I have been working on a grading scale for people that are asking how I rate my oils I use. Here it is with some explanation....
Grade AA
- Terpene Rich CBD oil - not enriched with terpenes from other types of plants and herbs
- Aroma will be super pungent from cannabis - floral smell - will have pleasant taste with no flavor enhancers - will have a lemony and piney taste and taste very earthy
- NO CRYSTALS USED - To get the truest full spectrum CBD oil, this grade does not have 99% nor is pure CBD. This is unfiltered and is not limited in its therapeutic benefits like grade B or C. This grade has the maximum terpene and cannabinoid profile. Usually up to 26% CBD concentration - Has the most cannabinoids that are not denatured.
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GRADE A - CBD in the highest concentration.
Exctracted from the mature stalk of the plant and then CO2 extracted.
- Company has their own farms and produces CBD in their own labs. Grade A is never from synthetics or isolates and has most of the major terpenes, cannabionoids, and essential oils and many of the low yielding ones.
- Usually up to 18% CBD concentration
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GRADE B
- 99% to 100% Pure
- Conventionally grown hemp - crops producing non-organic oils. Decarboxylated after being pressed from the mature stalk. Usually around 12 to 16% CBD concentration
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GRADE C
100% Pure - that's all they can claim. About 95% of the people end up with Grade C. Most natural form, pressed directly from the mature stalk of the plant and never decarboxylated.
- Lowest quality - corners are cut to extract highest amount of isolate CBD as possible. Herbicides, fertilizers, and growth hormones may be added to spurt the growth of the plant - this is not a medical grade CBD-
- Carcinogenic solvents are used (butane, hexane) that can denature terpenes and phytochemicals causing unknown side effects when consumed
- This grade of CBD may be contaminated with heavy metals or harmful bacteria in the bottle
- Butane extracted CBD will have a very foul taste that usually has flavor enhancers just for this reason.
- Most of the CBG, CBC and CBN and the terpenes can either be denatured or filtered out in this grade.
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GRADE A/AA = Very rarely is there a company that will fall into my category A. This is really the best of the best. In this category, ALL of the cbd oils will be summer farm grown. Their commitment to quality is so high that they do not even use herbicides or any growth hormones. Right now there are only two company that I know of that is in this category. To be in this category ALL of the CBD oils the companies carry not be enriched with any added terpenes to raise their terpene count on the lab report.
A Grade AA brand has the highest standard in CBD oils that has the maximum terpene/terpenoid and cannabinoid count. This grade has a golden oil color and has the most waxes and fats and chlorophyll removed without denaturing and over processing their hemp.
Most companies will fall into category B - I would estimate 98% of cbd oil companies are in category B. There are so many different companies popping out of the woodwork trying to get a piece of the cbd oil industry pie. Sadly, most are just midgrade, nothing special. Nothing great. (This will include most non-pioneer brands and basically all the other companies that do not follow the practices of the higher grades of CBD oil).
It’s SUPER easy to tell if a company actually has a grade A/AA CBD oil. Everyone should know this! There are THREE ways to tell:
1. Look right on the bottle. No company that is actually paying more for higher quality, more expensive, CO2 extracted at low temperatures is going to forget to make it easy to find their lab report. If a bottle of CBD oil is really high quality it will not hide their manufacturing processes. If it doesn’t they are private labeling, it usually will not have this report.
2. Every company that has summer grown field harvested CBD should have proof of this. Any company that actually is using these growing practices and not using synthetic CBD should show it to anyone who asks to see it. So call ANY company who claims to have their own hemp farms and ask them to see the certificate of their fields for pesticides, growth hormones, and herbicides. If they can’t or won’t produce it, you can be SURE they don’t have this, and they don’t have the highest quality. Companies like this confuse and deceive the consumer to make more money. Disgraceful!)
----------NOTE: Once they cannot produce this document, EVERY company is then very quickly going to tell you why their essential oils are better than or cleaner than organic (they’re not - it’s just their excuses and justifications). They will try to convince you that their non organic oils are better in some way than certified organic oils. Don’t believe them. Think of it like this -- if you were in another country and a man came up to you and said, hey, I can sell you a Rolex watch for super cheap. He then opens up his coat and shows you lots of very fancy watches. They don’t actually have the name Rolex on them….but he tells you “these are very bit as good as Rolex” or “these are better quality than Rolex”. If you believe this man, then you can believe that there are better than or higher quality than organic essential oils. There aren’t. Certified organic essential oils are going to be the cleanest, most pure essential oils available. You want the real deal. THEY ARE BETTER!
3. Every company that sells organic hemp products also has a certifying agency who is in charge of regulating and inspecting the company to make sure they are actually selling organic materials. You can ask ANY company who claims to have organic products who their organic certifying agency is, and they must tell you. If a company doesn’t have an organic certifying agency, then they don’t have organic products.
These are the simple, easy three ways to tell if a company really has organic cbd oils.
Hope this helps you rate, review, and grade cbd oil companies better.
If you have any questions, just call me or email. Seth 1-866-998-2977