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Colombian Gold from 1972-78...? How was it "made"?

Red Rider, your photo really struck me as it puts a bit together a few things for me that never made sense. Same with the pictures from Raco.

Here are my scattered observations. The Gold weed that Raco put pics of is about as close to the look and structure of what we got labeled "Alcopuco Gold". This is based on the width and structure of the dried leaf, and the bud structure. The Commercial "Colombian Gold" was similar but the buds were not as elongated, and were most certainly more round based on what I remember. At the same time we got our Gold in 12kg uh, bales? so this could be a bit off. From what I can see, Raco's "looks" a lot like the exact structure and look of what we were sold as Alcopuco Gold..

Red Riders pics look a lot like the "Santa Marta Gold" I saw (never scored a bag of my own) and smoked with friends. I am trying to remember but while I am typing I am remembering it having a sharper taste than the commercial "Colombian Gold" that was a staple back then which brings me to another part of the equation that makes perfect sense to me.

Now, Red Riders pics also bring in another great strain I noted earlier, we just called "Dirt Brown Colombian"... This was a wonderful weed which I was once told by a guy who was way up the ladder from me that this was also "Santa Marta" but it was brown. Not a nasty tan/brown like cheap mexican, but a deep rich brown like the most beautiful crop soil you could ever imagine and smokes so smooth and earthy, thus the name "dirt brown" never to be confused with "dirt" weed or bunk:) It was, like the Colombian Gold of the day, packaged more carefully than earlier commercial weed of the 60's and early 70's. It came fresh and smoked a dream. It was a total competetor to our Gold and the guy who did it and I were best friends. I smoked as much of his as my own yellow, it was that good and sold for the same price too. The structure of that bud was *exactly* the same as the bud Red Rider put up with hair thin leaves and the bud structure. I am not sure if the deep brown color was because of genetics, or the cure (I use a chimney cure sometimes and turn weed that color), but either way the weed was well tended and very well could have been yellow cured or harvested in a different manner. In the paragraph above I note that the weed Raco has up is very similar and very well could be, I am even more sure about Red Riders being related or the strain that made up "Dirt Brown Colombian" and/or, maybe the same weed cured differently, "Santa Marta Gold"..

Side notes, and I am sure I will have more and edits as this all comes back to me but I never really understood why the Dirt Brown is never talked about. Maybe it got lost in the memories of typical brown pot but trust me, it was every bit as good as any commercial Colombian Gold I ever smoked..

On another note I remind you all that I am totally hampered in a lot of this "comparison" as back in 1970, we didn't know sens from buds, from chaffe, from Indica, sativa, etc... Before Gold and Dirt Brown, we had "Mex" and "Tops" (mex with more buds than chaffe:) and the occassional Michauacahn, or Hawaiian or whatever other cool name the dealer gave Mex and Tops:)

Stay safe
Mr. Grimbo

That brown dirt Colombian you referred to hit Kentucky in the late 70s/early 80s. The smell and taste were very overpowering in a good way. If you have ever smelled single malt Scotch you have no doubt picked up on a peat odor distinct from the liquor. This reminds me of the Colombian. The smell, both burned and unburned, combined elements of rich soil with cocoa or chocolate. Then there was a hint of pine. I've read that this was grown in the lowlands. We were used to Mexican and Jamaican which was up and energizing but the Colombian was soporific--a real dreamy buzz.
 

Mr_Grimbo

Member
Exactly! :D

I´m enjoying the thread



:laughing:to funny lol

Michoacán

wanna learn how to say eggs is spanish?
just say "werewolves"

huevos lolol

You are both right I guess, embarrassed too but yes. Any pronunciations and spellings were whatever we picked up in the thirty seconds or so we were standing there buying a lid from the dealer, or if you had access to a Cheech and Chong record you might be able to figure it out.. The Michoacan as you spell it was Mash-a-ma-chan, or Mish-U-a-cahn, mash-can, Mo-hoc-a-chan depending on what you thought he said and like I said before, we didn't have any place to really get informed without our parents or the school knowing so we just went with it... It has only been in modern history I even realized it was a reference to a Part of the country, it could have been the guys name that grew the weed or the route legend would tell us it took out of the mountains as far as we knew..

