Whether you’re a true cannabis enthusiast or you are just giving CBD a try for the first time, there is plenty to love about CBD flower. It’s versatile, smoking or vaping it delivers fast results, and there are hundreds of different strains to choose from that are packed with just the right combination of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids to get you to where you want to be.
Shopping for CBD flower, however, can be an overwhelming process. Dozens of companies on the internet claim to have the best CBD flower available, but how do you know that’s true? And once you settle on a brand, how do you choose the right strain?
Some brands just give you names like Bubba Kush or Hawaiian Haze CBD and that’s it. They don’t include information about terpenes or what to expect, and it sometimes seems like picking the right product is an elusive skill only available to the most experienced cannabis users.
We understand your trepidation, so we’ve put together this quick guide to answer your questions and help you shop for CBD flower like a pro. You’ll learn what to look for in high quality CBD flower products and red flags to avoid.
We did the research and found six outstanding brands that you’re sure to love, and this guide will help you get to know them and the CBD strains they feature.
How We Chose Our Rankings
● Cultivation
High quality CBD hemp flower requires careful cultivation in order to bring out the plant’s cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids for an excellent experience. We looked for brands that use artisan seeds for superior genetics and organic cultivation practices for the purest, most potent CBD flower possible.
● Customer Reviews
Customer reviews from reputable sources are an excellent barometer for a CBD brand’s ability to consistently deliver products that meet and exceed customer expectations. We used review sites like Trustpilot to see what customers like you have say about whether or not a CBD company lives up to its promises.
● Strain Selection
Finding a robust selection of CBD flower strains can be confusing and challenging. The brands on this list offer a range of strains that will cover any of your wellness and personal goals.
● Affordability
Some CBD companies charge outrageous prices in the name of quality. And while it’s true that producing premium CBD flower can cost more, this is not a excuse for price gouging. Just because you’re on a budget doesn’t mean you can’t find outstanding CBD flower with great flavor and dependable results.
● Transparency
Hemp flower isn’t just a tonic for humans and their furry friends. This strong, fibrous plant also has amazing regenerative potential for the earth itself as a bioaccumulator. In order to ensure your CBD flower is free of toxins like chemical pesticides, heavy metals, mycotoxins, and agricultural runoff, it’s absolutely necessary that the company you choose offers readily available third party lab results.
● Customer Care
Most people who buy CBD flower online are investing in their health and wellness. We made sure the brands we listed here acknowledge the importance of this investment and offer customer care you can trust.
Best CBD Flower of 2023 Reviews
Selecting the best CBD flower brands is difficult to do considering all the fantastic options out there. But after doing extensive research and taking the time to carefully consider our objective ratings requirements, the following six brands came out on top.
1. Bonata – Best CBD Flower of 2023
One of the best pieces of advice for guaranteed success is to stick to what you’re good at, and Bonata is following that principle 100%. Rather than getting distracted by offering a dozen different CBD product formats like CBD edibles, drinks, and other novelties, Bonata keeps it simple by specializing in CBD smokables.
In addition to an excellent variety of the best CBD flower strains for sale on Bonata’s website, you’ll also find a great selection of CBD vapes, pre rolled CBD joints, and CBD concentrates like Blue Dream crumble.
The CBD flower itself is second to none, with gorgeous sticky nugs covered in trichome goodness and a pleasantly cured aroma and flavor.
Bonata’s hemp is grown indoors to ensure it is pure with no exposure to heavy metals or other agricultural toxins. This gives cultivators complete control over environmental factors like humidity, temperature, lighting, and water for maximum terpene and cannabinoid development as plants mature.
Bonata Pros:
- Fresh, pleasant aroma and flavor
- Artisan cured for maximum potency
- 30-day money back guarantee
- Indoor cultivation
- Strong cannabinoid and terpene profiles
Bonata Cons:
- Not many strain options available
Our Favorite CBD Flower Strains from Bonata
Dream Berries
Testing at a CBD potency of 15% and an overall cannabinoid potency of 19.7%, dream berries is one of our all-time favorite indica strains for rest and relaxation. The genetic lineage is a combination of the wildly popular Blue Dream and Blackberry strains, with the dominant terpene being myrcene, known for its sedative properties.
Space Invader
If you’re looking for a perfectly balanced hybrid CBD flower with uplifting and calming effects, then this is your strain. Space invader has an impressive 20.2% cannabinoid concentration, and its dominant terpenes are a mix of relaxing myrcene and caryophyllene, and linalool, evened out with uplifting limonene for a heady sense of relaxation.
