A terpene profile is the list of terpenes measured in a sample, with the amount of each and usually a total. It is typically produced by gas chromatography and reported in % w/w or mg/g. Profiles are often summarised by their top two or three compounds, such as "myrcene-dominant" or "caryophyllene-limonene".
In practice
A COA might read: myrcene 0.62%, beta-caryophyllene 0.41%, limonene 0.28%, total terpenes 1.9% w/w. Breeders use profiles to tell keepers apart and to check that a cut is what it claims to be. Hazekamp and Fischedick argued that chemical profiles, not names, are the proper way to classify cannabis. Smith et al. (2022) found that US commercial flower clusters into only a few terpene groups, evidence that commercial lines are converging.
The profile changes with harvest timing, drying, curing and storage, so compare samples handled the same way. It also misses trace compounds like VSCs, which can dominate aroma.
Don't confuse with
- Chemotype: usually refers to the cannabinoid ratio, not terpenes.
- Strain name: a label that frequently fails to predict the profile.
Myth check
House position: "everything tastes the same now" is backed by the clustering data; GenetixBay's answer is preservation and documentation. See why everything tastes the same.
Terpenes are volatile hydrocarbon compounds built from five-carbon isoprene units; in cannabis they are made in the trichome heads and are a major part of aroma and flavour.Gas chromatography (GC) separates volatile compounds in a heated gas stream; it is used for terpenes and residual solvents and decarboxylates acid cannabinoids in its hot inlet.A COA (certificate of analysis) is a lab's signed report of what it measured in a specific sample, such as cannabinoids, terpenes, moisture and contaminants, with methods and limits.Myrcene (beta-myrcene) is a monoterpene with a musky, earthy, ripe-fruit aroma and is the most common dominant terpene in commercial cannabis flower.Limonene is a monoterpene with a citrus aroma, found in citrus peel and many cannabis cultivars, where it is often among the top three terpenes.The span of days, often one to two weeks, in which a cannabis plant is ripe enough to cut, judged mainly by trichome head colour and bud development.Volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) are trace sulfur-containing aroma molecules, especially prenylated thiols, that give cannabis its skunky, gassy smell at concentrations far below terpenes.The chemotype ratio is the balance of a plant's main cannabinoids, usually THC to CBD, classing plants as type I (THC-dominant), II (mixed), III (CBD-dominant), IV (CBG) or V (near-zero).A terpene test measures the individual terpenes and total terpene content of a sample, usually by GC-FID or GC-MS, reported in % w/w or mg/g.
