*Disclaimer*

Any experiences/ benefits described below are my own, and by no means should be taken as medical benefits. This strain has been prescribed by my doctor for my specific condition and needs. It is important to talk to your Dr about your specific needs and see if they have other patients similar to you who have benefited from this strain or others. This post is purely meant as a useful reference for you to then do further research from. My tolerance, condition and experience will be greatly different to some.

Table of Content

• Introduction
• Main review 
• Initial observation upon opening (nug shape/ density/ cure and shake content)
• Any improvement after storage change and curing?
• LA Kush Cake effects
• Splitting the nug
• How does it grind?
• Batch number
• Throat issues like scratching or allergies?
• Side effects or issues?
• Overall impression

Meet the reviewer 

Rowan is one of the founders of Infinity CBD and Pembrokeshire CBD Centre. Having worked in the CBD/ Cannabis industry for five years, he has extensive knowledge of the supply chain issues, compliance and other fun things you have to contend with from the corporate side of this. However, having also been a patient for 3+ years he has also had experience first hand of the ups and downs of the patient experience, quality woes and what to generally expect. 

These medical cannabis reviews are presented to try and form a balanced and honest opinion relating to his experience and understanding of the limitations the clinics/ pharmacies and producers face with trying to navigate compliance standards that compete with perceived quality of some products.  

Everyone is different, and Rowan is prescribed for specific conditions and is provided these prescription legally be a Dr who has been working alongside him to find the best treatments. This means that any perceived benefits expressed in his article are purely anecdotal and related to his experience and may not reflect yours.  

Curaleaf T1 LA Kush Cake Strain Review

Introduction

2024 Update:

Hey everyone! We just thought we'd update this article quickly as there have been some big changes with this strain since it was originally written. Plus we have invested in a new microscope so that we can share a more in depth exploration of the trichomes and other aspects of the flower. So if you scrol down to 'Splitting the nug' you can see our new video showing off a batch from April 2024. The most notable change other than changing from a pot to a bag, is that the terpene preservation has greatly improved as well as the trim. The finish on the nug in the latest batches is much more 'as it comes' rather than pebble like. This is clear in the new video below. So keep this in mind when reading our in depth review below! We hope you enjoy! 


Here we are with another medical cannabis review discussing one of the current most popular strains from Curaleaf pharmacy, Curaleaf T11 LA Kush Cake (25% in this case).

This is a strain that’s been prescribed for Night time use primarily as an Indica dominant strain, and the review is reflective of a prescription for chronic pain, and will also touch on its noted effects with relation to other symptoms such as nausea, and other gastro issues that may be useful for some. Keep in mind this review is purely my experience, and relatable to my condition/ dosage and usage, as such keep in mind it may vary in terms of results depending on which terpene profiles suit you better, as well as from batch to batch.

For full disclosure this particular review is based off of having two lots, so can only comment on the quality of it currently. In the past with other strains, there have been some variance between batches, so want to make it clear that so far I have no reference as to whether T11 LA Kush Cake fluctuates between batches at all other than the noted difference of 27% vs 25%. The batch I have tried is the 25% version. As always, if anyone has had this strain tested, or has sample COA that you think would be useful to attach here, please feel free to reach out and we’d be happy to showcase it here, along with any relevant reference back to you, and a cheeky gift card for our site as a thanks!

Main Review 

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my review of the Cure T11 LA Kush Cake medical cannabis strain. This was sourced legally via prescription to myself with chronic pain being the primary condition this is used for. I hope you find this useful and always welcome feedback if there are other specific points you would like us to cover in future reviews or whilst updating these ones.

We break down our reviews into some key points that we find useful for those looking to explore a new strain for their treatment. Talking purely in terms of the experience and effectiveness around its medicinal purpose/ use. If you’re looking for strain comparisons/ reviews to relate to BM offerings, or other older medical cannabis supply chains globally then you’re looking in the wrong place. The way this strain is being discussed is with relation to a chronic pain prescription, although this prescription has also been useful for gastro, and nausea symptoms that relate to my condition too.

Initial observation upon opening (nug shape/ density/ cure and shake content):

Opening the seal on medical cannabis in the UK is often met with a dull and often slightly stale note. Usually within a day or two this can be rectified with Boveda packs and a glass jar airing it out from time to time. So I never really have high hopes on first inspection. Having said that my main day time strain High Silver has had some lovely Lemon/ Citrus tones popping through off the bat on some recent batches!

