Phat Panda's Granddaddy Purple Pod

Purple cannabis has been popular for decades, and that’s not stopping anytime soon. When people see it, they automatically associate the bud color with super potent, relaxing, perfect indica types of experience. And right up there at the top of the list of purple strains that everyone in the world loves, you’ll always find Granddaddy Purple. 

“It’s one of the more popular strains that you’ll see in the market. If you’re looking for purple, the budtender is definitely going to point you to GDP if they have it on the shelf,” says Nancy Drikard, Sales & Inventory Manager of Phat Panda, one of Washington State’s top cannabis brands.

Granddaddy Purple’s History and Genetics

The Granddaddy Purple, called Granddaddy Purp or GDP for short, story dates all the way back to the early 2000s. It was bred by Ken Estes, a master grower, breeder and activist who became a medical cannabis patient after a serious motorcycle accident in the 70s left him paralyzed and wheelchair-bound. Seeing the effects of painkillers, he knew there had to be a healthier, less addictive alternative. After a group of Vietnam vets turned him onto medical cannabis, the rest is history. According to Estes himself, the original purple cannabis he had was gifted from Native Americans in Northern California, and is a daughter of a Skunk #1 backcross (crossing a strain with itself or one of its parents). According to online strain databases like Weedmaps and Leafly, Granddaddy Purple as we know it today is a cross of Purple Urkle and Big Bud. With historical strains dating back to the pre-legalization days of being hush hush, it’s often hard to pin down the exact stories of how some of our favorite cannabis came to be. The only certainty is that Afghani influences are definitely at play.

Since its inception, GDP has grown to become a staple in California cannabis genetics. It is lauded in the medical cannabis community for its potency and therapeutic qualities.

How Granddaddy Purple Grows, Smells, and Tastes

Granddaddy Purple is an indica-dominant hybrid. It is expected to grow short and bushy with thick, dense, bulbous nugs. GDP nugs hold a deep purple color stacked on top of the usual green in cannabis, wrapped in thick orange hairs and milky white trichomes. 

Granddaddy Purple has a pretty complex aroma that varies depending on who grew/produced it. In most cases the GDP has an earthy, funky, yet sweet and fruity terpene profile. Most consumers describe the smell and taste as slightly grapey. 

“The [Granddaddy Purple terpene profile] is going to be an earthy musky, but you also have your sweet undertones, with a little bit of grape in there. When you vape the [Phat Panda’s Grandaddy Purple Pax Era pod], you’ll get a bright flavor of the floral and berry undertones more so than the earthy musky you would [taste] when you vape the flower,” says Drinkard about Phat Panda’s GDP PAX ERA pods.

Where Can You Buy Granddaddy Purple?

If you’re looking for Granddaddy Purple, Phat Panda produces an excellent GDP PAX  ERA pod for your vaping pleasures. It is made from a botanical terpenes blend that mirrors the exact chemical profile that comes from true GDP.

“The Panda Pod line is distillate blended with naturally-derived botanical terpenes from plant, food, etc. We get the terpene profile of [Granddaddy Purple], and recreate it with natural terpenes, so the effects are very similar, but the taste is a lot different.”

On which terpenes make up their Granddaddy Purple strain in PAX ERA pods, Nancy says “It’s linalool, humulene, myrcene, beta-caryophyllene, alpha-pinene, and then there are four more terpenes that are a proprietary deal. Myrcene is going to be the most prominent terpene in GDP.”

How to enjoy Phat Panda's GDP Pod

Consuming Granddaddy Purple from a PAX ERA Pod allows you to find the right temperature that’ll bring the most out of those terpenes. “All the Panda pods perform best on the second [Medium Low temperature setting]. It’s not super low or super high, because you want to be able to taste those terpenes,” says Drikard.