2. Hollyweed CBD
Run by a group of wellness minded individuals and cannabis experts in the medical cannabinoid market, Hollyweed CBD got its start in an unlikely manner. The group teamed up with the artist responsible for changing the famous landmark Hollywood sign to “Hollyweed” on New Year’s Day in 2017.
In honor of California’s cannabis legalization, Zach “Jesus Hands” Fernandez’s conversation-starting artwork began a tradition of education and awareness that continues with the Hollyweed CBD brand today.
The foundation of the brand stands on six pillars of wellness: spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, environmental, and social. And the company’s quality standards reflect its solid principles.
Featured in Vice, Vanity Fair, and Time, Hollyweed’s products generate rave customer reviews. With 4.3 stars out of 5 on Trustpilot, it’s clear why this brand made it onto our list of best CBD flower.
Hollyweed CBD Pros:
- Affordable prices
- Wide variety of products
- Informative website
- Lab tested
- Free shipping
Hollyweed CBD Cons:
- Some strains often sold out
Our Favorite CBD Flower Strains from Hollyweed CBD
White CBG
This energizing hemp flower strain is actually dominant in another cannabinoid we love, CBG. Potent and fragrant, White CBG is the smokable hemp flower you want to choose when you need to get stuff done while remaining focused and capable. Dominant terpenes include bisabolol, caryophyllene, and humulene.
Bubba Kush
When you want a classic CBD flower strain, Bubba Kush is an excellent go-to. Hollyweed’s version is bred to have a high concentration of CBD with no THC, so it’s Federal Farm Bill compliant and legal. Use this strain to get the most out of your time to relax and feel the stress melt away.
3. Happy Budz Hemp
Happy Budz Hemp doesn’t just make its CBD flower affordable, it goes the extra mile to give back to the community it loves. Customers who cannot afford CBD flower from Happy Budz at full price can apply to a financial hardship program that will offset the cost, and this is paid for with a percentage of the profits from every purchase.
Additionally, Happy Buds Hemp offers military and first responder price reductions, rewards and referral programs, and several other ways to get your natural CBD hemp flower wellness at a discount.
Struggling to choose which CBD flower strain is right for you? No worries with Happy Budz Hemp. The brand offers a sampler pack of its most popular strains, or a sampler of its most popular CBD flower formats including hemp buds, kief, and pre rolls.
Happy Budz Hemp Pros:
- Organically grown hemp
- Independent lab tests
- Affordable prices
- Large selection
- Sampler packs
Happy Budz Hemp Cons:
- Small selection of CBD hemp flower strains
- Website is difficult to use
Our Favorite Strains from Happy Budz Hemp
East Coast Lifter
Decorated with hints of bright orange and purple hairs, this sativa dominant CBD hemp flower strain is a perfect way to start your day. East Coast Lifter’s taste notes include sweetness, berries, cream, and custard, and its scent notes include sweet, funk, and pine.
Cherry Abacus
The indica dominant hybrid, Cherry Abacus is just what you need when you want to chill out and get rid of the day’s stress. The heavy, relaxing, and sedating effects are punctuated with floral, berry, and cherry cola notes, for the sweetest dreams yet.
4. Organic Nugs
Organic Nugs has an extensive line of CBD and hemp flower products, including CBD flower, CBG flower buds, gummies, vapes, pre rolls, tinctures, delta-8 THC products, delta-10 THC products, and more.
Customers love the sampler packs from Organic Nugs, and most of their best CBD flower strains have 4 and 5 star reviews from hundreds of happy patrons. Most of the CBD strains featured in the Organic Nugs website come in affordable 3.5 and 7 gram sizes, but there are a few premium strains that you can only buy if you’re ready to go all in with a full ounce.
These sticky organic hemp nugs are hand trimmed and cured to preserve their robust cannabinoid and terpene profile so you get every last hint of cannabis plant goodness in every session.
Organic Nugs Pros:
- Organic hemp flower
- Third party lab tested
- Extensive variety
Organic Nugs Cons:
- No returns or refunds
Our Favorite Strains from Organic Nugs
Abacus Diesel
This indica dominant hybrid hemp flower strain has OG Kush and Purple Urkle genetics, and is a great option for when you want to smoke CBD flowers later in the day or evening to relax. Organic Nugs suggests using this strain only at bedtime because of its strong sedating properties.
Fruity Pebbles
A mix of Green Ribbon, Tahoe Alien, and Grand Daddy Purple hemp CBD flower strains, Fruity Pebbles is a great way to start your day on a positive note. These colorful CBD buds are cheerful and bright, and their sweet, tropical aroma and flavor are all at once energizing and calming.
