Paradise Seeds is a lofty name. The term ‘paradise’, due to the past couple years, now holds a mythical type of significance. Previously, any mention of the word used to simply be an invitation for Chris Martin’s asinine chorus to echo around your head for the next few days. Yes, we hyperlinked it, because if we had to endure it, so do you. But in this disorientating post-Covid era, the word now represents something that seems as far away, as unattainable, as ever before. With restricted travel, financial uncertainty and the distinct feeling that nothing will ever be quite the same again, the idyll that we all secretly hoped we’d end up spending our twilight years has never felt further away. But at least Coldplay seem to be fading away too, so swings and roundabouts, we guess.

The point of that long, meandering, and frankly unnecessarily depressing introduction was to highlight the fact that Paradise Seeds chose such a name is testament to their self-belief, in themselves and their product. And the wild thing is that the crazy bastards meet the sublime, transportive connotations attached to the word, and then some. Paradise Seeds is an island in the world of cannabis seed production, constantly inventive, innovative, incredible. Each seed in their roster offers something entirely unique, something to savour, something to escape with. Vertigo Auto is a medical marvel while remaining an autoflowering gem. Original White Widow is a classic that they somehow managed to improve. Space Cookies, one of our favourites from their gaggle of olympians, bundles together a riveting high, mouthwatering taste and an overall resilience to be cherished.

And that’s just the beginning of their brilliance, quite frankly. Their roots began, as many seed banks do, in Amsterdam. Rather than be swept up by the novelty of an easily accessible drug that was outlawed nearly everything else, the founders were kind of miffed at the resulting lack of quality and stringency of these strains. This served as motivation, and so began research for genetics of a higher quality. They applied a laser focus to two specific characteristics (outside of a general aim to improve quality): sweet, spicy taste profiles with stronger effects. Initially they took their ‘experiments’ home with them, to try themselves. One of the downsides of the job, of course.

Ultimately, a few new varieties popped up through this leafy homebrewing process, and they were given to multiple people in the community to grow themselves. Along with the other storied breeders of the time, this flowing trading system resulted in the strengthening of ‘Dam cannabis strains, and contributed to the new consensus that Holland was the smoky mecca for weed. This journey, which had implications that can still be felt today, started out as personal research. Eventually, it became Paradise Seeds, and the industry is immeasurably better for it. Their trophy cabinet, which includes over 50 cannabis cups, can attest to that quite readily.

The cannabis seed industry and the cannabis industry at large is in the midst of a huge boom in interest, favourable public opinion and rapid destigmatisation. Fantastic news, of course. But with that comes the inevitable attempted dominance of corporate interest. While millions toil away in jail for various weed-related offences, faceless companies have proliferated with alarming speed, attempting to get in on a way of life that until recently, had likely been abhorrent to them. That’s why companies like Paradise Seeds aren’t just important; they’re crucial. The passion they exude with every new seed drop is something to behold, and the belief, and love, they hold for this industry is even more special still.

We adore Paradise Seeds’ products. They’re everything they’re cracked up to be. But the thing we value even more is that they offer something that is exceedingly rare, and is one we need to hold onto: an island floating proudly amidst a sea of heartless corporations that couldn’t buy the kind of cultural cachet Paradise Seeds has, even when when they’re trying as hard to achieve relevance as Chris Martin is desperately trying to keep it. Sorry, Coldplay, you ended up being collateral in our righteous war (or blog post, whatever you want to call it) to bang the drum of Paradise Seeds’ brilliance. It doesn’t even come close to retribution for the hours your choruses have spent polluting our brain.

To check out what all the fuss is about, head to Paradise Seeds’ full collection here. We also have a breakdown of their latest three seeds, which are each as unmissable as the last.