Aficionado French Connection: from California to Barcelona, expats are back!

Aficionado Estates, the brand from California-based French breeders Leo Stone and Professor Q, is coming to Europe and setting up shop in Barcelona under the name of’French Connection aficionado. Whereas in recent decades, California has jealously monopolized the grower elite, but with the democratization of cannabis in Europe, expatriate Europeans are returning to the source. Who knows, maybe our national talents will one day find their place in France.

A Spanish and European project

Located in the Emerald Triangle, Mecca of cannabis cultivation, Aficionado Estates pushes the refinement of the art of the breeding. Their varieties, sometimes the result of a dozen crosses, regularly win awards at Emerald Cup are the guarantee of a rare quality in organic production. Distributed in limited series in a wax-sealed box, their seeds are reserved for the most discerning connoisseurs. With their Barcelona project, the two collaborators aim to «make these rare and prestigious genetics from the Emerald Triangle available in Europe».

«Barcelona is now the multicultural cannabis capital of Europe,» explains Professor Q. «There's a real effervescence here, and you can see new ideas emerging all the time. Although Spain can't yet rival California in terms of quantity and quality of harvests, the potential of the Spanish cannabis market looks more than promising. »If there's one place to be today when it comes to the cannabis market, it's Spain. Birthplace of Cannabis Social Clubs, the country is looking more and more like the place to be for the European cannabis scene. A status recently confirmed by acquisition of Spannabis by High Times.

Aficionado French Connection is a response to the growing demand from the European public for Californian cannabis, whose reputation is well established. «The demand for new genetics from across the Atlantic is strong, which is why we wanted to make our work on these legendary varieties inherited from the Emerald Triangle available in Europe,» confides Professor Q. Breeders will continue to offer their regular range of prestige seeds and will be launching their very first range of feminized seeds to popularize their genetics in Europe. The first range will be designed for outdoor cultivation and acclimatized to the Mediterranean environment, while the second will be dedicated to the needs of the indoor.

In addition, the two Frenchmen will launch a « Custom Breeding »This project consists of a collaboration between the company's research and development teams, to produce tailor-made varieties calibrated to the needs of industry professionals. «This project involves collaboration between breeder and the farmer, to produce an exclusive variety that is acclimatized to the place of production and meets the grower's requirements. We are currently working on this type of project in Europe, particularly in Switzerland and Portugal,» explains Professor Q.

Information about Aficionado's products and projects can be found on their pages Instagram and Facebook.