At the same time Mash-ma-chan as I first knew it was really the first time I ever encountered a pot that had a "cool" or trendy name, which was a selling point... At the same time it was the first poached name and it was a market phenom and anything that was at all different from the "Mex" or "Tops" we smoked since the mid 60's was called Michoacan or something similar. Soon after I with better and more organized shipping, spatterings of great weed came along and each had a cool name. Lambs Bread, or another dealer would call it Lambs Breath and each dealer had a story about the weed that made it even more desirable:) Colombian Gold, Santa Marta, Panama Red, Colombian Red, Black African Ganja, Hawaiian... Believe me it got crazy, anybody remember "NYC Sewer Pot"LOL!... everything had a name and a taste of what it was smuggled with for that matter but that's another thread. As far as I am concerened, there was never a better and there will never be a better time to smoke pot than 1970 -1980 it was a classic and beautiful time to be a toker...

Soon after that, the Domestic er, uh, "Clubs" decided that production would be more profitable if it were brought home to the US, and they should be in the middle of it. The demise came in the early 80's when profits came over pot and everything turned to "Sensimilla" that came from the West Coast... everything had to be "Sens". And when that wasn't there it was the black blocks of hash probably made from screening the green on the west coast, they stamped a little gold leaf on and told us it was from Afghanistan.. LOL:)

On a closing note, to this day I would rather smoke a great Gold or Red South American bail weed than almost any modern day green, and I have access to a lot of great strains... just my opinion.

Mr. Grimbo SBS-1969
 
T

Trichomie

I haven't tried but about 15 of the new strains as of yet but agree with Mr_Grimbo. Never had the Lumbo Red. but the Colombian Gold is my favorite smoke till now. Smoked pounds and pounds of that wonder herb. The taste, smell, high/stone and look of the bud were all so special. Maybe the Thai Stick I got to smoke 2 times is my actual favorite smoke if I had to pick just 1, but by the volume of Lumbo smoked it holds the favorite spot in my heart.

It was so special that in 1980/81 I use to trade a guy Lumbo Gold buds straight up for Hawaiian buds. At that time the Colombian was $450-500/lb and the Hawaiian was $1000-1200/lb he was getting shipped to the mainland from a connect he made while living there for 2 years. Kona Gold, Bubblegum, a pine scented strain and some that smelled like medicine. He did it about 7 or 8 times. Think he traded like that cause he was gigging people for $10/gram or $250/oz. What a pirate. Sell 4 or 5 bags and the rest was a freebie. The Bubblegum was my favorite of those Hawaiians. BTW there were no/1or2 seeds in the Hawaiian.

With the seed content being about 10/11 grams of the bag and sometimes more, that $45 oz ($1.61/gm at 28 gm but since 11 were seeds that makes it $2.65/gm) would actually be $75 (28 x $2.65) if it were seedless buds, so we were paying more than appeared.

I once gave a girlfriend 24 ounces of Lumbo seeds for her cockatoo to enjoy. Bastard still didn't like me. haha. Threw away alot of money looking back on things now. Maybe 100 oz of seeds, mostly Colombian but probably 10oz of Mex seeds before the Lumbo came around and maybe 2 oz of other good weed that would come around so probably 90oz of Lumbo seeds. DOH!!!!!!!

In 1982 a guy at work grew some of those Lumbo seeds and that shit was some of the best weed I have been lucky enough to smoke. It was better than the Gold bud it came from.

Still got some seeds I hadn't thrown away and found again but they won't germ for me yet. Tried about 5 times since 2007. I'll get some to germ and sprout someday though. In the fridge waiting. They had been in the basement at around 65 to 70 degrees since the mid 80's. Found em in 04 and they went into the fridge in 05 when I learned a few things.

In the late 70's early 80's there was some Rainbow that was almost as good as the Lumbo Gold. Had a redish color to it. I've read it was a Colombian Gold X Panama Red. Not sure of the male/female parental lineage.

Thanks for bringing back those great memories.

Glad you're back red rider. Always enjoyed your Colombian threads.
 

red rider

Well-known member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Many thanks

