Origins and Backstory: Acquired as testers from Meangene at Freeborn, I grew these outdoor in full sun on Colorado’s front range around 5300’. Yesca is an OG cut from California, desirable for its aroma and robustness of plant. Jaro is one of Mean gene’s lesser known hybrids—although I’m not sure why. Closely related to Rootbeer, they share the same OGCoffee “father” (pollen donor). Rootbeer’s mother is Headband, and Jaro’s is Sour Diesel—which likely share genetics. It’s highly probable that Rootbeer and Jaro share an unbelievable amount of DNA. So, Jaro is worthy of at least some percentage of the hype of Rootbeer in my opinion!
Appearance: Growing like a much stronger OG Kush at first (somewhat lanky stacking nodes but growing fairly vertically), these plants developed into heavy-yielding OG Kushes, with much more impressive girth and weight than a traditional OG. The plants stacked calyxes in the typical OG fashion, and basically just produced much bigger-than-normal OG nugs. Everything about the plants and flowers stayed entirely green through cold temperatures, rain/hail/snow, 50 degree/24hour temperature swings, and yellowed at senescence. While the plants would have ideally finished later than our clime allows, the buds finished like many Sour crosses outside—full in shape, but could be more densely packed. These plants stayed entirely green through weeks with temperatures in the 30s.
Aroma: True to its lineage, the aroma is sour, fuely, skunky, and loud—a real sour OG. There are notes similar to Headband, of sour rye bread and gasoline in addition to those of OG and Sour Diesel like lemon pith and sugar cookie. I love weed that smells like this, and OGs and Sours have permanent places in many toker’s hearts because of it. There is a kind of lemon-sugar cookie-perfume element present as well that only adds to the intrigue and complexity. The growing plant had other more alien notes present, smelling like coffee at times and like a kind of fermented or rotting fruit at others. The fruit is gone entirely and makes me wonder if it was a figment of my imagination, but I do frequently get a skunky coffee tone from an open jar. Overall, smells like many other lines of Sours, OGs, Headbands, etc.—and that’s not a bad thing.
Flavor: The flavor is instantly palate coating, covering my mouth and tastebuds with a sensation of sour kerosene and asphalt. It is sweet-skunky with seemingly-artificial notes of oil and petroleum products as well as natural botanical ones. Reminiscent of Sour Diesel, the pungent and fuely flavor obviously hails from Sour Diesel lineage. Many will love and appreciate this, as Sour Diesel is a clone-only that many tokers lament there isn’t more of. Most Sour Diesel crosses are commonly and derogatorily referred to as “watered down sour”—maybe my memory fails me, but this reminds me of some of the best bags of Sour from “the old days.” It is at once nostalgic as well as deeply satisfying for new and old-school smokers alike.
Effects: Immediately face-warming and causing a head rush, I can feel my eyes redden in real time. I am instantly stoned when smoking this weed, and my thoughts swirl—they seem new and different in an interesting way, and really everything becomes more interesting than it was before. Not for trips to the grocery store, this weed makes the world seem alien in a way and really puts me into my own head. This weed is deeply reflective, introspective, and generally thought provoking and thoughtful in general. The general effect is long-lasting, as is the peak of effect making this weed seemingly economical. A great choice for rainy or snowy days spent inside, this is my choice of smoke for adventures deep in my own mind, or creative endeavors requiring a balance of openness, deep thought, and focus.
Overall: A stunner in every way, Yesca x Jaro resembles Headband, Sour OG, and other varieties hailing from Sour Diesel and OG Kush lineage. The aroma and flavor are as sour and petroleum-based as expected, and this line has obviously been selected with flavor in mind. Equally as compelling are the warm, relaxed, and highly enjoyable effects. Yesca x Jaro is one of my favorite weeds to smoke on evenings alone—interesting podcasts become fascinating, tasty food becomes delicious, enjoyable music becomes exquisite—you get the idea. Consuming this is really a great experience alone, and gives me a great appreciation for my own thoughts and self. I don’t like being social after smoking this weed, as it seems like a chore to adhere to social conventions. Between the sour-skunky-fuel flavor, joyous feelings of solitude and deep fascination, this has become one of my favorites this winter and I genuinely savor an evening in with this weed. To top it all off, this plant is robust and vigorous, especially for an OG cross. The buds were impressively big and thick (again, especially for an OG cross), but ideally would have liked a longer flowering season than the Front Range of Colorado offers. I’ll be growing more next year and seeing what else this gene pool offers.