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MICHIGAN—A lot of cannabis reviews work by finding the loser. Maybe that’s a $2 pre-roll that’s mostly stems, a $5 vape filled with low-grade distillate, or gummies that taste like soap.
Those are easy to write. But what happens when there’s no loser? When you put three genuinely excellent products side by side, and the only real question is what separates them? That’s the experiment I tried to run recently, with three top-shelf live rosins and a Puffco Peak.
Full disclosure: I’m a flower guy. I don’t dab too often. So when I do, I usually reach for the top shelf. Plus, I learned a long time ago that solventless rosin is almost always worth the splurge.
It’s also worth noting: All three of these concentrates came from Cake House in Lansing. And everything was 25% off the day I went in, so I’ll list both the shelf price and what I actually paid.
Rainbow Guava by Ice Kream Hash Co.
$45/g ($34 on sale)
Rainbow Guava is an uplifting, candy-like cross between Rainbow Belts and Strawberry Guava.
And this soft, gooey rosin was noticeably more translucent than the other two in this review—which, budtenders tell me, is often taken as a sign of a clean, careful wash.
It had some creamy tartness up front, followed by some sweet citrus and fruit notes, with a little musty, chemical funk underneath. The high was a real headsmacker that kicked in quickly with an uplifting and upbeat buzz; I used the extra energy to take my dogs for a late-night stroll.
Ice Kream Hash Co. is operated by Lake Life Farms out of Dimondale, with a solid reputation for quality solventless concentrates. At $34, this was the cheapest of the bunch, but it smoked like it belonged right next to the others. I couldn’t muster a single complaint.
Sweet Berry Wine by 710 Labs
$65/g ($49 on sale)
710 Labs probably has the most name recognition of any of the brands featured in this week’s review. So, for me, it came along with some higher expectations. And it didn’t disappoint.
Sweet Berry Wine (Monkey Berries x Rick James) was the most opaque of the three: a thick, yellow, beeswax texture that smelled exactly like the name. That also translated to the flavor profile, with some sugary grape and blueberry notes. The real fruits, not the artificial versions.
The high was the most full-bodied of the bunch. After a few dabs, I stopped paying attention to whatever I picked on Netflix, sunk deep into my couch, zoned out, and fell asleep. I woke up with a sincere case of the munchies, ate an entire bag of Doritos, and then went back to bed.
In retrospect, maybe three large dabs before starting the movie was a bad idea.
710 Labs is a California brand that built its whole reputation on solventless concentrates. They set up shop in Michigan in 2022 and have since gained a cult following for their ultra-limited —and often ridiculously priced—product drops, which are only available through “The List.”
The brand also grades every batch in tiers, with Tier 1 reserved for rare, low-yielding, connoisseur stuff. The tiers below aren’t necessarily lower quality weed, just more common strains that’ll get you just as high, even if the flavor isn’t quite as loud. Sweet Berry Wine was labeled Tier 3. And at $49 on sale, it was still the most expensive in this review.
Personally, I’m happy with Tier 3. It’s much cheaper; it still tastes incredible; and I still got absurdly stoned. Maybe someday I’ll evolve into the type of dab snob who notices a difference.
Happy Hour by Yetistash
$55/g ($41 on sale)
I didn’t know much about Yetistash going into this review, except for the fact that it’s been making the rounds among Michigan’s pickiest stoners on the official cannabis subreddit.
The strain, Happy Hour, also came with unlisted genetics, so I went in blind.
It turned out to be my favorite of the three.
The flavor was complex and difficult to describe. It had a clean, dessert-like sweetness up front, then turned into something earthier, grassier, and herbaceous on the finish—with a subtle fruit thread connecting it all together. The high was jazzy, uplifting, and perfect for riding my electric unicycle around the (totally empty) campus of Michigan State University on a sunny afternoon.
Yetistash is based in Jonesville and according to its website, the team takes a few unusual steps in the cultivation process—including using “ancient agricultural wisdom” and “modern biohacking tools” that include handcrafted soil, “structured water,” and red-light growth cycles.
Whatever they’re doing, it’s clearly working. I’ll definitely be back for more.
The bottom line
For this week’s review, I went looking for the thing that separates three premium rosins. And it’s not quality. At the end of the day, there was no loser here and, decidedly, no real winner.
At this altitude, the biggest differences are about character—not better and worse.
So, if there’s any real takeaway here, it’s that at the top of the solventless shelf, you can’t really go wrong. The price gaps are more about hype and branding than what lands in your Puffco. If anything, my advice is to experiment with different strains to match the rosin to the moment.
Rainbow Guava provided a bright, citrusy daytime lift. Sweet Berry Wine led to a more full-bodied, sink-into-the-couch kind of evening. And Happy Hour, despite the mystery genetics, ended up fitting the name perfectly. It was also the most complex flavor profile of the bunch.
READ MORE: 5 quick hits of cannabis news from across Michigan
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