Well CO, I do smoke out friends now and then. I'm an old man though. Mostly I just have a toke or some canna-butter on toast before bed. Compared to most smokers I go through weed very slowly. I'm not sure I would want friends smelling my bud before I even pull it out of my pocket... If they can smell it, so can the officer who pulls me over because a brake light is out. lol. Friends I've shared with have enjoyed the product I've grown very much because it gets them baked and smokes nice and smooth. They aren't the "whoa dude, that is some dank smelling shiz!" crowd, really. *Shrug*
Don't get me wrong, if the weed smells good that is cool. I wouldn't do anything to try to mute the aroma on purpose. Neither Gray nor Mac said that washing decreased potency dramatically. Gray did say that in one case he thought he might of damaged some trics and that he is going to give a loop look-see in the future to get a better idea if it does noticeable damage. He's pretty meticulous and will let us know what he observes if asked down the road. I did see in your journal (I think) where you perceived a taste from the baking soda wash in your trial. Sensory evaluation is a funny thing. What we really need to do is get samples from washed and unwashed bud and do blind triangle, duo trio, attribute difference, QDA, and TPA tests... Then we can run chemical analysis. What we need is a $20,000 dollar research grant. lol In the mean time all we have to go on is anecdotal evidence and conjecture. Until hard facts are in I'll continue to wash the crap off my buds just like I wash it off spinach.
My main reason for growing the way I do - in a complete mineralized soil - is because it is really easy. There is little stress about feeding. A healthy high-brix plant naturally repels pests. I know exactly what has gone into and onto the plant. Growing plants of any kind is something I've always enjoyed. It should be fun and relaxing.
Bud washing is one of those subjects that is always going to spark debate, like defol. Wash or don't wash. Makes little difference to me! For my part I'd prefer not to smoke lint, dust, foliar spray residues, stray hairs... Even if it did compromise potency a tad I'd probably still wash. Heck, one hit of the Darkstar sample bud and I was baked for six hours lol.
Way back in my journal there is a thing about making herbal greenhouse deodorizer with fragrant herbs fixed with orris or patchouli. They work great. One is always hanging in the greenhouse and it doesn't smell like dank out there - it smells herbal but not like skunk. When I shake the muslin bag it rains down scented dust. That falls on the plants. Do I want to smoke orris root? Nope. When someone walks down the sidewalk do I want them to smell weed and think they should have a look around in case there is weed to gink? Nope. The deodorizer confuses the smell and I can wash the resulting dust off my plants after harvest.
There is a huge diversity in growers with many differing priorities out there.
& Blessings
. I think it was my Wild Thailand that lost I bet half its aroma. It was dramatic and undeniable - just a dusty dry smell until you crushed a bud. But I use very hot water and I'm not precise about the lemon/baking soda mix. Other strains got better, richer, fuller, from the wash. Maybe it could be terpene dependant?