When it came to getting this strain, it was the first time I had a certain level of expectation due to the raving reviews about improved terpene preservation and from what I had seen, it certainly looked like a step up visually. Well let’s just say I wasn’t disappointed by the level of terpene preservation as I immediately got a nose full, but not of the tone I was expecting. It was almost like a strong mustard/ horseradish at first which through me a curve ball. However, upon breaking them up and getting the air exchanging a pleasant but subtle vanilla popped through with an oh so familiar mint. I wish they were bursting with these tones as I’m sure they once were in the grow room at Natural History in Canada, but considering these are tones off of initial inspection I’m happy. Other Adven strains never impress this well off the bat.

Immediately I noticed how dry the cure was, to the point where it’s relatively easy to crush in between your fingers. I’m not too mad at having some extra flower content vs water, but honestly I would much prefer a better cure to retain some of the terps that were there before. The overall look of the nugs themselves are well formed, dense and beautiful with strong purple specks on show here and there. In my first batch the nugs were relatively small with a decent amount of kief/ shake at the bottom as you would expect from such a dry cure, however the amount of good quality flower wasn’t an issue. On the second batch I only had 5 nugs in the pot all very large in size with a similar amount of kief in the pot. No complaints on this from my end other than a slightly better cure would make all the difference!

Any improvement after storage change and curing?

I find that using a UV proof glass jar such as these very helpful for storing and curing my prescription upon arrival (Any UV resistant air tight glass jar will do). This generally helps bring the smell/ flavour out more evenly in my experience. I ensure to keep my original packaging with the prescription label on hand at all times during use, and would advise you to do the same should you decide to do the same storage wise.

Personally I have found that a day or two in a glass jar with the lid slightly open, giving them a good shake 2/3 times a day can make a big difference. Mainly in the terpene profile and overall vaping experience where some strains that were more throaty became more manageable afterwards. Ideally I would also include a Boveda pack or something similar to help the curing process.

In this case I didn’t have any Boveda to hand, so relied purely on airing/ shaking them out. As with any medical cannabis flower in the UK at the moment, this little routine makes a world of difference and bring back some of its original spirit. This strain started in a much better place than most, but even so this little curing strategy really made this LA Kush Cake shine. It’s now by far one of my favourite flavour profiles and the effects have been excellent for me.

Update: 

Above you can see the new packaging for LA Kush Cake. A promising development with these strains, leaving behind the old wasteful and stale smelling pots. 

A big improvement in overall smell from this packaging, and although it does open it up to being squished, the over all positives outweigh this for us. Particularly the reduction in plastic waste! 

LA Kush Cake effects

Context: I’m prescribed for chronic pain, that is accompanied by nausea/ gastro issues.

I work full time and have a young family. As such, I have to find the balance between managing pain/ symptoms, and being functional in my various responsibilities. In turn, the split between a day time and night time strain gives me that ability to address deeper pains in the evenings where it may be more sedating, whilst using a more uplifting/ cerebral strain for day time to help get me through without any unwanted side effects. LA Kush Cake has been phenomenal for me with regards to pain management. It has been prescribed as an evening/ heavy hitter strain for me, replacing my Althea Powdered Donuts. The way that this helps my muscle pain is much more soothing rather than the ‘knock out’ of the previous donuts. Interestingly however I have found I have needed more of this to sustain the effects. Not necessarily a bad thing other than on cost as I seem to use a lot more than before. This in part is no doubt down to how it grinds, as it easily turns to a fine powder, meaning you get more than your usual amount in the chamber if you’re not careful. In terms of effect, it does have some Indica qualities for sure, however in all honestly I’ve found it quite balanced personally. It has been helpful in the day when having a bad flare up as long as I manage it with smaller doses.

Continued below!

5 Quick Bits

Splitting the nug:

2024 Update!

This is an update we've been excited about. We've invested in a new microscope capable of recording UHD video so that we can share a much more in depth inspection of these flowers in our reviews. So rather than a single image, we will now be sharing a video showcasing various parts of some of the nugs. 

Jump in and check out this video of a recent batch of LA Kush Cake from April 2024. It's incredible how vibrant the purples are up close let alone the trichome formation. You'll also notice a big change in the trim on this nug compared to the photos present in the article. It seems as though they have listened and better care has been taken leading to an overall improvement in our opinion. Let us know what you think!

Often once irradiated and transported/ stored, the trichomes on the outside can become a little lack lustre. By pinching open a nug you can release a fresher terpene profile and observe the trichrome formation a bit better. So from this point forward, I will try and take a photo of a freshly opened nug to display this and provide as much detail about a strain as possible for you guys. We are considering a microscope to capture photos at this stage, so keep an eye out for future updates. As always, if you think of another metric/ approach that you would like us to take in these reviews, feel free to reach out and let us know!