Many thanks

After smoking and seeing the exported Colombians of the 70s and now living here where it was actually grown I have a very different perception of the weed. First I don’t know any commercial growers here and I have never seen any large grows in the countryside and don’t want to as common sense tells me not safe. But I do know some Colombians that grow or did grow here and base on the little info I got from them the “oro” or gold bud come from Santa Marta near the coast, grown at isolated regions in the highest coastal mountain range in the world. This mountain range is large and very remote it’s also known to have many “micro climates” that produce a variety of exotic cannabis. I really can’t say for sure if I’m being told the truth or just the romantic perception from my Colombian friends but I like to believe them. Anyway since I moved here I’ve had several very nice samples from Santa Marta and I grew out some of what I considered to be the best. I was pleased with all but not all the Gold samples turned or grew gold in color in fact none of the Gold plants I grew were gold on the living plant. I’m sure you could do something to the plant before harvest to make the buds gold but I don’t know how nor had the desire to do so. I believe the color, taste, smell and effect in fine Colombian cannabis all come from the four basic ingredients to primo weed, genetics, growing conditions, harvest timing and drying/curing. This is what makes the Colombian cannabis product unique just like the coffee, its mountain grown! Thanks to all for the kind words and priceless information. These are pics of Colombian "Rainbow" also from Santa Marta.

Peace from Colombia
 
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Infinitesimal

my strength is a number, and my soul lies in every
ICMag Donor
Veteran
cure your Sativas for allot longer, one year plus, and most will display golden hues and incense smells and tastes... similar to Raco's pics
 

Raco

secretion engineer
Moderator
ICMag Donor
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Tom´s Haze grown under Velux

hz1-4.jpg


a different cut (another keeper) grown under 600 HPS :biggrin:

hZ-1.jpg


Outdoor X18 pakistani indica

x181-1.jpg
 
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Manivelle

Member
Veteran
i've seen some thai that was golden when dried. bought some in the early 2k .
imho the color come mostly because of the drying technics in tropical "wet" climat.

peace
 

red rider

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Drying

Drying

i've seen some thai that was golden when dried. bought some in the early 2k .
imho the color come mostly because of the drying technics in tropical "wet" climat.

peace

I agree with you Manivelle, it seems everything I grew here after curing a few months turned golden. Here's some dried SMG buds, they havn't been cured yet and a growing SMG hybred I made in 06.

Peace from Colombia
 
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Mr_Grimbo

Member
I agree with you Manivelle, it seems everything I grew here after curing a few months turned golden. Here's some dried SMG buds, they havn't been cured yet and a growing SMG hybred I made in 06.

Peace from Colombia

Well, that for me pretty much closes it... You would have to do a lot of talking to get me to not think that first bud is not exactly the same bud we were sold as commercial "Colombian Gold". The leaf and bud structure are perfect and from what I am gathering, a lot of the weed from that part of the world has yellow or similar under the Chlorophyll and depending on the cure it can turn that color... Again, we were told back then it was indeed Santa Marta Gold, this may confirm it for me. And the Dirt Brown Colombian was probably very similar, just harvested and cured differently... I am gonna' say the weed that came out yellow was dried in the field, and the brown weed may possibly have been the same weed cured in a barn or similar, like Tobacco in the US...

I know, that could stir things up but to me it seemed back then they could have been the same weed, but again remember, back then all we knew before was Mex and Tops.. I hate to keep bringing that up but I find that with younger folks, they just can't imagine weed without names and origins:) We didn't know Indica from Sativa and had never until this stuff came out, even had a decently harvested, cured, and transported weed...

Mr. Grimbo
 

Mr_Grimbo

Member
... to continue on that.. We didn't even know what trichomes were and we all thought hanging pot upside down after growing would make it stronger as the "resin" went to the leaves.. Consequently, it wasn't even unusual to get a bag of weed in a paper sack, or just bring some to the party in your pocket:) Yeah, we were dumb, and happy... and sometimes we even thought we were stoned:)


Mr. Grimbo
 

Mr_Grimbo

Member
... to continue on that.. We didn't even know what trichomes were and we all thought hanging pot upside down after growing would make it stronger as the "resin" went to the leaves.. Consequently, it wasn't even unusual to get a bag of weed in a paper sack, or just bring some to the party in your pocket:) Yeah, we were dumb, and happy... and sometimes we even thought we were stoned:)


Mr. Grimbo
 

bigherb

Well-known member
Veteran
Grimbo

Thanks for sharing your memories ,they sparked some of mine :)

I remember a time too when i first started smoking an i would cop nickel bags of regs aka mex brick i would said for a long time i wouldnt forget where i come from rembering rolling a fatty from a nick or 3 L's from a dime some dirty as shit dark an half weight seed some bright green not bricked with as many as 10 seeds in a half pound

But it wasnt long after i explored into hydro / high grade / wateva was the talk of the town or winning cups at the time i realized damn what a difference .I went from smoking gram after gram to having trouble finshing a blunt by myself lol

