Coffee, tea and dissolvable THC? The world is your edible (review)
In a highly competitive retail cannabis edible industry, saying “the consumer can have it all” is only cliché until you meet Stillwater.
With the Denver-based company’s new water-soluble THC and CBD powder, consumers are invited to sprinkle a dash cannabis onto pretty much any and every food item under the sun. Your favorite pho? Make it an edible. Your best Whole 30 recipe? Edible. Even a spot of tea or a cup of Joe.
Is nothing sacred in the cannabis space? Nope, not really. If your favorite pho can get you high, then the limit for dissolvable cannabinoids is literally one’s own imagination.
I sampled three Stillwater offerings featuring the company’s innovative water-soluble cannabinoids — Ripple, Stillwater Tea and Clockwork Coffee — to gauge how the highs hit and see what, exactly, the product does for a few of my fave things: pho, tea and coffee.
Ripple
Ripple, a dissolvable THC edible by Stillwater. (Photo by Lindsey Bartlett, The Cannabist)
Ripple is a nearly flavorless and odorless white powder that comes in single-serving, easy-to-rip-open containers akin to sugar packets. It is also proudly touted as “zero calorie” which allows for healthier food and drink options, something that is not as easily found in the sugary marijuana-laced edibles popular at dispensaries.
Sounds interesting in theory, but how does it taste? And how does it dissolve into pho? Does it film the noodles? I had questions.
Ripple comes in three varieties: Balanced, which contains 5 mg of THC and 5 MG of CBD, Pure with 10 MG of THC, and finally Relief, with 10 MG of CBD and .5 MG of THC, the latter of which claims to be cold-water-soluble.
It has a subtle bitter taste if dissolved in water alone. It dissolves at around the same speed in both hot and cold water and, once mixed, the water will appear a cloudy white instead of clear. You need something flavorful to fully mask the subtle bitterness of Ripple. In a sweet drink, its taste is virtually undetectable. In pho, the same. It doesn’t film the noodles and disappears within the whisk of a few stirs.
That white powder looks sus. Ripple, a dissolvable THC edible by Stillwater. (Photo by Lindsey Bartlett, The Cannabist)
The high is as equally subtle as the taste. In the case of Balanced and Pure, the buzz is consistent and mild, hitting relatively quickly on the edibles time-table: I felt it within 20 minutes. Consistency is a plus for Stillwater. It’s keenly measured and always provides a reliable outcome.
Relief is comprised primarily of CBD and was a successful alleviation of mild pain. For novices, this is the most accessible variety of Ripple.
Stillwater Tea
These teas shine as a tasty application of Stillwater’s water-soluble cannabinoids. The packets are meant to be put directly into hot water as it’s the bag itself, seeping through tiny holes in the bottom.
The Gentle Green Tea is delicious — it has classic rice notes, and it gives a subtle, tingly cannabis buzz to your caffeine high that feels like the edible-equivalent of wrapping up in a warm blanket on a Sunday afternoon. The Blissful Black Tea is very good, too, and it’s strong, leafy notes successfully mask any cannabis flavor you might anticipate. They also offer a Mellow Mint Tea, which was exactly that; mellow and well-balanced. Each will contain 2.5mg of THC and CBD and the mint offering is caffeine free.
Stillwater’s Blissful Black Tea brews. (Lindsey Bartlett, The Cannabist)
These products do not taste like anything other than an herbal tea, similarly robust and flavorful as some organic types you can buy in the grocery store. This tea is brilliant.
Clockwork Coffee
Thus far in my journey through Stillwater’s lineup, my thinking was, “you can’t go wrong.”
Then I met their instant java, Clockwork Coffee. The issue is, it’s is just that: instant coffee, a concoction that most coffee lovers can’t choke down. As far as instant coffees go, this is average — I’ll call it smooth, and it’s not too bitter.
Edibles fans may find Clockwork Coffee enjoyable for its other reason for being.
You’ll find a mixture of brown dust as well as white chunks of dehydrated cream and water-soluble cannabinoids in each packet. It dissolves quickly in hot water with the stir of your spoon. The less water you mix it with, the better it tastes. Doubling up on packets per mug also helps the taste, too.
Clockwork Coffee from Stillwater. (Photo by Lindsey Bartlett, The Cannabist)
The company invites consumers on its social media accounts to get creative with the powdery coffee, making THC or CBD-laced chocolate espresso desserts with it. I am a fan of cooking with it more than drinking it.
Are we ready for water-soluble THC?
I have to say it: Ripple could get creepy pretty quickly–in a Cary Elwes versus Wallace Shawn in that one scene in “The Princess Bride” kinda way. Even as I say aloud or type “tasteless odorless powdery substance,” it seems suspect.
Clockwork Coffee from Stillwater. (Photo by Lindsey Bartlett, The Cannabist)
As with every type of edible, cannabis consumers must use this power for good, not evil. But to calm your fears, it’s such a subtle high, the hypothetical risk is small. It’s still there.
The subtlety of these packets is not lost on consumers. I have a flew floating around in my purse in case of emergencies right now–they are just my tiny THC backup, sleek, nuanced little packets of endless possibility.
Stillwater is most innovative is in its approachability: This is the CBD or THC item your mom would be most likely to try.
This accessible ideology has roots in the company’s origin. Co-founders Jeremy Goldstein, Missy Bradley, and Justin Singer wanted to find a solution for Singer’s grandmother: “We wanted to make products that any grandmother would feel safe consuming. Because, in the end, it’s about feeling better,” Stillwater says.
Stillwater’s Clockwork Coffee in-action. (Photo by Lindsey Bartlett, The Cannabist)