5. Secret Nature CBD
Secret Nature CBD takes its hemp flower cultivation and curing seriously, and it’s no secret that customers are wild about the results. Featured on Rolling Stone and WeedMaps, this brand has an excellent selection of smokable CBD flower, disposable CBD vapes, and pre rolls that are sure to deliver the results you’re looking for.
To create the high quality CBD products customers love, Secret Nature CBD grows its hemp plants in living organic soil. The vibrant mix of nutrients made available through this cultivation method supports a flourishing terpene and cannabinoid development for enhanced effects and flavor.
What’s more, this unique approach is only the first step in Secret Nature CBD’s process. After the CBD hemp flowers are harvested, the brand meticulously cures them by hanging the whole plant for two weeks at 60 degrees with 60% relative humidity for a slow, cold cure.
This keeps all the natural goodness of the cannabis plant intact and produces CBD flower that delivers a pleasurable smoking experience with a full, robust, smooth flavor.
Secret Nature CBD Pros:
- Unique artisan cultivation and curing methods
- Organic CBD hemp flower
- Robust flavor
- Strong terpene and cannabinoid profile
Secret Nature CBD Cons:
- Expensive
- Returns only available for unopened products
Our Favorite Strains from Secret Nature CBD
Frosted Kush
With a pungent aroma of sweet cream and berries, this indica dominant strain is like breathing in your favorite dessert. Secret Nature CBD’s Frosted Kush is the best CBD flower to get your relax on after a long day.
Mr. Rainbow
With a name like Mr. Rainbow, you’re certain to get a kaleidoscope of feels from this strain. Uplifting and balanced, this CBD flower is great for daytime or nighttime use. No matter when you use Mr. Rainbow, the level-headed results will put you in the right state of mind.
6. Exhale Wellness
Exhale Wellness concentrates on bringing out the therapeutic qualities of CBD and educating its customers along the way. The team behind the brand believes that everyone deserves access to alternatives to traditional medicine, and they are on a mission to help customers restore physical and mental stability, comfort, and performance.
The founders of Exhale Wellness got their start in the organic food industry, and they moved into cannabis when they saw a real need for CBD brands that consistently deliver high quality products that can be trusted.
Geared toward the hemp enthusiast, the brand’s best CBD flower flower products have been featured on LA Times and Ministry of Hemp, and Trustpilot gives the brand 4.3 stars out of 5 based on thousands of customer reviews.
Exhale Wellness Pros:
- Organically grown hemp
- Wide variety of products
- Informative website
Exhale Wellness Cons:
- Expensive
- No terpene profiles listed
Our Favorite Strains from Exhale Wellness
Northern Lights
Northern Lights is dappled with sparkly orange hairs and comes with a sweet, spicy aroma that will carry you all the way through a full session of relaxation and calm without making you too tired to enjoy the ride.
Skywalker OG
This indica dominant hybrid is famous among cannabis connoisseurs for its strong ability to mellow you out when anxiety is high. Expect a sweet, citrus hops flavor on the inhale, with a peppery finish.
What is CBD Flower?
CBD flower is the unadulterated form of the CBD products you love. It’s what every CBD oil, edible, and vape starts with.
The CBD flower that you find on the internet comes from hemp plants that are bred specifically to have a high concentration of CBD and little to no THC. Hemp with a THC concentration of 0.3% or less was made Federally legal with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill.
One of the best things about smoking CBD flower is that you can use it without being hampered by the intoxicating effects of THC. This allows you to legally get the benefits of cannabis while still performing your day-to-day activities.
How to Tell CBD Flower from Weed
Weed is a common slang term for marijuana, which is also a member of the hemp family. The main difference between CBD flower and marijuana is that the latter has a much higher concentration of THC.
Marijuana is Federally illegal, but most states have implemented legalization on at least some level. As of 2023, 37 states and the District of Columbia have either legal medical marijuana, recreational marijuana, or both.
Unfortunately, there is no surefire way to tell the difference between weed and CBD flower at a glance (or even a whiff). Since they are both types of hemp plants, they invariably appear the same. And it doesn’t help that you can even cultivate the same strains to either be CBD flower or marijuana.
The best way to know the difference between CBD flower and weed is by making sure you only buy CBD from a trusted source like the brands we have on our best CBD flower list. When you get your products from a reputable company, you’ll have access to third party lab results that confirm you are getting a product with 0.3% THC or less.
How Much THC is in CBD Flower
The THC concentration in CBD flower can vary depending on the cultivation methods. However, in order to be Federally compliant, CBD flower must contain 0.3% THC or less.
