äkta Tropicanna Banana Cold Cure Live Rosin Review

äkta’s Tropicanna Banana cold cure live rosin is the type of hash you’ll want to savor and only share with those close to you. From its lush tropical fruit mixed with kush-funk-gas flavor to the sunny sativa leaning effects on the other side of each dab, there’s a lot to love here. This strain was grown in living soil too, which is almost always a plus and whose quality clearly comes through in the final product. This is one of the better rosins we’ve smoked lately and I think you’ll probably feel the same if you can grab some when it’s available. 

I had a strong sense even before opening the packaging that this äkta cold cure live rosin had serious potential on the strain and test results alone (more on that shortly). If you haven’t tried any äkta products, you’ll find that they use a less common but very high quality recyclable, thick cardstock tube-style packaging that’s adorned with interesting colors, patterns, and shapes. The hash itself presents a beautiful, deeply peachy-pink color and is a rare texture for a cold cure. It almost resembles a very finely grained, full composite rosin sugar that’s similar to the Lime Glaze #12 but even more homogenous and less wet. Lest there be any confusion though, the posted terpene test results weigh in at 6.77%, which means a lot of terpenes are present even though there is no discernible sheen or terp-rich liquid like certain jams possess. In any event, this particular rosin is easy to work with and has some incredible bag appeal, as it were. 

The scent you immediately get upon opening the white glass jar is a wild mixture of floral, tropical fruit and an unmistakable, borderline cheesy funk. It’s especially pronounced after being at room temperature for a few hours, and as a bonus this cold cure is completely shelf stable, too. I was initially caught off guard by the powerful backdrop of its funktastic aroma, but quickly found after a few curious sniffs that it brings the entire profile together quite nicely. The parentage of the Tropicanna Banana is, you may have guessed it, Tropicana Cookies x Banana Kush, which was originally bred by Barney’s Farm, a legendary geneticist outfit from the Netherlands. While both of these strains have been making the rounds now for a while, they really come together in a unique way, especially in solventless hash form.

I wanted to get all of the possible flavor notes this äkta creation had to offer since it has a lot going on in the terpene department, so I reviewed this one using my trusty glass rig and quartz banger at just under 500°F. I’ve become pretty prone to doing mostly cold start dabs these days to really observe the melting point and color changes as rosin vaporizes. It melted down into a slightly dark, red pool in the quartz and should be dabbed at low temperatures, even though that means not maximizing vapor production. It’s very good too out of a high quality e-rig with a ceramic bowl, but there is some complexity in the flavor that had me leaning back to the quartz every time thereafter.

I wasn’t terribly surprised to discover that this cut of Tropicanna Banana is delicious in solventless form, but more in a delicate, sweet way than a heavy serving of sugar-saturated fruit salad like the Wedding Pie x Tropical Zkittlez delivers. It has taste notes ranging from light citrus to real Cavendish bananas, and even hints of kush gas. All of that is wrapped in a smooth, mellow floral bow on my tongue that is distinctly candied upfront but fades quite quickly. I realize that this sounds like a lot of things happening in short order, but it was interesting to enjoy this many flavors consistently and not as some kind of got-too-high over analysis. If subtly fruity-gassy mixed terpenes is your jam, this one is a home run.