Emerald Cup Awards 2023 Celebrating the Best in Cannabis

Encompassing the expansive and diverse landscape of the California cannabis market, the Emerald Cup has long reigned as the foremost competition, festivity, and direct-to-consumer marketplace, showcasing the very best offerings from cannabis companies of the Golden State. Written by Randy Villarba

Nestled amidst the majestic peaks of the renowned Emerald Triangle in Northern California, The Emerald Cup proudly upholds a cherished 19-year legacy of honoring the cannabis plant, the best strains of all time, its vibrant culture, and the dedicated farmers who cultivate it across California. This prestigious event is one of the most respected cannabis award shows in the United States and culminates in the highly acclaimed Emerald Cup Awards, a celebration that recognizes excellence in legal cannabis production.

Encompassing the expansive and diverse landscape of the California cannabis market, the Emerald Cup has long reigned as the foremost competition, festivity, and direct-to-consumer marketplace, showcasing the very best offerings from cannabis companies of the Golden State. This year, the Emerald Cup Awards was held at the iconic Craneway Pavilion right on the bayfront in Richmond, California on Saturday, May 13, 2023.

Identifying the Crème de la crème of Cannabis

As each year begins, entries are collected from across more than four dozen distinctive categories for the esteemed Emerald Cup Competition. Meticulously chosen from a vast array of contenders, over 100 esteemed Emerald Cup Judges devote an entire month to scrutinizing samples and conducting laboratory tests, endeavoring to identify the crème de la crème that graces both the table and the recreational and medical marijuana market.

The Emerald Cup Competition & Awards offers a transparent and trusted chance for California’s best cultivators, extractors, movers, shakers, and cool-product-makers to put their best head-to-head against the rest. Here, we proudly unveil the victors, highlighting some of the best brands and products from the list of Emerald Cup Awards winners that we carry here at March and Ash.

Emerald Cup Awards 2023 Flower Winners Fig Farms

Fig Farms specializes in crafting exceptional and unparalleled cannabis strains within their state-of-the-art facilities in Northern California. Their dedication and expertise in curating high terpene hybrid, indica and sativa cultivars sets a new standard in the cannabis industry.

Fig Farms was the belle of the ball taking home the Indoor Breeder’s Cup for Indoor flower and Best in Show for their Blue Face. This was the first time the prestigious Best in Show title was awarded to an indoor cultivation. Fig Farms took home a total of seven Emerald Cup Awards, showcasing the best of their genetics.

Emerald Cup Awards 2023 Flower Winners Fig Farms

Breeder’s Cup: Blue Face

Best in Show: Blue Face

Indoor Flower: 1st - Blue Face, 5th - Animal Face, 8th - Dark Karma, 13th - Gelato 41, 14th - Moonana Wreck, 15th - Zeclair, 18th - Lemon Cherry Gelato

Farmer and the Felon

Farmer and the Felon offers premium cannabis products at accessible prices, providing top-shelf quality for discerning connoisseurs. Moreover, a portion of their proceeds is dedicated to initiatives that seek social justice for non-violent cannabis offenders. In the Sungrown Flower category Farmer and the Felon took home four Emerald Cup Awards.

Sungrown Flower: 8th - Natty Bumppo #4 (Farmer and the Felon x Rebel Grown), 12th - Menage 21, 14th - Rebel Cookies & Lemon Larry OG, 18th - Lemon Sponge Cake

Farmer and the Felon

Cannabiotix

With over a decade of expertise in growing and breeding exceptional flower, the Cannabiotix team consists of dedicated cannabis enthusiasts who prioritize individualized attention for each strain. They hold a profound appreciation for the unique qualities and therapeutic benefits of the cannabis plant.

Cannabiotix landed six Emerald Cup Awards, four in the Indoor Flower category and two in the Hydro-Carbon Liquid category for two of their Terp Sugars.

Indoor Flower: 3rd - French Alps, 7th - Blue Flame OG, 11th - The Silk, 19th - Mountain Sage

Hydro-Carbon Liquid: 2nd - Mountain Sage Terp Sugar, 3rd - Blue Flame Terp Sugar

Cannabiotix

Emerald Cup Awards 2023 Concentrates Winners

Papa’s Select

Papa’s Select was awarded two Emerald Cup Awards for their solventless ice water hash and solventless rosin. Papa's Select comprises a group of highly skilled concentrate makers who have received the prestigious Emerald Cup award 18 times. Their expertise lies in creating superior ice water hash and handcrafted rosin, which starts with carefully selecting exceptional sun-grown flowers from the renowned Emerald Triangle in Northern California.

