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MICHIGAN—Near the base of Michigan’s Thumb, two best friends named Dan and Steve are quietly growing some of the most interesting cannabis strains in the state.
They have six employees, about 2,000 plants, and 37 years of growing experience between them. And until a few weeks ago, I’d never heard of them.
What tipped me off wasn’t a review or a Reddit thread. It was four shiny, holographic jars sitting on a shelf at Cake House in Lansing. And because I’m a sucker for good branding, I grabbed two ounces without knowing a thing about the brand behind them.
That turned out to be the right call.
The brand is Alien Tek. And Dan and Steve are former caregivers who pooled everything they had to buy a small grow in Vassar last year. The facility is 12,000 square feet and licensed for 2,000 plants. By Michigan’s standards, that’s tiny. But don’t let any of that fool you.
Last year alone, Alien Tek dropped 48 strains on the Michigan market—pheno-hunting 75% of their lineup and rotating the rest with whatever’s new and up-and-coming. I tried four of them.
Blue Lobster
Blue Lobster doesn’t advertise its lineage, so I went in blind. That turned out to be a good move; I later learned that Blue Lobster was a Leafly “Strain of the Year” nominee and took three awards at the East Coast Zalympix—gassiest, best terps, and runner-up for best overall.
And Alien Tek’s version lives up to the hype.
This one was fruit-forward and floral, landing somewhere in the territory of grape Laffy Taffy and blue SweeTarts—with a puckery, candy-like quality and some light chemical notes that somehow still worked in its favor. I picked up hints of cherry, blueberry, and maybe some plum.
The high was completely zoned-out and spacious. Not sleepy, just chill. Relaxing. Floaty. Introspective. Creative. It’s the kind of strain that makes you OK with not having a plan.
Sub Zero
Sub Zero is a cross of Superboof and Oreoz. The Superboof influence was obvious in the fruit-forward flavor—with berry and citrus up front and a touch of mint and diesel that only got more assertive once it was ground up. Peppery. Zesty. Herby. Genuinely interesting.
But where Superboof tends to hit with that face-melting, smack-you-around style, Sub Zero is considerably more relaxed about the whole thing. That’s the Oreoz talking.
The effects were deeply calming and full-body. And this one, more than any of the other four strains, gave me a serious case of the munchies. I ate an embarrassing amount of food.
Dante’s Storm
Dante’s Storm is a relatively rare cross of Dante’s Inferno and Winter Storm. The Dante’s Inferno side brings funky, old-school character—earthy, garlicky, a little barnyard—while Winter Storm is known for dense, frosty structure and a smooth, creamy smoke. Put them together and you get something that smells like a working farm and tastes like something far more polished.
The flavor here was peppery and sweet, with mild tea-like qualities and a soft gas note underneath. Clean. Ultra-smooth. It smelled like nostalgia; I couldn’t tell you exactly why.
And the high was busy. I cleaned my house. I made a grocery list. I went through and deleted every stale text thread and old email on my phone. I was just locked in and ready to go. Not jittery. Not wired. Just focused and content. I like to smoke this before I go grocery shopping.
Fudge Truffle
This is the one. Fudge Truffle is a cross of Sinmint Cookies and White Truffle, which is a relatively rare combination that practically never shows up on Michigan dispensary menus.
Sinmint Cookies—a cross of Girl Scout Cookies and Blue Power—brings that dessert-cookie foundation, while White Truffle (a Gorilla Butter phenotype) adds depth, funk, and a savory earthiness that keeps things from getting too sweet. Together, they produce something genuinely unlike most of what’s sitting on Michigan dispensary shelves right now.
It smells like chocolate and pine and a little bit of gas. There’s cocoa, cream, a nutty richness, and a skunky undercurrent that grounds the whole thing. Woody. Spicy. Maybe a hint of mint, maybe nutmeg—something warm and slightly exotic underneath all the dessert.
It tastes, in other words, like weed that was grown with intention.
The effects are full-body and genuinely euphoric—a word I don’t reach for too often, because it’s usually an overstatement. But this is good stuff. The high was calming and buzzy without being knocked-out sedating. It’s my new favorite strain to smoke at the end of a long work day.
The bottom line
Alien Tek is the kind of small operation that all too often gets squeezed out by corporate cannabis in Michigan. Dan and Steve built this thing on decades of caregiver experience, genuine craft instincts, and a commitment to keeping it affordable for everyday stoners.
At $70 a half-ounce, these jars aren’t exactly cheap. But for craft weed grown by two people who have been doing this for decades, it’s about as fair as Michigan cannabis gets. And supporting two best friends over a faceless corporation makes it sting a little less.
READ MORE: 8 quick hits of cannabis news from across Michigan
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