interesting observations! and quite accurate I think too in terms of how things operate outside of Amsterdam (or the other cities with high tourist traffic: Venlo, Maastricht, Roosendaal)
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Something he was telling me is that in MANY of the coffee shops you are getting the exact same stuff...no matter what that particular shop calls it. Especially if you are going to the chain places that cater to tourists (which I've only visited once).
yes, lots of places are selling stuff from the same source(s) -- names may be changed, and it does make a difference: Soma #9 (or whatever number it was) doesn't sound as good as Buddha's Sister. strangely, it started selling much better with a "catchy" name.
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His recommendation was to always take the time to explain what kind of experience you are looking for and letting the staff pick it out for you. They've sampled it enough !!
not necessarily a bad idea, but I would say do
not leave them to select for you if you can help it. you notice that if you do this at Barney's they always start recommending the highest priced items on the menu. sometimes they may want to push some slow-moving product on you. so definitely ask for advice, ask what effects a particular menu item has. eventually you start to know what strains have what effects (or shall I say: what effects they should have!). one thing that I find a lot in the commercial environment is the rushed-to-market weed: looks great, smells great, doesn't do what it should. so I tend to ask dealers different types of questions -- though to be fair, some of them know their craft, some will say whatever they feel like -- like "which strain is most showing it's true traits?" a knowledgable dealer would know a) what traits a strain should have and b) whether or not it's living up to it, or if the crop wasn't quite up to snuff.
and if you can, always ask to have a look at the buds (preferably under good lighting).
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Something else he recommended for me as I'm travelling around was to find the smaller (non-chain) shop and if I'm not being particular about what I want (other than "the best") just ask for the "white weed" and don't name any particular strain.
hmmm...again, I would say: ask to see the buds if you can, ask them about the strains if they are unfamiliar. if the strain names are familiar and you know about them, ask about the qualities.
cheers,
-paniked