Rosin: 3rd - Strawberry Rainbows Premium Live Rosin – Papa’s Select x Booney Acres

Ice Water Hash: 4th - Rainbow Belts 90u Water Hash – (Papa’s Select x Archive Seeds x Emerald Queens Farms)

Papa’s Select

El Krem x Purple City Genetics

Based in Oakland, Purple City Genetics is a collective dedicated to breeding and cultivating the finest cannabis phenotypes in California. With a profound connection to the plant and a wealth of knowledge from the state's top growers and producers since 2008, they always nurture their plants to ensure optimal health, potency, yield, and the production of exquisite terpenes.

Within the El Krem collection, PCG has meticulously bred specialty genetics specifically tailored for hash production. These extraordinary strains are carefully crafted to exhibit exceptional trichome quality, density, and resilience, ensuring the preservation of superior resin throughout the hash-making journey.

El Krem x Purple City Genetics

El Krem x Purple City Genetics did a collaboration with Ahti Hash and Sunrise Gardens. This collaboration landed two Emerald Cup Awards in the solventless rosin category.

Rosin: 2nd - El Krem Moroccan Peaches Live Rosin – (El Krem x Purple City Genetics x Ahti Hash x Sunrise Gardens), 5th - El Krem Peach Panther Live Rosin – (El Krem x Purple City Genetics x Ahti Hash x Sunrise Gardens)

Punch Extracts

Punch Extracts is a solventless extract and edibles company that sources flower from indoor, greenhouse, light deprivation and sungrown farms to create their concentrates, edibles and vapes. Punch Extracts rosin is made with no cutting agents or additives and provides a five star hash flavor. Punch Extracts earned two Emerald Cup Awards with their Redwood Valley x Bloomseedco and Luma Farms collaborations.

Rosin: 4th - Rambutan Badder Rosin – (Redwood Valley Farms x Bloomseedco), 6th - Poochies Papaya – (Luma Farms Rosin)

Punch Extracts

Real Deal Resin

Real Deal Resin is renowned for its premium concentrates, edibles, and vapes, all derived from cannabis cultivated in small-batch, single-source farms exclusively dedicated to producing their exceptional rosin-based products. The brand's unwavering commitment to quality is deeply rooted in meticulous genetic research and stringent standards of quality control, making it the driving force behind their continued success. Real Deal Resin made the top ten with their collaboration with LUMA California.

Rosin: 9th - Lemon Limes – Real Deal Resin x LUMA California

Real Deal Resin

Emerald Cup Awards 2023 Vape Cartridge Winners

AbsoluteXtracts

ABX, a cherished heritage brand, has been at the forefront of 100% pure cannabis vaping, with strong ties to the Emerald Triangle and a steadfast dedication to delivering Californians with unadulterated and potent cannabis concentrates. Founded by expert cultivators and pioneers, ABX presents an extensive array of cannabis products that elevate everyday experiences, ranging from full-spectrum vape cartridges, soft gels, and gummies to concentrates and tinctures.

Live Resin Cartridge: 2nd - ABX Farmer’s Reserve 1g Vape – Honey Banana

AbsoluteXtracts

Paper Planes

Since its establishment in 2012, Paper Planes extracts have consistently garnered recognition for their outstanding terpene profiles and exceptional quality. Over the years, Paper Planes has perfected the art of extraction, refining and optimizing their proprietary extraction methods to achieve unparalleled efficiency. Paper Places received a 3rd place Emerald Cup Award for their Zawtz x Zruntz Live Resin Vape.

Live Resin Cartridge: 3rd - Zawtz x Zruntz Live Resin Vape

Paper Planes

Jetty Extracts

As pioneers in the industry, Jetty Extracts took a groundbreaking step by being one of the earliest vape producers to introduce a cutting agent and filler-free vape. They also spearheaded the optimization of solventless extraction for vaping purposes, and were among the first manufacturers to achieve OCal certification, a California cannabis product certification that is comparable to organic standards. Jetty Extracts took home two Emerald Cup Awards, one in each of the Solventless Cartridge and Distillate Cartridge categories.

Distillate Cartridge: 3rd - Jetty Vanilla Blossom Cartridge

Solventless Cartridge: 4th - Jetty Gas Man Solventless Rosin Cartridge

Jetty Extracts

Real Deal Resin

Real Deal Resin keeps it simple when it comes to their solventless vapes. Only ice, water and heat are used to make their solventless hash rosin. This provides the purest way to experience the unadulterated essence of the plant. Real Deal Resin also took home a 5th place in the Solventless Cartridge category with their Strawberry Meltshake AIO.

Solventless Cartridge: 5th - Strawberry Meltshake Solventless Cartridge – (Real Deal Resin x Booney Acres)

Real Deal Resin

Emerald Cup Awards 2023 Edibles Winners

Lost Farm

Lost Farm preserves the captivating allure of freshly harvested cannabis by transforming it into a precious amber nectar called live resin. Lost Farm won two Emerald Cup Awards for both their Yuzu Fizz Sour Dream Live Rosin and Raspberry Wedding Cake Live Resin Gummies.

