How to Buy THCa Flower Online: A Beginner’s Guide

Buying high THCa flower for the first couple of times can make you feel a bit overwhelmed. Cannabis is a complex plant, and choosing the right chemical profile can greatly affect effects.

To help you get over the “analysis-paralysis” stage of buying THCa hemp flower, we’ve created this comprehensive guide to buy THCa flower online for absolute beginners.

This buying guide contains a step-by-step approach to choosing the perfect strain, tips on recognizing a trustworthy brand, and managing pricing. Let’s get into it.

What Is High THCa Flower?

High THCa flower is hemp flower with a high concentration of THCa.

In other words, high THCa flower is just real bud.

Chemically, there’s no difference between a high THCa flower and a marijuana flower, but legally, there is. THCa flower has less than 0.3% delta 9 THC and is considered lawful hemp.

Marijuana can contain over 1% delta 9 THC and is illegal in most states. So high THCa flower is the federally legal version of marijuana flower.

You can read more about how THCa flower qualifies as hemp by here.

THCA Flower Buying Guide: How to Buy THCa Flower Online as a New User

How to buy THCa flower online?

The online hemp marketplace is an incredible way to access various cannabis strains at affordable prices and quick delivery times. Here’s how to buy THCa flower online — and with confidence.

Here’s how to buy THCa flower online as a beginner:

Choose the Right Brand and Online Budtender

If you were to buy cannabis flower at your local dispensary, you’d first find a budtender you can trust. So, when shopping for THCa flower online, look for a successful budtender instead of just looking for the right brand to buy from.

The only thing that can mess up your search is dishonesty by the brand. So, before choosing the right budtender, you must find a trustworthy brand.

Here are the three main things you need to vet a hemp brand as trustworthy:

Specializes in hemp flower

This is an obvious one, but very important.

THCa hemp flower is unlike any other product on the market, so finding a brand that specializes in hemp flower (even if selling it among other products), is vital to ensure they offer quality.

Think about it: would you like to buy fresh fish from the fish market or frozen in the supermarket? Brands that focus on hemp flower show that they are on it when it comes to offering innovative products and maintaining a level of quality with any hemp flower strain.

They also collaborate with the right people in the hemp industry, which usually means they are tight with the best growers in the US (speaking from experience).

With that said, some brands don’t source their flower directly from growers, but we do. We want to know where the flower comes from — and keep things as fresh as possible.

Offers third-party labs on its website

If the brand you want to buy from doesn’t offer third-party labs for its THCa hemp flower, run.

This is a huge red flag because, as a consumer, you must be guaranteed you are buying hemp and not marijuana.

The labs of the product will show that the THCa hemp flower contains high levels of THCa and below 0.3% delta 9 THC. This ensures the product you’re getting complies with federal and state law.

We make sure to display detailed lab resorts on each product page. When you buy from us, you can rest assured that the THCa flower is 100% legal hemp, rich in terpenes, and high in THCa.

Has stellar reviews

People talk, and they talk even more honestly online. If a brand doesn’t offer quality, you’ll know because customers reveal this in online reviews.

Don’t look at reviews posted on the brand’s website only, but search Reddit, cannabis forums, Google reviews, and other places that come up as you dig deeper.

When looking at a certain strain, check the negative reviews. More importantly, pay attention to the way they are worded. If the person “disliked” the taste, the smell, or the effects (too strong) of a particular strain, consider this more of a personal issue.

Personal preferences don’t necessarily indicate whether a strain is good or bad. They indicate that a person dislikes the particular strain, so don’t get too caught up in that because the most accurate way to see if you’ll like a certain flower is to try it yourself.

Instead, look for reviews that “complain” about mold, seeds, improper trimming, bad shipping policy, and lousy customer service — you name it. While mistakes happen, if the overwhelming majority of the people have left similar reviews, consider it a red flag.

