain Fidelity: [/b]
[b]Size of buds: [/b]
[b]Bag Appeal: [/b]
[b]Cure & Humidity: [/b]
[b]Smell Intensity: [/b]
[b]Harshness vs Smoothness: [/b]
[b]Taste Intensity: [/b]
[b]Taste Complexity: [/b]
[b]Buzz Intensity: [/b]
[b]Price: [/b]
[b]Value: [/b]
[b]"A" Scale Rating: [/b]
