Malek's Melts Panda Puffs Live Rosin Geode Review

Whenever you see something on TerpGuide carrying the weight of our coveted Headstash designation, you know it’s a winner. Case in point, Malek’s Melts Panda Puffs premium live rosin geode dances on your tongue and in your mind with a two-part texture, aroma, flavor, and high. This unique combination of cold cure and jam solventless demands a scoop of both for an experience that’s as much tasty as it is fun. It’s earthy, spicy, creamy, and fruity all at the same time. If you are looking for a premium treat from the world of concentrates, you’ll have to keep an eye out for the next drop in your vicinity. 

This review was a long time coming as we’ve heard consistently that Malek’s Melts has been doing some top quality work in Colorado, and this was our first batch of products to review. The 1 gram Panda Puffs live rosin “geode” (more on that shortly) comes in a black POP-VAC jar which really adds both a touch of class and some juicy contrast opportunities for our pictures. The simple pink label and holographic, retro Malek’s branding sync up nicely, too. What you get with their live rosin geodes is a two-in-one that is a combination of both cold cure and jam rosin textures that were made from the same strain. 

Malek’s appears to be one of the the first operators in Colorado (with Mountain Select being the only other we’re aware of) to bring this type of solventless SKU to the market. Aside from them, we’ve encountered something similar from The Real Cannabis Chris’ “thumbprint” rosin jars at 2023’s Ego Clash. As you’ll read shortly, it’s a unique product that will get even the most picky connoisseur something to talk about. They strongly recommend refrigerating it, but even then it’s quite sticky right out of my fridge so I ended up keeping this one in the freezer (right side up) for easier handling. The jam is quite runny so don’t leave it turned over!

There are just so many layers to how this one smells that it took longer than usual to bring all the words together to form an accurate description. This cut of Panda Puffs is apparently an in-house produced cross of Peanut Butter Breath and Acai Gelato. It starts out with a small burst of floral spice right when you first inhale through your nose, which quickly gives way to a sweet and sour citrusy-grape creaminess. It really smells delicious, yet it’s complicated too. It’s definitely loud and folks who don’t ever dab will probably find its aroma very pleasant too. This is a profile that sent my mind racing for comparable stains, but it really stands on its own in my mental rolodex, which is rare. Further sniffs evoke memories of dank, dank pickups long forgotten with positive memories of medical Cali chronic from back in the day. 

I worked my way through the Panda Puffs geode mostly in my glass quartz and rig combo because from the outset you can tell it’s some special rosin. That’s not just because it’s unique as far as jars of solventless go, but the quality in the starting material is just evident from the second you open it up. I also found that having two dab tools on deck went a long way in getting such sticky globs into my banger easier, so my Puffco mostly sat on the sidelines here. The sweet spot seemed to be right around the low 500°Fs per usual, but even in the high 400°Fs I was still getting plenty of vapor production.

After taking each and every dab, it was straight to Guy Fieri’s Flavortown. Maybe that’s a bad joke, but this manifestation of Panda Puffs in dueling live rosin form really is delicious and clean. The intention behind Malek’s “Premium Live Rosin Geode” jars is to scoop a little (or a lot if you’re a savage) of both the cold cure and the jam in each sampling, which I dutifully did. Immediately on my palate I got a taste of that earthy peanut butter half its parentage is known for, but with a sort of licorice twist that ends with a soft tropical fruitiness. That’s a lot in one dab, but it’s all there in various amounts I swear. It instantly reminded me of the 710 Labs Gorilla Dosha #3 x Starburst #36 hash doink I had last year because it perfectly blends together two disparate flavor universes into a distinct whole that’s better than its pieces, presumably. It’s almost too good to session and I expect to nurse this gram for a long time.