Has a knowledgeable online budtender

When shopping for THCa flower online, look for the right brand — and the right online budtender (customer service). Talking to the brand’s customer service will help you determine whether a brand is right for you — and you’ll know pretty quickly if it’s not.

Our customers always tell us that buying with Mr. Hemp Flower is the same as buying with a budtender, but better.

Why? Because we live and breathe hemp flower. We partner with the best hemp farmers in the US that use organic cultivation practices and grow compliant hemp rich in cannabinoids and terpenes.

Not only is our hemp flower of the highest quality, but we are here to support you on your journey of finding the right stain at the right price. We know hemp inside out.

Our online budtender is knowledgeable and unbiased and will guide you through the buying process. They will answer any questions you have about different strains, their benefits, and consumption methods. They will also advise you on the best cannabis product based on your needs, preferences, and budget.

Finding a trustworthy brand is essential to avoid getting scammed by the pond of bad actors on the market. Hopefully, these tips will help you in the process of vetting a brand properly.

Choose the Right Strain

THCa flower is a THC-dominant product that’s high in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) but has little-to-none cannabidiol (CBD).

Although THC-dominant strains are considered more potent than CBD-dominant strains, they can be pretty sociable strains with little to no side effects. Here are some tips on how to choose a strain:

Decide why you want to use THCa flower

Medical, recreational, or both? Do you need to hit a certain dosage requirement?

The first thing to consider when shopping for this product is why you want to use the THCa flower. When heated, THCa flower is a regular cannabis bud, so it gives you a psychoactive experience. But it also offers plenty of therapeutic benefits, such as relief from pain and inflammation [1].

Deciding whether you want to use the THCa flower for recreational or medicinal purposes (or both) will tremendously impact the type of strain you choose.

Although not the safest option for your lungs, THCa flower will provide the quick onset of relief your body may need. To quickly relieve pain, cramps, or anxiety, inhaling THC may be the most effective. Edibles, on the other hand, take longer than 30 minutes to be absorbed into your system but last way longer.

What is a “high” THCa Percentage in THCa Flower?

As a rule of thumb, any strain with THCa levels above 15% falls into the “high” THC category.

Premium strains contain between 20-30% THCa and can be really potent for a beginner. So it’s always recommended to go slow on the dosage.

You don’t need more THC to feel better or achieve a psychoactive experience. Studies show that a little THC goes a long way, so you don’t need potent concentrates to get “higher.”

Also the quality of a strain can also be determined by the lushness of its buds, the brightness of its colors, and fewer stems.

Look for flowers described (in online reviews) in vibrant colors ranging from deep purple, deep green, orange, milky white, and yellow. Beautiful buds may indicate that the THCa flower is well-grown and fresh. If the flower is described by others as pungent yet pleasant, that’s a good indicator of its quality.

Commonly used words to describe high-quality THCa flower are “dank,” “premium,” and “fire.”

With that said, the concentration of THCa in the buds is important. In the next paragraph, we explain why you need to consider the THCa levels of the strain before you buy.

Consider the THC levels you’ll get

The percentage of THCa in the flower shows the potential THC levels you’ll get after the flower is decarbed. When THCa gets heated, it turns into THC (decarboxylation). This is important because it determines the potency of the strain.

But, there are a few things to remember, including absorption and loss of molecular weight during conversion. Let’s explain how much THC you’ll get when THCa converts to THC through an example.

Say you’ve decided to get the THCa flower with THCa levels above 25% because your doctor has recommended it, or it simply gives you the most enjoyable experience.

So, you decide to buy the Gary Payton THCa flower with +29.6% total THC potency per medium to large bud (approximately 1 gram). In a gram of flower, that’s 290 milligrams of potential THC after conversion.

The most common formula to calculate the total amount of THC you’ll get after heating is this:

%THC + (%THCa x 0.877)

For the Gary Payton THCa flowers, that’ll be 0.3% + (29.6% x 0.877) = 26.2% or 262 mg of delta 9 THC.