The way that these nugs have been trimmed looks great from afar, but certainly takes it’s toll on some of the trichome heads on the outside. When pinching a bit of the cannabis flower open, it revealed a beautiful cascading jungle of crystalline mushrooms all glistening in whites amongst the delightful green and purple colours this strain exhibits. It really must have been a beautiful plant during flowering, and hope that with time the cure issue is resolved to try and bring some more of that original goodness to our pharmacies.

How Does It Grind? 

As mentioned above this strain came in super dry, to the point where you can crush it between your fingers. This isn’t ideal in my opinion for a couple of reasons. I really love this strain don’t get me long, but this is an honest review so I’m going to be straight up on why this is a pain. When you have an overly dried cure you’re not only losing flavour/ smoothness and overall cannabinoid preservation, but you are also making it so with very little grinding it can turn to dust. This means you fit more into your chamber to get the same even vapour distribution. For some this isn’t ideal as you don’t want as much, especially if stepping up to this 25% strength. So you end up using your medication faster, and in some cases raise your tolerance along with it. So more consumption and more cost. Secondly, as it turns into such a fine dust, even the finer mesh screens can struggle to keep it out of your cooling chamber. I use a S&B Mighty vaporiser, and usually have to swap out screens every week or so when I do a full clean down (I maintain in-between!). However with this strain I have had to clean/ swap out screens every 2 days because so much of it gets caught and basically turns into an oily hashy blockage.

So my top tip with this strain is start with smaller twists on your grind and find the perfect balance for your needs. A boveda pack certainly helped a little but even so if you’re not careful you can blitz this into dust!

Batch No

For reference we include a batch number. As mentioned above, some strains have been found to vary over time, (Thankfully mostly for the better!) so we include the batch as a reference for anyone looking. We haven’t noticed any issues with this batch that need addressing beyond our typical want for a stronger terpene profile over all, but having said that, now properly cured this strain has improved and is effective for my needs.

ROK000316829

Throat issues/ catching/ allergies?:

In the past I have had hay fever like symptoms with a scratchy throat/ runny eyes and sneezing around loading my device or vaping certain strains. So I take note whether this is an issue on my reviews incase anyone else has the same problem! For me Cura T11 LA Kush Cake didn’t have any of these issues. As it is a higher potency strain you do find it vapes for longer than other strains, so depending on your setup this prolonged vaping may cause irritation but honestly I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.

Side effects/ issues?

Despite finding it very effective as a balanced strain in the day, I do have to be careful as if I have too much it does end up working against me if I’ve got some busy stuff to do!

Strain Profile: LA Kush Cake 

Grown By Natural History in Canada.

"The Cake strains are some of the most popular cultivars on the market today, well-regarded for their high potency and cake-like terpene profile. LA Kush Cake presents extremely dense, frosted buds with purple and pink highlights on a dark green backdrop. The dominant aromas range from earthy to sandalwood with notes of gas, cake, and vanilla. LA Kush Cake is fully cultivated indoors, in precision-controlled laboratory conditions. All Natural History flower is thoughtfully hung to dry, hand trimmed and cured for 21-30 days."

Terpene profile 

Caryophyllene

Limonène

Linalool

Myrcene

Lineage: 

Wedding Cake x Kush Mintz Cross.  

"LA Kush Cake was created by combining Seed Junky's Wedding Cake with Kush Mints. Triangle Mints, as it was initially known, was nicknamed Wedding Cake by the Jungle Boys (renowned California breeders in their own right), because of its distinct cake frosting aroma. And like any good nickname, it stuck!"

Overall Impression

In my opinion it has lived up to the hype, and although I can see a better cure making a work of difference on terpenes, practical usage and dosing issues, it does have some room to go but it’s an easy thing to achieve. So I have high hopes for future batches of this!

It’s exciting to see these break through strains come through from Curaleaf Pharmacy and I’m sure we’ll have a lot more to come. Although I found Powdered Donuts a great night time strain, now I see how dialled in these different strains can be for your specific needs. The difference is like night and day. I wish I didn’t have to use more of it for the same duration of relief, however the way in which it relieves things has really changed things for the better for me! So let’s hope it doesn’t go out of stock any time soon!


If you would be interested in offering your own reviews/ insights on strains or the medical cannabis industry in the UK in general, we are open to collaborating. Feel free to drop us an email!

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