Shopper smelling a flower jar at the Elevate counter while matching the product name on the jar to an unlabeled lab report.

How to pick flower at Elevate

Choosing flower at Elevate starts at the case, not on a percentage sticker. Use your nose and eyes first, then confirm the lab PDF matches the product name printed on the jar or label. That habit beats grabbing the loudest number on the lid.

Start with smell and cure

Before you lean on potency rows, let your senses lead. The flower case is set up so you can actually evaluate what you’re taking home — aroma, texture, and how the buds look under the lights.

Aroma

Open the jar (or ask staff if you’re unsure about handling) and take a slow sniff. Quality flower should have a clear, strain-true aroma — sweet, earthy, gassy, fruity, or somewhere in between. Faint, musty, or hay-flat smells are warning signs. Strong, complex scent usually tracks with a better cure and fresher terpenes.

Don’t rush this step. Give the jar a second sniff after the first. If the nose still feels empty or “cardboard,” move on. If it smells vivid and specific, you’re in a better starting place than any sticker percent can promise.

Texture and cure

Gently check the bud. You’re looking for sticky-but-not-wet: a little give, a hint of resin on the fingers, not soggy and not dust-dry. Wet flower can smoke harsh; bone-dry flower turns to powder and loses character. Well-cured flower springs back and holds structure.

Cure is what you feel between your fingers and what you smell in the jar. A pretty bud that crumbles to dust or feels damp is not a win just because the lid shows a big number.

Bud structure

Look for intact, well-trimmed buds rather than mostly shake and stems. Whole buds usually mean the flower was handled with more care from harvest to shelf. If a jar looks scraped or stem-heavy, ask to see another option. You can also ask the desk whether a fresher jar of the same product name is available.

Then match the name on the jar to the lab PDF

Once a jar smells and feels right, match it to its third-party lab report. Elevate prints a product name, strain name, or flavor name on the jar or label. That wording is what you compare to the PDF — never guess from a similar name on a sibling SKU.

Where to open the report

The product / strain / flavor name on the package should line up with the name on the PDF. Read the label carefully. Match that exact wording. If anything looks off — wrong name, wrong variant, unclear label — stop and ask the desk. They can swap jars or open the correct file. Don’t buy on a “close enough” report.

For the full walkthrough on potency rows, contaminant sections, lab name, and report date, use Elevate’s existing guide: How to read a COA before you buy at Elevate. This page stays focused on the in-store case habit: smell, cure, then name-matched PDF.

Why the name match matters

A COA is quality transparency for the product you’re holding. Cannabinoid rows and any contaminant sections only help if the PDF is actually for that jar. Matching the printed product name protects you from leaning on the wrong file — especially when weekly drops refresh what’s on the shelf.

Percentage alone is not a shopping personality. Aroma and cure tell you how the flower presents today; the matching PDF confirms what was tested for that product name. Use both. Skip either one and you’re guessing.

If the names don’t line up

  • Stop before the bag is sealed
  • Show the desk the jar label
  • Ask them to pull the matching PDF or a different jar
  • Do not settle for a sibling flavor or an older report that only looks related

You control the pace. If staff can’t produce the right PDF, pick another jar or come back when the report is available. That is normal, not awkward.

Confirm at the desk before the bag seals

After smell, cure, and name match, bring the jar to the desk and confirm one more time before they seal your bag. Ask any remaining questions about the report while the jar is still open. Once it’s sealed, swaps get harder.

If you’re new to reading COAs, you don’t need to memorize every table. You do need the product name on the package to match the PDF, and you can ask the desk to walk the key lines with you. Point at the name on the label and the name on the PDF — that is the whole match.

Quick case habit

  • Smell the jar; check cure and bud structure
  • Read the product / strain / flavor name on the label
  • Open the matching PDF on the lab reports hub, the product-page Lab Reports block, or with desk help
  • If anything mismatches, ask the desk — don’t guess
  • For deeper COA reading, use the how-to-read-a-COA guide
  • Browse current options in the flower collection

Visit Elevate Montgomery

10770 Montgomery Rd (513) 986-5438

Bring a photo ID for in-store shopping. Check hours here.

Picking flower at Elevate is smell and cure first, then a lab PDF that matches the name printed on the jar. Ask the desk anytime the file and the package don’t line up — that habit is the point of the case.

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