Lost Farm Raspberry Wedding Cake boasts the tart fruitiness of Cherry Pie and the creamy vanilla sweetness of GSC, this potent indica-dominant hybrid strain is accented by a background of earthy, peppery flavors. The tart, fruity and vanilla aromas of the Wedding Cake strain give character to this gummy’s sweet, bright berry flavors.

Edibles - Gummies: 3rd - Yuzu Fizz Sour Dream Live Rosin Gummies, 4th - Raspberry Wedding Cake Live Resin Gummies

Lost Farm

Space Gem

Space Gem, established in 2013 with a vision of crafting delicious and potent edibles to enhance your state of being, stands out among other products in the market by utilizing Ice Water Bubble Hash. This unique ingredient unlocks a robust, full-spectrum high, offering a truly elevated experience. Each Space Gem creation is meticulously crafted with an abundance of love in Humboldt County, CA. Space Gem took home 1st place in Edibles and the Alternative Cannabinoid Edibles categories.

Edibles - Gummies: 1st - Sour Spacedrops

Alternative Cannabinoid Edibles: 1st - Mind Expanding Belt – Sleepy Fig

Space Gem

TSUMo Snacks

Recreating your favorite flavors with THC, TSUMo Snacks is a brand that brings you a savory and unique, elevated snacking experience. Fresh off their Emerald Cup Awards 2022 2nd place, TSUMo landed the top podium this year earning 1st place in the Savory Edibles category.

Edibles - Savory: 1st - Chili Limon Cannabis Infused Corn Chips

TSUMo Snacks

P&B Kitchen

P&B Kitchen is a culinary venture from Papa & Barkley that combines a passion for high-quality ingredients with a love for creating delicious solventless edibles. That's why they craft every product in small batches, with all-natural ingredients, local sun-grown cannabis and solventless, chemical-free processes. P&B Kitchen took home the silver in the Sweet Edibles category.

Edibles - Sweet: 2nd - Caramel Filled Dark Chocolates

P&B Kitchen

West Coast Cure

West Coast Cure has established a reputation for delivering exceptional products that enhance the OG lifestyle. WCC Solventless Gummies are crafted using food-grade live ice water hash and infused with delightful natural flavors. Unlike THC distillate gummies, these whole-plant, full-spectrum gummies offer a clean and holistic experience. WCC won two Emerald Cup Awards for their ice water hash gummies.

Edibles – Gummies: 5th - Pink Lemonade Solventless Ice Water Hash Gummy, 6th - Blackcurrant Ashram Kush Solventless Ice Water Hash Gummy

West Coast Cure

Keef

Keef Life H2O is an enhanced water specifically created for health-conscious individuals. With a focus on wellness, Keef Life H2O is a low calorie and low sugar beverage option. Each bottle contains less than 50 calories, with servings of under 5 calories per 10 MG THC. Keef Life H2O offers a total of 100MG THC per bottle, delivering a consistent and controlled experience. Keef took home the gold in the Alternative Cannabinoid Beverage category with their CBN focused Life H20.

Alternative Cannabinoid Beverage: 1st - Life H2O Blueberry Lemon + CBN

Keef

Mari y Juana Beverages Co.

Mari y Juana Beverages Co. takes pride in their commitment to using only the freshest, premium ingredients in their recipes, resulting in beverages of exceptional quality that offer an unparalleled taste experience. Their infused beverages come 10mg per bottle or 50mg per can. Their beverages are made with real sugar cane, all natural flavors and offer a rapid onset of THC absorption. Mari y Juana Beverages Co. drank in two accolades in the Emerald Cup Awards.

Edibles – Beverage: 2nd - ¡Guava! 50mg THC Soft Drink, 4th - ¡Piña! 10mg THC Soft Drink

Mari y Juana Beverages Co.

Lagunitas x ABX

The master brewers at Lagunitas collaborated with extract masters at ABX to create Hi-Fi Sessions infused beverages. Hi-Fi Sessions beverages are sparkling hop water with zero alcohol that’s infused with water-soluble THC from the finest California-grown cannabis. All Hi-Fi Sessions beverages have zero calories, zero sugars, zero carbs and are available in non-alcoholic natural flavors. Hi-Fi Sessions was awarded a bronze in this year’s Emerald Cup in the Infused Beverage category.

Edibles – Beverage: 3rd - HiFi Sessions – Lagunitas x Absolute Xtracts – Hi-Fi Cloudberry Four Pack

Lagunitas x ABX

DISCLAIMER: THIS SITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE.

All information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other materials contained on this site are for informational purposes only. No text, graphics, images or other materials on this site are intended to be professional medical advice or a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional medical advice because of something you have viewed on this site.