I always love the chance to get to try the same strain from two different dispensaries. It’s been a while since I tried it, but I remember enjoying VidaCann’s version of Mandarin Cookies a year or two ago.

Mandarin Cookies is known for its scent of flavors of sweet citrus and diesel. By and large, Trulieve seems to have grown a good cut of this strain.

Quick Facts:

Mandarin Cookies

Price at time of review: $43/eighth 

Lineage: Forum Cut Cookies x Mandarin Sunset

Batch/Harvest Number: 18317_0000364472

Lab Report

Appearance/Cure

Trulieve has been a bit “hit or miss” for the first half of 2021, but they did a nice job with this eighth of Mandarin Cookies. The buds were medium in size, but were thick, dense, and sticky. The trichomes have a bit of the gold and amber color, so it seems like this batch wasn’t rushed to production – at least not too terribly.

VidaCann’s cut of Mandarin Cookies had a good bit of purple color in it, but there is none in Trulieve’s version. However, the bud structure and general appearance between the two seems to look similar.

Appearance/Cure Rating: 7.50/10.00

Smell/Taste

The smell of Trulieve’s cut of Mandarin Cookies is very similar to VidaCann’s, but has a more musky orange citrus smell, and much more of a pungent skunky diesel smell when broken apart and ground up.

In the jar, the smell is mostly that musky, “deep” orange citrus – it reminds me of the same type of orange citrus I smelled in Trulieve’s Mandarin Dreams flower.

When the flower is broken apart and/or ground up, the pungent diesel smell really comes through: it smells just like gasoline and orange peels.

The taste when smoked is pleasant: sweet gasoline on the inhale, with a spicy and earthy exhale.

Smell/Taste Rating: 7.40/10.00

Effects/Medical Use

While I found VidaCann’s version of Mandarin Cookies to be more “sativa-dominant” or energetic in effects, I find Trulieve’s cut to be much more relaxing and “indica”-feeling.

When I first combust this strain, I get the cerebral shift that is common between most all high-THC cannabis products. However, the body relaxation comes in shortly afterward – and is surprisingly heavy for a hybrid strain.

Mandarin Cookies isn’t sedating per se, but it is heavily relaxing. I found that this strain helped my anxiety and seemed to slow and calm my mind down in the same way that it did my body, around 20-30 minutes after the first hit. This seems like a strain best used in the afternoon to early evening hours; it is a fairly balanced hybrid, but it definitely leans “indica” with its relaxing effects. Ironically, though Trulieve’s Mandarin Cookies is listed as a hybrid, and its Mandarin Dreams is listed as indica, I found the former to be heavier and more “indica” than the latter.

Possibly good for treating:

• Depression and related anxiety 
• Good for general relaxation
• Relief of minor to moderate aches and pains
• Relief of minor to moderate nausea and gastrointestinal discomfort

I’m definitely no medical doctor, so please take the preceding conditions only as my own personal observations from using this strain and having experience with a multitude of different cannabis strains. Everybody is different, and every body reacts differently to various medications. 

Effects Rating: 7.00/10.00

Overall Rating: 7.30/10.00

Overall, I would best describe Mandarin Cookies as a “good” hybrid strain from Trulieve.

Back to the comparison theme: I found Trulieve’s and VidaCann’s versions of this strain to be very similar, but just different enough to say that I slightly prefer Trulieve’s version, mostly because of its heavier and relaxing effects and the pungent diesel aroma when it is ground up.

I appreciate your continued support of FLMCC. It feels almost hard to believe that this site has been up and running with reviews for nearly 3 years now, but it has been a lot of fun – and I look forward to many more years navigating Florida’s medical cannabis program together with all of you. Be well, healthy, and prosperous!

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