High Country: High Q’s parent company debuts Swedish-inspired, handcrafted hash

Hello Äkta!

Swedish for “authentic, genuine, real and true,” it’s the latest venture for locally based cannabis conglomerate Plum Companies.

Best known for its chain of High Q retail stores in the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond — it currently operates four dispensaries in Snowmass Village, Carbondale, Silt and Parachute — Plum Companies recently released its first line of cannabis edibles and concentrates.

For founder and CEO Renée Grossman, creating a new brand was the natural next step to honor the purest form of the cannabis plant for Plum Companies, which grows its own flower under the umbrella Hava Gardens — the largest living soil cultivation facility in the state, located just outside of Grand Junction in De Beque.

“Technology has enabled some companies to take shortcuts and use inferior-quality inputs in their products — then gloss over it with unsubstantiated claims of quality,” shared Grossman during an interview last month. “True to our name, we wanted to offer consumers an authentic, genuine product. Organically cultivated cannabis will always produce a more natural, pleasant and balanced high without harsh side effects. Products made from cannabis grown with synthetic nutrients and chemical pesticides can often create intense highs that cause headaches and hangovers. At Hava Gardens, we produce sun-kissed cannabis using a living soil method, which means it’s always free from pesticides or chemicals.”

Äkta’s array of strain-specific offerings debuted in December with Live Rosin Cartridges ($60 per 500 milligrams). They already received first-place (Best Solventless Vape) accolades from Rooster Magazine’s 2021 “710 Showdown” — an annual competition celebrating Colorado’s best concentrates. This spring, Äkta released Live Rosin Gummies ($22 per 20 pieces) and Cold-Cured Rosin Batter ($60 per gram) with the brand available in more than 100 cannabis retailers statewide and counting. All Äkta products are produced in Plum Companies’ state-of-the-art hash lab in Carbondale using cannabis sourced from Hava Gardens.

“Live rosin, or hash as it’s most commonly known, celebrates the full expression of the cannabis plant. It’s highest in cannabinoids and terpenes, and because it’s solventless, it’s unadulterated,” Grossman added. “We wanted to preserve the time-honored tradition of handcrafted, artisanal hash to share the most optimal way to consume cannabis.”

Unlike most edibles and oils on the market, which are made using isolate oil (THC extract mixed

with chemicals such as butane and carbon dioxide) and distillate oil (THC is stripped from the plant) respectively, Äkta’s products stand out for their commitment to the cleanest cannabis experience possible. And not far off from the ancient hash-making way, Plum Companies only uses water, ice, heat and pressure throughout the oil extraction process.

She explained in detail:

“With ice water as a carrier, we turn fresh frozen whole plant matter into ice water hash (we freeze cannabis for Äkta at the time of harvest to preserve all the natural trichomes on the plant), which is then pressed into a terpene-rich oil, which preserves the natural flavors and cannabinoids of the plant so it can express itself in its natural state. Synthetic products do not produce the same holistic high that naturally occurring, full- spectrum oil-based products offer consumers. The initial rush may be more intense, but that high dissipates more quickly.”

The end goal (and result) for Äkta? A tasty, uplifting and enduring effect that works more naturally and holistically with the body and mind.

Katie Shapiro can be reached at katie@katieshapiromedia.com and followed on Twitter @bykatieshapiro.