MANDARIN Z.
Mandarin Z fresh press — whole flower straight between the plates, jarred warm off the parchment the same week. No wash, no cold cure. Mandarin peel and grapefruit come through loudest in the first two weeks, before the window closes. Deep gold sap that stays wet in the jar.
No wash on this one. IE-024 whole flower goes straight between the plates at 200°F in unbleached parchment, and what comes off the bag goes in the jar — no freeze-dry, no cold cure, no second pressing. Direct press carries more of the flower with it, which is why the mandarin stays this loud right off the parchment.
Mandarin peel on the inhale, oil-of-the-rind bright, exactly where the flower starts. Mid-palate the grapefruit arrives with a little pith behind it, drier and less sweet than the nose suggests. The exhale carries the spice and herb note that runs under this cut — pepper, something closer to dried thyme than to candy. Fresh press keeps that top end sharpest in the first two weeks.
Onset is quick and sits high — terpinolene and limonene up front, the sativa side of the cross doing the talking. The plateau is bright and mobile, closer to the flower's daytime reputation than a press this saturated usually manages, with just enough myrcene underneath to keep the edges soft. The tail winds down early and clean. Morning or midday jar; it leaves the rest of the day usable.
Run it warm, 520–560°F on quartz, and cap it. Fresh press carries more plant lipids than washed rosin, so a cold dab leaves a puddle that never fully vapes. The clock matters: the terpene window is widest in the first two weeks. Keep the jar cold and sealed — a warm shelf will flatten the mandarin into generic citrus in days.