Flower, Pre-Rolls, or Edibles: How to choose the right format

The Raindrops Greenery menu is intentionally small. Three categories — Flower Strains, Pre-Rolls, and Edibles. No vape carts, no concentrates, no tinctures. That's a deliberate decision, not an inventory gap.

A focused catalog means we can carry products we actually trust, and customers can compare options without scrolling through fifty SKUs of overlapping garbage. Here's how to think about the three categories — what each one is good for, how to read the labels, and what beginners get wrong.

Flower Strains

Flower is dried, cured cannabis bud. It's the classic format and still the most popular for a reason: aroma, flavor, strain character, and complete control over dose.

### What you're looking at

Each flower listing on the menu shows:

• Name + brand — the specific strain (e.g., Critical Cheese) and the grower or packager behind it
• Strain type — Indica, Sativa, Hybrid, Indica-Hybrid, or Sativa-Hybrid
• THC% — the percentage of total THC content by dry weight, the strongest predictor of how strong the flower will feel
• Size — usually 3.5g (an "eighth"), 7g (a "quarter"), or smaller pack sizes
• Price — the menu price is the final, tax-free price

### How to read a strain type

Strain type isn't physics — it's a rough behavioral category that growers and cultivars have used for decades. In practice:

• Indica — typically heavier body feel, more relaxing, better for evening or sleep
• Sativa — typically more cerebral, social, daytime-friendly
• Hybrid — somewhere in the middle; the most common category, and most balanced strains live here
• Indica-Hybrid — leans toward the Indica side but isn't a pure couch-lock
• Sativa-Hybrid — leans Sativa but isn't a pure racing-thoughts experience

If you're new, start with a Hybrid. It's the safest entry point and you can move toward an Indica or Sativa lean once you know how your body reacts. Our strain finder quiz makes a personalized recommendation based on how you want to feel.

### THC% in practical terms

Most quality flower today runs 18% to 30% THC. Here's the rough map:

• Under 15% — uncommon now; usually older or commodity flower
• 15–22% — solid mid-range; great for new or moderate consumers
• 22–28% — strong; experienced consumers will feel it sharply
• 28%+ — top-shelf; the wear-the-✦-STICKY-badge tier on our menu

Higher isn't always better. A 28% flower with a flat terpene profile can feel less satisfying than a 22% flower with a rich one. Terpenes — the aromatic compounds that give each strain its flavor and effect — matter as much as THC%. We try to surface terpene-rich picks on our deals page.

Pre-Rolls

Pre-Rolls are ready-to-light cones or joints rolled in advance. They're the convenience format — no grinder, no rolling papers, no learning curve.

### When pre-rolls make sense

• You're new and don't want to learn how to roll
• You want a known dose ("one pre-roll = one session" is a useful unit)
• You want something small and discreet
• You're sharing with someone and want a clean handoff format

### What to look for on a pre-roll listing

• Strain type + THC% — same logic as flower
• Size — typically 0.5g, 1g, or multi-pack (2-pack, 5-pack)
• Composition — is it pure flower, or does it include kief / hash for extra potency?
• Brand — pre-rolls vary widely in quality; the cone format hides whether the flower inside is top-shelf or sweepings

We don't carry pre-rolls made from shake or trim — only ones with quality flower inside the paper. That's why our Pre-Roll category is smaller than you might see at a typical NYC dispensary.

Edibles

Edibles are cannabis-infused food products — typically gummies, but also chocolates and baked goods. They're the most precise dose format and have the longest onset time.

### The big thing to know about edibles

Edibles hit different. When you smoke flower or a pre-roll, the THC enters your bloodstream through your lungs and you feel effects in 5–15 minutes. When you eat an edible, the THC is metabolized through your liver into a different compound (11-hydroxy-THC) that's significantly more potent than smoked THC and lasts longer.

In practice, that means:

• Onset time — typically 45 to 90 minutes (not 10 minutes — wait)
• Duration — 4 to 8 hours, often longer than smoked cannabis
• Intensity — for the same mg of THC, an edible usually feels stronger than smoked

The two most common mistakes new customers make with edibles:

1. "It's not working — I'll eat another one." That's how a 10mg dose becomes a 30mg trip to a place you didn't want to visit. Wait at least 90 minutes before redosing.
2. Treating edibles like candy. They're not candy. The 10mg gummy is a controlled dose of a psychoactive compound, not a Sour Patch Kid. Eat half if you're new.

### Reading an edible label

• Per-piece dose — usually 5mg or 10mg of THC per gummy; some products run 25mg, 50mg, or 100mg per piece
• Total package dose — multiply per-piece × pieces in the package; "100mg pack" usually means 10 pieces × 10mg each
• Onset window — when listed, the brand's expected time-to-feel
• CBD content — some edibles include CBD, which moderates the THC experience

A good first edible is 5mg of THC. If you've smoked before but never done edibles, try 5mg first and wait the full 90 minutes before deciding whether you want more.

Comparing the three formats side by side

| Factor | Flower | Pre-Rolls | Edibles | |---|---|---|---| | Onset | 5–15 min | 5–15 min | 45–90 min | | Duration | 1–3 hours | 1–3 hours | 4–8 hours | | Dose control | Highest (you decide) | Medium (the cone) | Highest (per-piece mg) | | Discreet | No (smell) | No (smell) | Yes | | Learning curve | Medium | Low | Low (but the wait) | | Best for | Connoisseurs | Convenience | Discreet, long sessions |

What to ask yourself before you order

A short checklist:

1. How fast do you want to feel it? Pre-roll or flower if fast; edible if you're patient.
2. How long do you want the experience to last? Edibles win for long sessions.
3. Where will you be? Smell-free? Go edible. Outdoors with friends? Pre-roll is easy.
4. What's your tolerance? Lower tolerance → start low on the THC% / mg.
5. Mood you're going for? Relaxed → Indica or Indica-Hybrid. Social or active → Sativa or Sativa-Hybrid. Balanced → Hybrid.

Still unsure? The strain finder quiz does this conversation for you in 30 seconds and returns three matched picks from our menu.

Common questions

Can I mix formats in one order? Yes. Many of our regular orders combine a Flower strain with a 10mg edible pack for a "fast and slow" combo.

Why no vape carts or concentrates? Two reasons: (1) the regulated vape cart market has had documented safety issues with hardware and additives, and (2) we want our customers to enjoy products we'd stake our name on. Concentrates and tinctures are more specialized and we'd rather focus the menu than dilute it.

Are prices on the menu the final prices? Yes. Pricing is tax-free — the menu price is the price at checkout.

More on this

• Browse the full menu — Flower, Pre-Rolls, Edibles
• Take the strain finder quiz — 30 seconds, three matched picks
• How checkout works — what to expect after you tap order
• What 'sticky icky' actually means — flower quality, plain English

21+ only. Free delivery on orders over $25. Tax-free. Same-day across Manhattan, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Long Island City.