When you buy CBD flower online, this is usually what you can expect. However, cannabinoid concentration can vary based on a number of factors. So in order to ensure you’re getting legal CBD hemp flower that won’t make you high, it’s best to stick with brands that make their independent lab results readily available.
What Does CBD Flower Smell Like
Some people absolutely love the distinct, pungent aroma of cannabis, and others could do without it. Though smoking CBD hemp flower does smell virtually the same as smoking other forms of cannabis, terpenes and flavonoids give each individual strain its unique aroma and flavor. So there is no one description that applies to all products.
Often you can count on the hemp flower product descriptions or names to give you a clue as to what to expect. Some strains have a sweet aroma, while others are more on the spicy or peppery side.
Top shelf CBD hemp can have a bitter aroma, but it will never smell grassy or like hay. If your CBD flower has this odor, you need to shop elsewhere next time you’re ready to buy.
How to Use CBD Flower
One of our favorite things about CBD flower is its versatility. Because hemp flower is unprocessed, you can use it in several different ways.
Most people prefer to either smoke CBD flower or pack it into a dry herb vape, but you can also use it to make DIY edibles like CBD brownies.
Smoking CBD Flowers
Smoking CBD flowers produces the most pungent odor, and some people prefer this method over any other. The best way to prepare your CBD flower for smoking is to use a grinder to break the buds into a finer consistency, then either pack it into a pipe or roll it into a CBD flower joint.
Dry Vaping CBD Hemp Flower
Dry vaping CBD hemp flower produces a lighter aroma, and is a little less harsh on the throat when you inhale. One of the main reasons people prefer this method is because it creates inhalable vapor at lower temperatures than smoking, which preserves more terpenes during consumption.
DIY CBD Flower Edibles
An added bonus for anyone who loves to consume CBD flower is that you can use it to make DIY edibles. There are tons of recipes online, but one of the easiest ways to add CBD flower as a mealtime or snack time treat is to use the nugs to make CBD butter that you can add to just about anything. You can also use this recipe to make CBD oil as well.
Where to Buy CBD Flower
These days, you can find CBD flower anywhere from your local smoke shop to your local gas station. However, the best place to buy CBD flower is from an online CBD retailer that you know and trust.
It may sound counterintuitive, but when you buy CBD flower from a trusted brand online, you have some definite advantages as a consumer:
- Time to do your research without a salesperson pushing you into a decision
- Ready access to certificates of analysis (COAs or third-party lab reports)
- Most brick-and-mortar shops have limited inventory, but shopping online gives you access to everything a brand has available
- CBD flower is often fresher because it’s coming directly from the distributor, rather than sitting on the shelf in a store
What Other Ways Are There to Smoke CBD
If CBD flower is not your thing, but you still want the fast-acting relief that comes with inhalable CBD products, you do have other options. The most popular of these options is vaping CBD, but there is also an increasing selection of smokable CBD concentrates available online as well.
Vaping CBD
Using a disposable vape pen with CBD extract is not the same as dry vaping CBD flower. Vape pens usually come with cartridges prefilled with CBD oil specially formulated for vaping.
Keep in mind that it isn’t safe to just add regular CBD oil to your vape tank and puff away. These oils are made for sublingual dosing or ingestion and they contain ingredients that are not safe to inhale.
However, it’s easy to find a great disposable vape pen with pure CBD extract cartridges made just for this method of smoking CBD. As a matter of fact, Bonata, our first pick for best CBD flower, was also recognized by Observer as having the best CBD disposable vape pen.
CBD Concentrates
The green wave of cannabis legalization has led to some really fun and exciting products hitting the shelves in the last few years. One of the most unique ways to smoke CBD is to use a concentrate.
CBD concentrates come in formats like crumble, badder, budder, and shatter. These products promise a high level of purity and a much more concentrated dose than you w0uld get with CBD flower.
How to Find a High Quality CBD Vape or Concentrate
The same general rules that apply to finding the best CBD flower also apply to finding the best CBD vape or concentrate.
- Make sure you are able to determine that the hemp used to make the extracts and concentrates is reputably sourced, and preferably organically grown.
- Look for companies that have great customer reviews.
- Shop around for a brand that carries strains that will produce the effects you are looking for.
- Don’t fall for brands that are gouging prices in the name of quality. You can find affordable CBD products that are pure and potent for affordable prices.
- Insist on only purchasing CBD products from brands that offer up third-party lab results to ensure that what’s on the label is what’s in the package.
- Look for CBD brands that offer excellent customer care, with generous (or at least reasonable) return policies and a way to contact support.
This article has been supplied by Colorado Botanicals, a paid advertiser. Content has not been independently verified by Los Angeles magazine.
