Hash Times Cup founders sit down with CannaWeed ahead of Chapter 5
France's long-running grower community CannaWeed interviewed Gil and Patricia, the founders of Hash Times Cup and ZmoothieZ Geneticz, about the Cup, judging and the road to Barcelona.
Why the Cup exists
Gil and Patricia have lived inside cannabis culture for more than 30 years, starting with the 3rd Highlife Cup in Rotterdam in 1995. Hash Times Cup grew out of years of competing, travelling and meeting hashmakers, and out of their friendship with Frenchy Cannoli and his enthusiasm for sharing the craft.
The aim was a competition that is serious about the product but keeps a family, convivial feel, putting the artisans and extractors who spend months on a single batch at the centre.
How Chapter 5 is judged
Barcelona brings together 30 public judges and 9 professional judges across three categories: Dry Sift, Ice and Rosin. Public judges vote for the best samples, and the professional panel's scores carry a higher weighting to separate the competitors.
Every entry is scored on four criteria: Visual, Aroma, Flavour and Overall. For the founders a podium hash needs real personality and an aroma that stays with you, not just purity and technique.
Three categories, all moving fast
They see rosin as the most spectacular leap in recent years, dry sift going through a revival thanks to static separation, and ice water hash still improving as makers protect trichomes and terpenes better. Fruity profiles dominate podiums right now, but gas, kush and old-school profiles can win just as easily.
Why Barcelona
Barcelona sits at the crossroads of European cannabis culture, with growers, extractors and professionals arriving from all over the world. For the founders the Cup is above all about people meeting, and the city gives them the right setting for three days of judging, food, demonstrations and the Sunday awards.