Santa Clara Seed Spark
In the early 2010s, Joseph of Chameleon Extracts cultivated his legacy from the South Bay’s medical scene. Working with Crockett Family Farms’ Tangie and Cherry Pie pollen sourced from Jigga, he created a cross that captured the visual and aromatic apex of the era: Tangie × Cherry Pie. What began as a regional project soon evolved into one of the most recognizable hybrids in modern cannabis.
Keeper Pheno
Out of thirty-seven seedlings, one selection stood apart. It showed early purple coloration, Tangie’s signature citrus blast, and a deep cherry sweetness underneath. Joseph backcrossed the plant twice into Cherry Pie, refining structure and potency while preserving Tangie’s tropical edge. The final expression balanced yield, aroma, and aesthetic—rare harmony in a grow scene chasing extremes.
Purple That Sold Bags
Forbidden Fruit’s visual appeal became legend. Dense violet nugs threaded with neon-orange pistils made it instant “shelf candy.” Retail buyers and street collectors alike praised its look long before testing numbers became the sales pitch. The strain proved that visual allure could move units as effectively as THC percentage.
Tangie in Front, Pie in Back
Flavor defined the experience: bright tangerine zest and tropical sweetness on the inhale, rounded by Cherry Pie’s dark, syrupy undertones. The blend created a fruit-punch complexity that set a new terpene benchmark—inviting, familiar, yet unmistakably distinct.
The Leak
Joseph guarded his verified cut carefully until one appearance at a California secret sesh. From there, clones escaped into the wider community—some true, others diluted through mislabeled cuts. Overnight, Forbidden Fruit became both his signature and his headache, spreading faster than any breeder could control.
Rise to Fame
By 2017, it dominated dispensary menus; by 2018, Leafly ranked it the #1 trending strain nationwide. A small-batch backyard project from Santa Clara had become a global brand, defining the “candy and color” wave that reshaped post-Gelato cannabis aesthetics.
Hashmaker’s Pick
Extract artists quickly discovered its resin magic. Forbidden Fruit washed clean and expressed beautifully in live resin and rosin. Cartridges and slabs alike carried its unmistakable fruit-smoothie terp profile, bridging the gap between flower connoisseurs and the emerging vape generation.
Legacy in Crosses
The genetics became foundational material for new candy-gas hybrids. Italian Ice (Gelato 45 × Forbidden Fruit) and countless Forbidden Z or Forbidden Zkittlez derivatives pushed the flavor forward, merging old-school sweetness with modern dessert terpenes. Its DNA still echoes in countless dispensary jars.
Cultural Stamp
Forbidden Fruit became a visual and cultural icon. Purple, sweet, and photogenic, it was the ultimate Instagram strain—proof that aesthetic and terp profile could define demand as much as potency. It bridged the underground, the rec market, and the algorithm.
From Garden to Global
A backyard cross from California’s South Bay reshaped how the world viewed flavor-forward flower. Tangie and Cherry Pie had met before—but never with this balance of beauty, aroma, and cultural timing. Forbidden Fruit proved that some strains don’t just trend—they define eras.
YOUTUBE VIDEO
— Nugg Notes
sources:
• Devine, Jimi. “Forbidden Fruit and the Serpents in the Garden.” Cannabis Now, 14 Apr. 2018. @jimidevine2.0 • Hyde, Will. “Counting Down the Top 5 Trending Cannabis Strains of 2018.” Leafly, 7 Jan. 2019.  • “Forbidden Fruit (aka Purple Obeah) — Weed Strain Information.” Leafly.  • “Forbidden Fruit — Weed Strain Information.” Weedmaps.  • “Italian Ice — Weed Strain Information.” Leafly.  • “Italian Ice (The Cali Connection) :: Cannabis Strain Info.” SeedFinder.eu.  • “The Cali Connection – Italian Ice (Feminized).” Neptune Seed Bank.  • “Forbidden Zkittlez Strain Seeds.” Blimburn Seeds.  • “Select Oil: Elite Forbidden Fruit Cartridge 1g.” Leafly.  • “ABX — Forbidden Fruit Vape.” AbsoluteXtracts (ABX).  • “Forbidden Fruit 100% Live Resin Cartridge, 1 g.” Leafly (White Label Extracts). 
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