So who won the Transbay Challenge IV?
Exotic cannabis battle royale spotlights the hottest pot in LA
TruLeaf zaza on display at the Transbay Challenge IV in LA. (David Downs/Leafly)
America’s next legendary weed strains continued their climb into the pot pantheon from the grimy streets of LA Saturday at the epic Transbay Challenge IV.
The long road to ganja farmer glory in the $25 billion legal weed game ran through a blazing hot, graffitied warehouse and backlot off Olympic Ave. and the 10E freeway. Just a short Lyft ride past Skid Row, the day-long, sold-out, bellwether event hosted dozens of booths and several hundred industry cannerati.
The competitive expo offers the best spot in the world to take the pulse of global cannabis culture. At 9.9 million-strong, LA county hosts the biggest legal weed market in the world. Weed celebs flew in from all corners of the state to see the best of boutique, craft, indoor flower and hash. Since Instagram knows no borders—smokers worldwide watched from the galleries as we sweated and roasted amid roaring fans, thumping bass, and blazing dab torches.
Leading breeders Compound Genetics, Capulator, and Masonic Smoker sold seeds and clones of Pavé, Glitterbomb, Trans Am, as well as feminized Wilson crosses.
A large panel of high-tolerance peers from breeding (Masonic), growing (Alien Labs’ Ted Lidie), and media (Forbes’ Lindsey Bartlett; High Times’ Jon Cappetta) spent the day judging all entries in one herculean go. Behind velvet ropes they squinted and scribbled, sometimes waving and smiling down from orbit to us Earthlings.
For 12 hours in LA, promoters Jimi Devine (LA Weekly columnist and Leafly freelancer) and Neil Delacava at Chronic Culture helped make weed fun again—really fun. Lord knows we need it after surviving the ’rona, and everything else.
So who won the Transbay Challenge IV?
Two credible craft industry players rotated to new positions to score their plaques: Fidel, as well as LA Family Farms.
Best Flower—Fidel’s ‘KMZ’
Influential infused product manufacturer Fidel of Fidel’s Hash Hole—a mind-melting joint with a worm of hash in it—took Best Flower as a grower. The 30-year-old bested a world-class field of 21 entries using the strain KMZ, a Kush Mints x Zkittlez cross. Expect to see a lot more of this suddenly obvious smash idea. Zkittlez adds aromatic loudness, depth, and color to Kush Mints’ minty gas dank. It’s a clear win for white-green weed in the era of purple pot partisanship. We saw our first KMZ as Xeno from Alien Labs (our fave of ‘21), then we got some ‘KMZK’ at Tradecraft, LA a few weeks back. It’s hella strong, with a better taste than Kush Mints on its own.