I’ve spent the last few months trying to get my hands on a strain called Runtz. I’ve been reading about it all over the place, and Leafly rated it as one of the best strains of 2020 – so you could say my curiously level has been very high!

Runtz is a cross of Zkittlez and Gelato – two delicious strains that are hugely popular on their own – and is named after the candy called Runts because of its sweet taste, at least that’s what I’ve read. I got my hands on a gram of Runtz a couple of weeks ago from the High Caliber brand, and it was wonderful, but not very sweet… much more gassy. The high from smoking the gram just got me excited to try more Runtz… so when this sample eighth of Strawberry Runtz from Herb & Zen was put into my hands last week, I was just super-excited to get into the jar and start reviewing!

[Disclaimer: This herb was provided by Herb & Zen in exchange for an honest review]

Strawberry Runtz is one of the growing number of Runtz hybrids that I’m starting to see show up on menus – White Runtz, Pink Runtz, etc. This strain is a cross of Strawnana (AKA Strawberry Banana) and Runtz and comes in at 29.737% THC! The total cannabinoids are over 36%… that’s a powerful engine!

The Look and Smell

The jars from Herb & Zen are what I expect good herb to be packaged in these days – a glass jar with good labeling, child-proof lids and an induction flavor seal to keep it all fresh.

The label on the herb I was reviewing stated that it had just been packaged a week or so earlier – so it was very fresh!

Opening the flavor seal caused a rush of aromas to fill our cabin. The smells were sweet like freshly cut strawberries and fruit candies. There was an earthy quality that created a solid floor for the sweet smells which swirled above that nearly screamed “this is great herb!!!”

My first thought was – if you pour this out on a tray at a (post COVID) party everyone would be gathering around to see what was creating that powerful, delicious aroma. I wouldn’t get this one out at a party unless I’m ready to share, because everyone is gonna want to smoke these nugs… and these nugs are almost too precious for that. Strike that. Herb & Zen have nice pricing – quality nugs that a working person can afford. So buy two jars and share one with your friends is my suggestion!

The three nugs in the jar were dense and chunky, with nice light purples, some oranges, and a variety of shades of green.

As I cut into the biggest nug I was immediately impressed with the cure. There was no dry dust or crumbs on the tray once this flower was cut up, just a beautiful pile of fresh, well-cured herb that now smelled even stronger than before.

So here’s a new Holy Grail of herb requirement – room-filling smell! I had to get up from the red bench and walk out of the room just to walk back in and smell the air. Why don’t air fresheners smell like this?! I thought.

My fingers were very sticky by the time my bong was loaded, and that’s after trying to be extremely careful cutting up the nugs. As I often mention, you have to respect the herb, and you don’t want to brutalize it while cutting it up. That sticky feeling on my fingers and scissors were trichomes that didn’t make it into the bowl – I try and keep that to a minimum.

The Taste and Effects

What is a word that means more than delicious? Heavenly, exquisite, scrumptious, the food of the gods… I searched my mind as I held the first hit in for longer than the necessary three seconds. That smoke had a lot of the flavors I want to taste when I smoke herb! It had a sweetness that tasted like cut strawberries covered in sugar mixed with an earthy quality that was amazingly balanced. And the smoke itself was smooth and thick… the next couple hits from my bong were a pleasure ride of cannabis perfection.

And when the effects came in I was on a serious ride! I called this one a “Born To Run” high, because I could almost hear the Bruce Springsteen song in my head as the high started to hit me. The empowering rush of THC made me feel like I was in the driver seat of a powerful muscle car. I could feel the engine of THC revving, with the high just asking me, “where do you want to go?”

Some herbs, especially high THC herbs, can make me feel like a passenger on the ride, but this one made me feel in control – like the driver. The feeling of being in control was a great anxiety reducer, and the high put me completely at ease. I took just four hits my first time out with this one, and that was all I needed for the next few hours.

The high came in nearly immediately with a very relaxed and comfortable feeling in the body. For the next several hours while the high lasted I forgot about the little aches and pains I’m so used to. Noticeably absent was any marijuana “fuzzies”, that feeling of the nerves being insulated. Instead I felt like the herb really pulled things together, tightened down the nuts and bolts and pulled in the loose threads.

I pleasantly buzzed around our cabin, just loving the high! I felt good, I felt stoned, I felt groovy, and I was sure I didn’t look stoned. There was not an overwhelming lidded feeling to my eyes, but looking in the mirror I could see that feelings can be deceptive – my eyes were lidded, glassy and red.

As I just mentioned, this was a high that makes you know you are stoned, no question about it. Solidly stoned, yet very cool feeling, like when I smoke a great OG. When the high wore off I re-upped right away because I wanted to stay in the zone…

The Wrap Up

Repeated re-ups all afternoon of Strawberry Runtz made me head to bed for a short nap. So beware, this one will bite you if you hit it too hard. A sesh of nearly seven hits made me reel – I had to pause for awhile… and that’s unusual for me. I can usually smoke until the cows come home, as they say.

Mark me as very impressed by this strain from Herb & Zen. I’m a little extra critical when I’ve been given herb to review, so I looked for flaws in this one, but I couldn’t find any… and this one ends up with the highest score I’ve given any herb (they earned it). It sets a new high bar for herb!

One last note – I’m nearly two-thirds of the way through the eighth at this point and it’s going way too fast! This herb has become my serious go-to. “Why smoke anything else when you have some Strawberry Runtz?” I keep answering Tania when she asks me what I’m smoking. And that’s the way it’ll be until this jar is empty.

Until later, best of health.

The Low Down