FEATURE
By PACER STACKTRAIN for OREGON LEAF | PHOTO by @BERMANPHOTOS
Each month, the Oregon Leaf crew meets to select one special budtender that stands out above the rest! Tell us who you think should be the next Oregon Leaf Budtender of the Month and why they deserve it!
“What’s important to me is how much love was put into the buds and growing practice, and of course terpene profiles.”
FIRST CANNABIS EXPERIENCE? My most vivid early memory of Cannabis is from back in high school when I got intensely high after eating a steady amount of high dose edibles at Hempstalk. I’d forgotten that I’d made plans later that day with my mom. For what seemed like hours that afternoon I was trying to navigate my way through a gigantic fabric shop matching thread with my Mom. It was quite the experience.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PART OF THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ASPECT OF THE JOB?
Fortunately, most customers know a certain way they want or don’t want to feel, so I usually start by figuring out what kind of high they are looking for and we work our way up from there. It’s fun remembering who likes what and getting the chance to enhance someone’s day and potentially their life. I am excited that customers are keeping track of not only specific strains but also following growers and their farming methods. Hopefully, that [demand for quality] will help eliminate any future for unsustainable or commercial farming in the industry.
I’ve been an official budtender for about three years now. My favorite part is the discovery aspect; finding out which strains work for different people and how we all can use Cannabis for both recreational and medical purposes. I was inspired to start budtending by my good friend Himashi, who worked alongside me as a budtender years ago. She’s now the manager at Iron Labs, and she continues to keep me in the loop with all the incredible scientific and medicinal benefits of Cannabis.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CURRENT OLCC TESTING REQUIREMENTS?
HOW DO YOU LIKE TO CONSUME CANNABIS? I love nothing more than concocting some kind of Frankenstein joint, or a dab ball with a blend of whatever I’m feeling or is in my stash at the time. But, I won’t lie, I love how discreet and convenient cartridges are too, I just wish the tech was a little less glitchy.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE CANNABIS STRAINS AND EFFECTS? Some all-time favorites include Ayahuasca Purple, Snoop’s Dream, Obama Kush, and Northern Wreck. I’m a fan of heavy indica strains – they’re my go-to when trying out new flower. Terpene-wise, I like a musky floral flavor so myrcene and linalool are where it’s at for me. What I need are strains that help relax my body throughout the day because if I don’t have that in my life, I will never sit down and stop running around with my dogs.
tetra
4011 SE Belmont St. Portland, OR 97214 TetraPDX.com
HOW DO YOU HELP CUSTOMERS FIND THE BEST CANNABIS OR PRODUCTS FOR THEM?
24/June 2018 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
budtender of the month
ELISE STOFFO
Tetra’s Elise Stoffo is well-versed on all things THC and CBD, and perhaps more importantly, one of the friendliest budtenders we’ve come across yet! Ultra-modern Tetra is one of the newer storefronts in the Portland Cannabis scene, located inside an old piano shop where the shop’s compact design gives it the feel of a boutique in a major metropolis.
Well, I think that certain testing requirements are necessary overall for health and sanitation reasons. Other than that, I pay more attention to how a bud smokes, looks, and makes me feel when it comes to numbers and testing. I have paid way too much money for weed that claimed to be extraordinary numbers on either spectrum and then the result was diminished. What’s important to me is how much love was put into the buds and growing practice, and of course terpene profiles.
WHAT SETS YOUR SHOP APART FROM THE REST? What I love most about working for Tetra is that none of us are looking to make a quick buck on whatever is selling for the highest or pump people in and out of the store like the first shop I worked at. We ensure that Cannabis is accessible to everyone with any background or level of experience and are trying to break the stigmas that have wrongly followed the industry.
HOBBIES AND INTERESTS OUTSIDE CANNABIS? My main hobbies outside of the industry include cooking tasty food and collecting toys for my dogs and for my girlfriend. I also really love bouldering, skateboarding, creating things out of wood, pretending to play guitar, and road tripping across this continent.
Thepacerstacktrain@gmail.com Instagram: @ThePacerStackTrain