Bud of indica strain Black Fire Chem cannabis with an 18.23% THC level Oct 31. (Photo illustration by Grayson Reed | The Collegian)

Black Fire Chem is an indica-dominant cannabis flower sold at Elite Organics on South College Avenue. It tests at 18.23% THC and provides a pleasant smoking experience with a gentle high.

Located right across the street from campus, Elite Organics is one of the most convenient dispensaries for Colorado State University students to access. As vibes go, it’s easily in the upper level of Fort Collins pot shops — first-time visitors may be confused when they walk in and find themselves in a record store/smoke shop with no cannabis in sight.

The determined patron will continue on to the door in the back, making the whole thing feel like a weed speakeasy. Here, you’ll find a very minimalist showroom with only a few strains of cannabis under glass display counters. Everything else is made of wood. Immaculate vibes.

All of the cannabis at Elite Organics is grown in a Fort Collins greenhouse, and they rotate about 30 strains at any given time.

For the purpose of this review, I told the budtender to hook me up with the best indica strain they had to offer, and he pointed me toward Black Fire Chem.

Due to their COVID-19 safety precautions, I wasn’t able to smell the flower in-house, but the budtender assessed it as “skunky” and “cheesy.” I took a look through the magnifying glass — the bud sported a light green color with prominent red stigmas, which was good enough for me.

While a lot of growers and distributors rush to push the THC percentage as high as possible, the top-shelf bud testing at only 18.23% provided a little more chill experience.”

I picked up an eighth and was able to pay with a debit card. The charge showed up as “LOVE YOUR LIFE” on my bank statement, and in that moment, I did.

When I was finally able to open it up and pass it around for a scent evaluation, I personally found the grass to be less “skunky” than “cheesy.” In fact, I found it to be rather reminiscent of parmesan, which was a surprisingly welcome aroma.

This was not a particularly sticky flower, but don’t expect it to come apart like a clump of sawdust. It broke down in manageable-sized pieces, making it convenient to grind.

When I finally rolled it up into a cannabis cigarette, my friends and I were all surprised by the smoothness of the draw. This was not the kind of weed that leaves you doubled over and breathless after a single hit — rather, it was remarkably smokable.

This was definitely a different pace from some of the other strains we’ve reviewed. While a lot of growers and distributors rush to push the THC percentage as high as possible, this top-shelf bud testing at only 18.23% provided a little more chill experience. Though it did the job of an indica and made the couch a little more comfortable, I found the head-high sensation a little muted. 

If you have friends over who are not regular smokers, or if you yourself are something of a newbie, Black Fire Chem or a similarly sub-20% indica-dominant strain could be right for you.

Overall, I enjoyed the low-key sensation and comfortable inhale that came with this strain, though it certainly wasn’t as potent as some other top-shelf indicas we’ve tried. Four out of five Buds.

Reach Hayden Hawley at cannabis@collegian.com or on Twitter @hateonhawley.