Maine is lucky enough to have about 1600 caregivers to serve its 109,000 in-state medical patients and probably even more out-of-state patients who rely on Maine’s Medical Program for affordable access to better canna medicine than their home state.
The majority of the time, these out-of-state patients come from a state where they have limited cannabis licenses, and as a result, they aren’t happy with the quality and price of the product. In my personal experience, in ANY state that has a limited licensing model, Maine’s approximately 1600 caregivers have blown them away each and every time with their products. There is NO question who holds the fire on the East Coast; that’s Maine.
So how does a patient, especially a new one to Maine’s Medical market style, get quality products without mandatory testing or track and trace, like Metrc to boot? Well, you know the old saying you’ve probably read a million times in the IG comments “know your grower” and truly, the only way to know your grower is to support them over time and truly get to know them. I’m sorry, but one meet and greet isn’t “knowing your grower.”’ Luckily, coming up on 8 years living in Maine, I’ve met some of the most passionate, hard working, dedicated cannabis farmers I would argue in the country!
Farmers. Extractors, Edible Artisans Corey, and Janelle, operate Tastefully Baked in the state’s largest city, Portland, Maine. From extremely detail oriented, powerful edibles, to being the first to bring the glass on glass cart tanks to Maine, to the unique quality of genetics; Corey and Janelle have that attitude that quality matters to them. Like you wouldn’t dare to bring them trash without hearing something about it/ denying your work.
While Tastefully Baked have been serving medical patients since 2016, I believe I first ran into them in 2018, and we have had a personal relationship ever since. Over the years I’ve only known them to put out quality products, frankly no matter what it was, If Corey and Janelle recommended I try something I always do. Being extractors, I believe it gives them a keen eye on what quality is out there/ understand the level of quality on the market in general.
While testing in Maine Medical is not STATE mandated, they still personally test everything for optimal outcomes. Corey and Janelle both have shown me that our definition of “fire weed” is pretty similar. So when they said they are doing a new subscription box called “Tastefully Baked Connoisseur’s Club,” highlighting other Maine’s fire growers, I was super stoked at the opportunity to try one.
Personally, I’ve always been a huge flower guy. Don’t get me wrong, I love my hash as well. But since I used my cannabis medically, I don’t want to “have” to smoke hash until my flower doesn’t do its medical job for me anymore. I’ve personally been smoking cannabis flower every day for over 10 years now. I always joke, maybe when I am an old man, I’ll “need” to smoke hash.
So when I saw the Tastefully Baked Connoisseur’s Club box menu had 14 eighths from 5 different growers to say I was pumped is an understatement, some of the growers picked sometimes product is limited (being a small farmers product moves fast). The box also came with 3 grams of hash to boot!
I’ll be 100% honest, before I opened my box my only concern was how do you keep five different growers’ products fresh and the answer was soon revealed. The first eighth I wanted to try without question was one of the brand; Living Matter.I honestly have missed fire drops of theirs in the past, and it is sometimes “hard to find,” but honestly,y in my humble opinion, that’s actually a good thing for a cannabis business in 2024.
I personally only heard of fire coming out of Living Matter. I open the jar of the familiar strain: GMO (which is still personally one of my favorite strains, I refer to myself as a GMHOE) to a perfectly sealed jar like an Advil bottle would be, cracked that sucker back, and BAMINGO!
That stinky stanky, ranky, GMO smelled like it was fresh off the line. I personally always like trying a familiar strain from different growers, so my brain has this strain bank baseline. And any concern I had about freshness was gone after the first bong rip of that GMO from Living Matter. The GMO is strong in that garden!
Another garden/strain that stood out in the Tastefully Baked Connoisseur’s Club Box was the brand Maine Craft Cannabis. While I have had their products before and been pleased, I definitely wanted to check in with some of the strains I had before to see how consistent they are. For example, they are one of the only growers I know that runs LA Kush Cake, which I personally have always enjoyed over the years. And honestly they had a strain: Kiwi, that’s one of my cats names, so you already know gettinghighwithcats had to try his cat name strain!
Though different strains and different growers, under the jar lead was a perfectly sealed jar and each time I cracked that seal all different terps hit my nose immediately. That LA Kush Cake nose hit me with a sweet mint, with splash gas. And that Kiwi nose hit me like a tropical fruit capri-sun. Both strains carried the terps you smelled into their smoke.
Overall, though, it was hard to pick my favorite. The box almost felt like a competition because everything in it was, I would say, pretty high quality. On top of that, I was impressed with the freshness that was still achieved in the box!
In conclusion, Maine’s cannabis caregivers continue to set the standard for quality on the East Coast, providing both in-state and out-of-state patients with top-tier products that exceed expectations. With the passion and dedication of growers like Corey and Janelle of Tastefully Baked, Maine’s cannabis scene stands out for its exceptional craftsmanship and commitment to excellence.
Their new Tastefully Baked Connoisseur’s Club subscription box is the perfect way for cannabis enthusiasts to explore the best of what Maine has to offer, featuring a variety of strains and products from some of the state’s most trusted cultivators.
For anyone seeking a unique and thoughtful gift this holiday season, the Connoisseur’s Club subscription would be an ideal choice. It offers a personal, curated experience that not only supports small, local farms but also provides access to some of the highest quality cannabis available—making it the perfect treat for any cannabis connoisseur in your life.
Written by Derek Shirley
More work from Derek about his Maine Cannabis Coverage here at Beard Bros Pharms A Look Inside Maine’s Medical and Adult Use Cannabis Markets.
Derek Shirley was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of 19, he received a felony for 4 ounces of cannabis. After, he became a “cannabis nomad” living in Ohio, Arizona, and Maine, which he now calls home, and lives with his wife Sequoia and son Haze.
Being a cannabis nomad had its advantages, like relying on all markets for his medical cannabis needs which gives him a unique perspective of the cannabis markets. Currently, Derek operates People Not Parties Consulting, which helps local people and small businesses navigate their local and state governments without picking a political party specializing in protecting and preserving the small medical cannabis farmers of Maine. For fun, Derek enjoys screen printing and making cannabis memes under the pseudonym @gettinghighwithcats on IG.