I really wish i could have been around back when, i imagine i could have had stories to tell or told about me . My experience with sativas /sativas hybrids is minimal but very much a lasting special experience . All of us smokers/stoners/connissuers share a similar beginning .Luckily a nice part of my journey into my experinece with some of the best cannabis i could get my hands on ive captured on dvr .Some day in the future ill post up the footage from the real Deez to Nyc hazes to MNS hazes grwon in NYC along with some other starins ive aquired


Raco

your pics are Gorgeous as always an incite is most apprecaited i need help with some spelling to where is Hempy when you need him LMAO

Thanks for giving us the name of the strain :) Now maybe wen ur up to it you can giv us some details of the smoke lol ;)



R.L.

Im looking forward to hearing about that current Hillbilly haze run they should give you a great amount of love back .Thanks for the gift an experience of a lifetime .Hillbilly haze is truly special an gave me great insight to the amazing properties a sativa holds

With work an my current situations i do more browsing an send positive on helpful post but you are in my prayers brother thanks for evferythinhg you ve done for the community .I wish you an your fam all the best in your hard times



1luvbigherb
 

bigherb

Well-known member
Veteran
Grimbo

Another thing i wanted to touch on


Yes, it's out there... In another thread I told of a big tan colored chunk of brick weed my bud brought up from Florida a decade or so ago. He thought it was great weed so he put it in his freezer and saved it wrapped tightly for about 6 mos till he came to visit. When we opened it, it smelled exactly like the Colombian "Gold" we got as kids in 72, sandalwood, pine kinda smell, the taste was there and the high too. This was just something he had picked up on the street back home. He grew out a bunch of seeds from that chunk and there were some great mostly sativas in there (which were lost a few years back) but no more incense / Pine smelling bud... Of course it would be almost impossible to duplicate the growing conditions and curing environment which may have a lot to do with the taste and color of the weed produced indoors in Florida.

Mr. Grimbo


If you dont knwo some dont like to hear it but its appropriate for the topic

Incense Frankincense in particular is dear to my heart an i love to here all about it you are another Ot that has conmfirmed this trait in CG an its great to hear . I tried to aquire Colombian Gold in my short time on the net an learning details about the legend .Luiz from BSC had a Cg which was spot on to the old descriptions from reports .My order came threw along with others i dreamed of (punto Rojo /Colombian black) but was all crushed i still got the packet lol .Gage green a great fella who is a stand up dude in my book had gifted me some stock also has 2 lumbos one Black on Gold . But HHF has reported in open post too me on MNS forums it was of Rainbow genetics which red rider speaks of in this t hread . In my experience 2 seeds lol both males they are amazing vigorous beast which any sativa lover woudl be lucky to have

Now b4 i forget my suggestion would be to grab yourself a pack of Nevilles haze ASAP because that Sandlewood incense/ pine you love soo much can be found in a pack for sure .Ive had luck getting two incense phenos from NH both amazing all round top notch quality .



Red rider

Thanks for sharing both pics an experience im truly glad your back brother

Can you share any more details about that rainbow bud ?


Here is what HHF posted at mns reguarding GG lumbos

This post below about the line being offered as CG

The Goldbud is a F1 between to similar but non related Colombians, one a Gold, one a rainbow type we just call Mota. Friends there thought it some of the best they had come across, ever, and they are extremely connoisseur smokers. I would agree with them. The female side of the line was collected by Aldous in 2001 -2002 its a old school Highland gold. The father is the rainbow, where all the colors come from

THis post below about the line offered as CB

The Colombian black, is just that. A farmed line, lowland herb. Bit more bulky, bit faster. Very strong in the best plants, but heavier head. They can be very dark, even indoors but not all are. They range in flowering times, some can go very long.

Im gonna give that CG a try in the future but i think/hope the Colombian black has a Good chance of finishing around my way .

I remember aldous post im sure you aswell ,HHF says the mota aka rainbow bud is his favorite


Great thread Grims Thanks to All


1luvbigherb
 

Bud_Man10

Member
Veteran
Great stuff guys, an excellent thread discussing a most excellent strain!

Ha Grimbo, your earlier comments made me laugh out loud. How fuckin' stunned were we back in the day bro!!!! I remember cleaning out the resin from my hash pipes, smearing it on papers (as you would oil) with tobacco and smoking it. I surmise the taste was as close to licking out an ashtray as it could get!!! :)

Great buds Raco!

Peace
BM
 
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