Bubba Kush

Bubba Kush

Bubba Kush is an indica (20/80) born from OG Kush x an unknown New Orleans indica, the 90s cross named after Matt “Bubba” Berger, the Florida grower behind the first plant. Published tests of the strain land around 17-22% THC, and it pairs roasted coffee and dark chocolate on the nose with a heavy, couch-bound body high. Best for night.

Thai Weed grown in Thailand, in living soil.

The Story Behind Bubba Kush

Every version of this story starts with a man called Bubba. Matt Berger grew up in Florida and calls himself one of the original godfathers of OG Kush. By his own account, the first Bubba plant came from Northern Lights seeds he got through a friend’s fraternity brother at Tulane, in New Orleans. Then, around 1997, a Kush plant he was growing in Gainesville, from seed found in a bag of South Florida weed, pollinated it, and the seedling he kept became Bubba Kush. Seed records tell it a little differently, with an accidental cross in his garden earlier in the decade, and a few databases name Afghani instead of Northern Lights. In short, the exact family tree is part folklore, but the core holds: OG Kush on one side, a heavy New Orleans indica on the other.

Whatever the recipe, the cut spread fast through the Florida and California scenes of the late 90s. It became so prized that smokers still say Pre-98 Bubba Kush for the original genetics (Berger himself prefers “the 97”), and it went on to parent more than 400 strains in the seed records, Kush Mints among them. It still competes, too: a Bubba Kush cut took third place among indicas at the IC 420 Growers Cup in 2013.

Our jar comes from a Thai farm that sells it under this exact name. It names no breeder and came with no lab sheet, so we attribute it to the classic cut by name, and the profile on this page follows the strain’s long public record rather than a test of our batch. What we can vouch for is the way it is grown. It comes from living soil, which is how we want our flower at How High: the plants feed slowly on a bed of compost, microbes and fungi instead of bottled nutrients, a slower and smaller harvest that growers accept for a fuller nose and a smoother smoke.

The Nose

This is a nose from before the dessert era, and proud of it. A deep earthy base comes first, damp soil and forest floor, and right on top of it sits roasted coffee, the note Bubba Kush is famous for. Behind the coffee hides dark chocolate, with a sweet edge like cocoa dust, all held in a dry, woody frame. Break a bud and a spicy prickle rises with an old-school hashish funk. That pepper comes from Caryophyllene, the terpene the strain’s records rank first, while Myrcene deepens the earth and Humulene adds the dry, hop-like wood. At the same time, a touch of Limonene keeps it from going flat. These four are the strain’s published averages, not a lab reading of our jar.

The line is known for chunky, dense buds, dark forest green with purple showing in cooler grows, under a heavy coat of trichomes. Thai jars vary from batch to batch, so judge ours on the shelf.

The Smoke

Expect a full, rounded smoke, more pipe tobacco than candy. The inhale is earthy and roasty, with the coffee right up front. Then the exhale is where this strain earns its reputation: sweet, resinous hashish with a thin layer of chocolate, the taste smokers have described for decades. Finally, the woody, spicy finish stays on the tongue long after the joint is down. Take it slowly, because the smoke is thick and it tends to sneak up on you after a few pulls.

The High

Bubba Kush starts kindly. Within a few minutes a soft euphoric glow lifts the mood, you feel happy, and there is even a short uplifting spell where a chat or a film sounds like a great plan. Enjoy it, because it does not stay long. Next, the body takes over. Shoulders drop, a relaxed, calming warmth spreads from the chest outwards, and a faint tingly buzz runs down the arms as the body high builds. At the peak it turns properly heavy, the couch lock this strain is known for, and the eyelids start making decisions for you. Before sleep wins, the munchies arrive: this is a famously hungry strain, so keep a snack within reach before you sit down. Nearly thirty years on, it is still the name people say when they want to sleep.

Effect group: Sleep · Best time: Night

Who Should Try Bubba Kush?

Bubba Kush is a night jar, plain and simple: reach for it at the end of the day, when the plan is a film, a slow dinner and then bed. Its THC sits in the high teens to low twenties, modest next to modern dessert strains, yet it hits harder than the number suggests, so newer smokers should start with a couple of small pulls. On top of that, anxious or paranoid reactions are rarely reported, which makes it a kind pick for anyone who finds today’s hybrids racy. Smokers reach for it when sleep will not come, when muscles are sore after a long day, or when stress keeps the mind spinning. Others use it to bring back an appetite, settle a queasy stomach or soften a low mood. In short, keep it away from mornings and from anything that needs your full attention: this one ends the day, it does not start it.

Strain Card