This formula includes the weight percent of THC and THCa and multiplies it by 0.877 to account for the molecular weight lost by THCa during conversion. The total delta 9 THC amount you’ll get from this strain after decarboxylation is 262 mg.

But that’s not all.

As you may know, only 75% of the THCa converts to THC during the decarbing process. Also, your body absorbs between 2% to 56% of the converted THC that enters your lungs [2, 3].

If we take these factors into consideration, you’ll end up with 17.53% of THC after decarboxylation and 9.81% of THC that will enter your bloodstream.

The maximum amount of THC you can get from this 1-gram strain is 98 mg — which is a lot for a beginner.

As a beginner, you must watch out for high THCa levels because this stuff works like the real deal. Even if you get your hands on a bud with 15% THCa, you should stick to 1-2 puffs and see how it makes you feel. Avoid smoking the whole pre-roll and try to devour only half or a third of it to build up your tolerance.

The recommended starting dosage of THC for a beginner is from 2.5 mg to 5 mg.

Sativa vs. indica vs. hybrid: which to choose?

You might have noticed that each THCa hemp flower is labeled as sativa, indica, or hybrid. Or even as a sativa-dominant or indica-leaning flower.

What do all these labels mean, and how do you determine whether you should choose one?

According to conventional wisdom, there are two main types of cannabis: indica and sativa.

Indica strains are more calming and sedative and are assumed to cause the marijuana “couch-lock.”

Sativa strains are energizing, uplifting, and stimulating and give more of a head instead of body intoxication.

Hybrid strains are a mix of indica and sativa genetics. Most strains on the market are hybrids because breeders have taken the flowers with the best qualities and crossed them to create more powerful and beneficial hybrids.

If a hybrid is indica-dominant, it draws more of its effects from the indica cultivar, while the sativa effects dominate sativa-dominant hybrids.

This classification of cannabis is not used in scientific circles because the focus is on its chemical profile rather than the effects the strain provides.

The effects of a strain can also be influenced by its terpene composition.

Consider the terpene profile

Say, you’ve decided to buy the Gary Payton THCa flower with +29% total THC potency. Aside from its high THCa levels, this flower also contains 1% cannabigerolic acid (CBGa) and terpenes like limonene, myrcene, caryophyllene, humulene, and nerolidol.

These terpenes can help relieve stress and anxiety and help with sleep, inflammation, appetite loss, or overeating [4, 5]. They also determine whether a strain is considered more indica or sativa.

Let’s take a look at each terpene separately:

Myrcene — This terpene is abundant in modern cannabis flower and has a calming effect on the system. Myrcene is sedative and makes the user sleepy rather than serving as an energy booster.
Limonene — This terpene creates uplifting effects and can create a sense of euphoria. Studies show that it’s great for reducing stress and elevating mood [6].
Caryophyllene — Known for its analgesic properties, caryophyllene helps with stress relief and mood elevation. It typically produces a laid-back and euphoric experience.
Humulene — This terpene gives cannabis its spicy, woody, and herbaceous taste and also has mild sedative effects.
Nerolidol — Known for its woody, floral-like aroma, nerolidol exhibits anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects [7].

The Gary Payton strain balances indica and sativa, but its effects may lean more towards a sativa.

It contains 0.6% limonene and 0.2% myrcene, meaning the euphoric and energizing effect of limonene might be more predominant than the sedative properties of myrcene. There’s also the stimulating experience of caryophyllene at 0.2% and the sedative effects of humulene at 0.1%.

So, when choosing the right strain for you, look for dominant terpenes to tell you whether the strain will make you sleepy or energized. Remember that everyone reacts to the hemp plant differently, so the outcome will be personal to you.

A strain that’s packed in terpenes is known to be more beneficial due to the activation of the entourage effect. According to the entourage effect theory, terpenes amplify the beneficial effects of THCa flower.