Advice from Austin CBD Startup Tessera Naturals
CBD 101: Look for US-grown, organic, non-gmo, and solvent-free.
“Austin is the perfect environment to lead the charge for the burgeoning CBD and hemp industry.” — Tessera Naturals Co-Founder, Jason Cohen
Austinites Jason and Olga Cohen embraced CBD’s possibilities early-on, but were frustrated by the inconsistent product quality across this new and rapidly changing industry. With purity and transparency at the forefront, they founded Tessera Naturals. The company now offers tinctures, topicals, capsules and pet products. Co-Founder, Jason Cohen tells us about the company’s inspiration and origins, and sheds some light on CBD products.
Give me a quick “CBD for dummies” overview- what is it, how do you use it, what does it do?
CBD stands for “Cannabidiol” (pronounced Cana-bih-DIE-all), and is one of 100+ compounds in the cannabis plant called “cannabinoids”. Cannabinoids have been used for their medicinal qualities for ages. While THC is the most famous of these cannabinoids for its ability to get you high, CBD is a rising star for the holistic treatment of many health conditions.
CBD can be taken in various formats such as vaping, tinctures, edibles or topicals. CBD will interact with our internal endocannabinoid system, which is a complex network of cannabinoid receptors throughout our body that helps regulate various functions such as mood, pain sensitivity, inflammation, sleep patterns, immunity, and many others.
Tell me about your company’s startup story.
My wife and I have always been huge believers of natural remedies and alternative medicine.
While hiking the Inca trail to Machu Picchu in Peru in 2018, I was given raw coca leaves by the locals to chew on, which really helped with my altitude sickness. Locals also use coca leaves for a variety of other ailments such as fatigue, nausea, headaches, etc. Later that same year, my wife and I were at a farmer’s market in Colorado and she was offered a sample of CBD cream for her chronic knee pain and she felt immediate relief. I got a serious case of deja vu from my time in Peru… similar to the coca leaf which has a stigma for being the raw ingredient in cocaine, CBD can sometimes be misunderstood since it is derived from cannabis, the same plant associated with recreational marijuana.
We both began using CBD for various issues such as anxiety and bouts of insomnia, but we experienced mixed results.
The main challenge is that the CBD industry is booming, but still largely unregulated. This has created an influx of cheap, low quality products, multi-level marketers and gimmicks from unscrupulous players who are taking advantage of consumers with this “hot new trend”.
We felt this was unacceptable, so we set out to develop our own products with a vision of becoming the number one trusted resource for premium quality CBD products without the risk, and so… Tessera Naturals was born!
How do you envision Austinites benefiting from your products?
As the political tides are turning towards decriminalizing cannabis as a whole, Austin is the perfect environment to lead the charge for the burgeoning CBD and hemp industry. Austin is a very progressive city and we also like to keep it weird, and that means supporting local business and causes and everything indie. With CBD, we’re breaking from the norm of big pharma controlling our well-being. Austinites also care about health and wellness, which fits our mission to educate and promote a healthy lifestyle which includes a clean diet of primarily organic unprocessed food, regular exercise and holistic medicine whenever possible.
Where is your product grown and processed?
Our products are made from organically grown non-GMO hemp from Colorado where strict sustainable farming practices are followed. We also use a solvent free CO2 extraction process to ensure the oil maintains the whole plant profile and preserves the beneficial cannabinoids, terpenes and amino acids in hemp.
Tell me about the methods used to make your product and how they might differ from competitors.
Aside from starting with organically grown hemp and our extraction process, each and every step of our process ensures we provide the highest quality CBD on the market, including 3rd party testing to ensure potency, and that our products are free of pesticides, metals or harsh chemicals.
Also, many of the CBD products on the market are full spectrum CBD, which includes a trace amount of THC. There are many advantages to full spectrum CBD, but all of our products are what’s known as “broad spectrum” CBD, which goes one step further and removes the THC completely. While the amount of THC in full spectrum is not enough to get you high, some people are concerned with ingesting any amount of THC due to their jobs where they get drug tested, or for any other reason they wish not to ingest THC. We wanted to make sure our products are accessible to as many people as possible who want to take advantage of the benefits of CBD, without any risks.
Is there anyone who shouldn’t use CBD?
Research has shown minimal, if any, adverse side effects from CBD in moderate amounts. Some parents even give it to their children who suffer from seizures, sleep issues, anxiety, ADHD and autism.
The only caution we advise is if you’re taking prescription medications. Our liver has a family of enzymes called cytochrome P450, which breaks down drugs into smaller bits that allow our cells to absorb them better and eliminate them properly. CBD can sometimes inhibit the CYP450 system’s ability to metabolize certain pharmaceutical drugs.
Interestingly, CBD is not alone in CYP450 inhibition… Grapefruit, Watercress, St. John’s Wort, and Goldenseal all have a similar impact in terms of drug metabolism.
If you are taking any prescription medications, we advise that you speak with your doctor before consuming CBD. Many conventional doctors do not know much about CBD since it’s not taught in medical school, so it may be best to ask them if the drugs you’re taking are affected by eating grapefruit.
In this new market, what should consumers watch out for?
Unfortunately, there is a lot of junk out there. Because of the lack of regulation, many companies are making wild claims about what CBD can do and spreading a lot of misinformation. Also, many products are mislabeled regarding the amount of CBD and/or THC in their products. It’s up to the consumer to do their due diligence and only purchase from reputable sources who go the extra mile and provide 3rd party lab testing to ensure the potency and safety of their products.
Education is key. For example, consumers should understand the difference between full spectrum CBD, broad spectrum CBD and CBD Isolates. They need to know that you can not buy real CBD products from Amazon as they do not allow CBD products on their platform yet. (If you do buy “hemp oil” on Amazon, you’ll most likely get hemp seed oil, which has no significant amounts of CBD.). Do not purchase CBD at a gas station or your local vape shop. These are low quality products and the business owners will not likely have any knowledge of the products, or CBD in general. Think of it this way… Would you buy a premium quality high end skin-care product at a gas station mini-mart?
Consumers should also learn where the hemp is grown (make sure it was grown in the US) and they should research the company and their founders. Do they provide helpful information and education to their customers? Do they have positive online reviews? Do they have a money-back guarantee? Does the company give back to the community and support worthy causes?
Regarding price, some companies are unnecessarily overcharging for CBD products based on their brand recognition. The opposite extreme is also true… watch out for unusually low prices. Keep in mind the old adage that states “you get what you pay for”.
Learn more about local Austin company Tessera Naturals at https://tesseranaturals.com/
Connect with Tessera Naturals
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tesseranaturals
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tesseranaturals
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/tesseranaturals/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC412_29iIs1tu9fjXCXb3XQ
