On the heels of Oakland’s trailblazing Cannabis Equity Program, many newly licensed equity operators rallied together to cultivate strong networks of like-minded collaborators.
Degi Simmons of Oakland’s Cloud9 Cannabis formed a collective called The Special Branch, along with Cloud9 partner DJ Clayton Whitaker. Together, they built a collaborative web with other equity operators that make up the supply chain on both ends of their 12,000-square-foot indoor cultivation facility.
This approach has significant benefits, such as access to limited genetics like this delectable new strain, African Sunset, which we at California Leaf had the pleasure of previewing for this year’s Equality Issue.
Bred exclusively for cultivation by equity operators – in a collaboration by the Bay Area’s Grasshopper Genetics with equity cultivation and delivery company Osanyin – this sticky, sweet flower shares a legendary family tree. They started off with Ghana, a rare landrace seed from the Ghana region of Africa, which they then crossed with Durban Poison – another legendary landrace sativa strain from the African continent. The male was then crossed with Purple Urkle, and then that male was crossed with Cherry Pie, and the resulting male was crossed with a female Gelato plant.
The resulting slender, dense, frosted nugs emit overripe tropical fruit and mouthwatering berry notes over the top of a rich, earthy, chewy funk. The sweetness shines through on combustion, making for a phenomenally smooth, delicious experience from this sativa-dominant hybrid.
These small harvest releases will be available in exceedingly limited quantities in August and will also be a part of the Luna Roca (AKA moon rocks) line, released under the brand Vaya – the Latin-themed brand The Special Branch launched with Salvador Santana, son of guitar icon Carlos Santana. Keep your eye out for Cloud9’s African Sunset and other products from The Special Branch at your local equity-owned shops such as Oakland’s Blunts + Moore, and Eaze and Green Goddess delivery services. Everything we’ve sampled from Cloud9 thus far has been stellar, and the collective has become known for limited release lines like their Pride Packs Pre-Rolls, which they create in order to raise money for social equity causes.
This article was originally published in the August 2021 issue of California Leaf.
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