Grower Stories #166: Niles Christodoulidis

Our talk with Niles Christodoulidis, CEO  from Rebel Roots Farms about the company’s products and techniques

Niles Christodoulidis from Rebel Roots Farms sits with the AskGrowers team to chat about the brand and its history. He talks about how the brand is different from many others because of its variety of products and their focus on minor cannabinoids, and how they use specific techniques and processes to create their popular products. He also gives some predictions about how the cannabis industry will grow in the coming years and talks about the main trends in the industry right now.

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Tia: Tell us how you started Rebel Roots Farms?

 

Niles:I was a financial advisor helping others build their businesses and a lifelong pot smoker. When my old pot dealer asked me to help him build a legal cannabis company, I jumped at the opportunity and sold my practice. We started as a small medical farm and, because of our reputation for exceptional oil, grew into regional recreational processors able to process vapes, dabs, and edibles for dozens of recreational grows each year.

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Tia: How does your brand differ from others similar to yours?

 

Niles:We are different because of the breadth and the multitude of extraction methods and minor cannabinoids available to us. We are sister companies with Delta Alternatives, a hemp extraction company that specializes in minor cannabinoids such as Delta-8 THC, CBC, CBG, CBN, CBD, and more. Due to our dual licensure, we are able to bring broad-spectrum products to market such as our Funny Honey which contains nearly equal ratios of Delta-9 THC, CBD, and Delta-8 THC along with other minor cannabinoids.

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Tia: Tell me more about how you make your “Badder” and Diamonds & Sauce?

 

Niles: Badder and Diamonds are both the result of a specific type of extraction material and method. Both start with raw cannabis, flash frozen within 30 minutes of being harvested. Without the usual step of drying and curing the material, we capture the fresh flower essence of the plant that one would experience walking through a field of ripe flowers ready to be harvested on a warm fall day. The difference in the final product comes from the environment where the oil is cured. Just like mineral crystals, THC crystals’ shape and growth can be influenced by heat, time, pressure, and the environment. Our in-house extraction artists monitor the curing process and adjust those factors to bring the best flavor and consistency out of each strain we extract. Then we let the strain express herself. Some flourish as Diamonds, some Badder!

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Tia: How do you make your distillates? Is this a difficult process itself?

 

Niles: Distillate is a difficult process in that it requires very precise specifications such as heat, space, and vacuum. We use a process called Short Path Distillation. It is similar to distilling alcohol in the sense that you are heating a mixture of various elements to vaporize the desired compound and recollect it elsewhere. The main difference is the space that the vapor travels is much shorter, hence the “Short Path” name. Another difference is the vacuum under which we must do the distillation. We must have very little oxygen or atmosphere present in order to preserve the desired compounds at such high temperatures where they would normally burn off.

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Tia: Where should the consumer keep your products to keep them fresh and valid?

 

Niles: None of our products require refrigeration but we do suggest it for long-term storage of live products like Diamonds and Badder. Just a cool, dry place will suffice for all others.

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Tia: Are there any brands in your state you appreciate and follow? And in the USA in general?

 

Niles: I have always been a fan of Meraki, TJ’s, Yerba Buena, and White Label.

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Tia: What is your personal cannabis consumption routine? Does it affect your work/ life?

 

Niles: I smoke joints throughout the day, use dabs in the evening, RSO before bed, and tincture on weekend days. I believe it enhances my productivity, creativity, and mood.

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Tia: Your top strains to smoke? Why?

 

Niles: I don’t really have top strains insomuch as I prefer uplifting and energizing Sativa-dominant strains in the mornings and calm, sedating Indica-dominant strains in the afternoon and evening.

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Tia: What are the 3 main trends in the cannabis industry in 2021 for you now?

 

Niles: Hot topics right now: Delta-8, the resurgence of RSO, and color-remediation (CRC).

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Tia: If you could have a chance to smoke with anyone on this planet, who’d that be and why?

 

Niles: Barack Obama. I think he’d be pretty funny stoned. I’d like to hear funny family anecdotes of living in the White House and all the crazy cool stuff that goes on there.

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Tia: Do you plan to expand your brand with time? If yes, what do you plan to add to your product line?

 

Niles: We have a pretty diverse product line right now with unique products like Blast Caps and Nova Nectar. Although we are always innovating and trying out new things, so you never know what we’ll come out with next!

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Tia: What are your predictions on the cannabis industry for the next 5-10 years?

 

Niles: It’s hard to put a timeline on politics but sometime soon, I believe the following will happen: Cross-border sales between legal states will likely precede decriminalization or full legalization. The states that have opposed it for so long will get a glimpse of the new tax base shared by the legal states and a national dialogue will begin as those states rush to get a piece of the exponentially growing market. This will prompt a national conversation about testing standards, reasonable allowable limits, and a greater understanding by all of this wonderful plant.

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BLITZ:

 

> Why was weed made illegal?

Commodity producers joined with anti-negro sentiment to ban it to reduce risk to their companies due to the versatile and ubiquitous use of cannabis as a substitute for cotton, hardwood, feed crop, and a host of other products.

> Will weed be legal federally?

Eventually, yes.

> Does weed help with cramps?

Yes.

> Does weed help with pain?

Yes.

> Can weed help headaches?

Yes.

> Does weed help with depression?

For some, yes. For others, it can make it worse.

> Do weed leaves have THC?

No.

> Does weed get old?

Yes, definitely.

> Can weed cause seizures?

I don’t know.

> Indica or Sativa? Why?

Personal preference.

> Why should weed be legal?

It is a harmless plant that helps people.

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Niles, thank you so much for taking part in our interview!