The Emerald Cup: The Contest That Crowned America's Best Weed

The Emerald Cup is the most respected cannabis competition in America, and this video tells the story of how a secret gathering of outlaw farmers in Northern California grew into the contest known for crowning the country's best weed. It covers the founder Tim Blake, the clandestine first event, the Emerald Triangle growing region, the competition's dedication to sun-grown organic cannabis, its rigorous lab testing, the 2016 pesticide scandal, how it differs from the High Times Cannabis Cup, and the devastating effect of legalization on small farmers. It is honest throughout about the fuzzy founding date and about the difference between the competition's reputation and the documented facts. What's covered in this video: How the Emerald Cup stood apart by insisting the best weed on earth is grown outdoors under the sun, not indoors under artificial lights. How it was founded by a lifelong grower named Tim Blake, inspired by the blue-ribbon competitions at county fairs. The honest note that the exact founding year is fuzzy, with the Cup itself counting its official start around 2004. The secret first event, held at Blake's remote mountain campground north of Laytonville and disguised as a private party, with just twenty-three entries. How some of the first winners were too scared of being identified and arrested to even collect their prizes. The story of the Emerald Triangle, the three Northern California counties of Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity, and its roots in the back-to-the-land movement of the sixties and seventies. The one strict rule that defined the Cup, that every entry had to be sun-grown, in real soil, with no synthetic chemicals or pesticides. The rigorous judging, with entries judged blind by expert panels and every single one sent to an independent lab for testing. The dramatic 2016 pesticide scandal, when around a quarter of the concentrate entries were disqualified for contamination, proving the testing had real teeth. How the Emerald Cup positioned itself against the older High Times Cannabis Cup, which launched in Amsterdam in 1988 and faced pay-to-play criticism. The explosive growth from a couple hundred people to crowds of thirty thousand and more at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa. The story of breeder Leo Stone and his brand Aficionado, whose Emerald Cup wins including Cherry Limeade helped make it one of the first luxury names in weed. The bittersweet arrival of California legalization in 2016, and how loopholes let corporate mega-farms flood the market. How the price of weed crashed from around sixteen hundred dollars a pound to around three hundred, an event Tim Blake called an extinction event. How the Emerald Cup fought back for small farmers with free booths and advocacy, and how it remains family-run by Tim Blake and his daughter today. Mentioned in this video: The Emerald Cup, Tim Blake, Laytonville, the Emerald Triangle, Humboldt, Mendocino, Trinity, High Times Cannabis Cup, Amsterdam, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Leo Stone, Aficionado, Cherry Limeade.