Mosaic Cannabis Insurance Client, Sitka, Shares Their Legendary Knowledge of the Industry

“With our methodologies, our product has a uniquely cakey texture”

The word “traditional” has strong roots for a reason. When it comes to the cannabis craft, it is essential for businesses to make a product that is not only unique, but one that has traditional aspects, like the ability to spark fond memories in the minds of connoisseurs and being relatable throughout the generations. Relatable, but better is the ultimate goal. The Sitka Hash House started off doing just that, and they are determined to continue that mission, honing their craft over the years since their Seattle, Washington founding in 2012. As their company slogan highlights, they envision always having a customer experience that will surpass standards indefinitely: “Craft hash products with such care that the whole world finds wonder.”

When you mix traditional Middle Eastern Artisanal hashish methodologies with local cannabis farm collaboration, undivided care, and exclusive recipe methods, you get a product that—what Sitka CEO, Jeff Graham, says—has a “incomparable flavor and a richer, brighter finish.” There are so many working pieces to cannabis product creation, and one thing is for certain—it is not puzzling why Sitka’s Lebanese-style hash has won them the title of Washington State’s Top Hashish Brand from The Marijuana Times. They have also been rated as having 9 of the top 10 selling hash products in the Pacific Northwest (PNW).

“We deliver consistent product on a consistent time schedule,” said Jeff. “We are reliable. We’ve got the mastery and the craftsmanship of hash making and have been around for 7 years in Washington. We know what the customer wants, and we deliver that. We are also a healthy organization—we are going to be around for a long time to come. We have proven that already from the fact that we’ve got anywhere from 8 to 9 of the top 10 hash SKUs in the Washington market and have great word of mouth in California, the industry’s biggest prize.”

Here at Mosaic Insurance Alliance, we have had the pleasure of working with Sitka since 2015, providing them with cannabis insurance that will help protect all that they have worked so hard to build. Over those years, we are constantly amazed at Sitka’s branding professionalism, whether it is regarding their awesome website, engaging social media platforms, constant promise to their customers that they will always meet their high quality performance bar, or handcrafted magic they perform daily in their shop to provide the various products like those you see pictured towards the bottom of this page.

“Sitka crafts the most exotic hashish in the Washington—and now California—and markets in a most traditional way. It’s solventless and full spectrum, which means that we have our own special time-honored Middle Eastern hashish making process that we’ve mastered,” remarked Jeff in a Mosaic Insurance Alliance interview with Client Experience & Marketing Manager, Meagan Baron. “It creates a product that is distinguishable from the other hash in the market,” continued Jeff. “It’s differently made. As a result of this process, the hashish is able to retain certain qualities that are difficult to arrive at. With our methodologies, our product has a uniquely cakey texture and retains the terpenes. Our unique hashish products deliver a remarkable balance of flavor, smokability, and potency. European visitors often say that Sitka hash beats what they find in the old Amsterdam coffeeshops.”

You can learn more about Sitka in this press release from Marijuana Times. As you will see in the rest of this article, there is more about this marijuana legend than just their uniquely cakey textured hash that many say beats traditional Middle East and Europe textures. Read all about how Sitka started their company, ways that they honed their skills over the years, the companies with whom they partner to complete the customer experience, and more.

Recent Expansion

As any business owner knows, with any big change comes the excitement of something new, the promise of future successes, and a little bit of growing pains. As any cannabis business worker knows, the cannabis craft is all of that, plus a constant struggle in some way—but one that many definitely deem as worthwhile.

“Nothing we do is easy,” said Jeff. “We are very hands-on. We are very far from the most expensive—we have a premium category, and also a broad range of price points, including affordable. We have a very sound business strategy and business structure, and we are adequately capitalized with strong financial controls. We think that that is an important part of any business. We are also entrepreneurs. We love this space, and the industry is exciting. That is why we are all in it. It’s a fast-growth industry, but we are building our footprint on a strong foundation.”

Hands on is right on point. Jeff reiterated that Sitka philosophy when he continued: “We just launched in California and found very good and stable partners to ensure the quality of our product there, and we are very much involved in the manufacturing process. We just started in May and are up and running with our initial Classic Line. We expect to extend that to capture more of our SKUs—among Sitka’s many products and innovations. In Washington, we have 30 SKUs and, as in California, are planning for more to follow.”

Sitka’s Fully Cured Hashish is Not the Only Marvel

Their old-world hash is not the only handmade product that keeps the clients coming back for more. They also make specialty hash domes, glass pipes, hash trays, pins, apparel, and hot knives in collaboration with craftsmen in their fields.

“We are more about the overall experience,” emphasized Jeff, “than just focusing on potency. But potency is a factor, and of course, we do promise a wonderful and intense experience. We are also distinguished from others in that we created our own line of a variety of fun smoking devices to make the experience more magical and more accessible. Most prominent is the Hash Dome, which is made in a fine artisanal woodworking and glassblowing shop in the Pacific Northwest. Knuckles Glass is terrific and really prodigious at their craft, which is why we are collaborating with them. We also collaborate with farms—we are very discerning on which farms to source materials from, and we demand that they use certain curing methods that ensure not only potency, but the vibrancy and purity of the experience for the end product. Lots of quality controls.”

And, the end product is definitely something to check out! Sitka offers more than just cannabis flower. The Classic Line consists of the following:

Hashish in its “purest, traditional form”

• Special Press GMO Hashish Dry
• Lebanese Gold Hashish Dry Sift
• Lebanese Red Hashish Dry Sift
• Coastal Cream Hashish Dry Sift

Pre-rolls that are not your standard joint

• Lebanese Gold Hashish Pre-Roll
• Lebanese Red Hashish Pre-Roll
• Coastal Cream Hashish Pre-Roll
• Special Press GMO Infused Pre-Roll

Sikarillos for a classy and convenient toke

• Lebanese Gold Sikarillo
• Lebanese Red Sikarillo
• Coastal Cream Sikarillo

What Makes Sitka’s Products Different Than Ones I See on the Shelves?

Meagan could tell from Sitka’s website before the interview that they were not a typical cannabis product producer. When she talked more to Jeff, she really understood exactly what that meant, coming to the undeniable conclusion that Sitka has internal operations that will help them grow strong for years to come.

“Interestingly, every month or two we have a special collaboration with a farm,” noted Jeff. “We find a farm that has a particular crop that we like, and then we make our hash, joints, and Sikarillos with their product. So, we extend our integrated lineup with products to include a selection that will complement what we do in each product category—sativa, indica, and hybrid. Sativa tends to give people an elevated stimulating experience—a philosophical penchant. Indica is more a whole body experience and relaxing. The hybrid is a mix. This is an over-simplification. Then as well we offer a set of localized, rotating strain-specific press products that yield their own unique experience.”

Where Can I Get My Hands on Some Sitka?!?

Interested in trying their products? A marijuana shop near you might have what you are looking for! Sitka has a cannabis locator map here that shows all kinds of selling locations. For instance, the map shows their products are sold in shops all around Washington, including Snohomish County and King County, in cities like Everett, Arlington, Lake Stevens, Snohomish, Lynnwood, Edmonds, Seattle, and Redmond.
You can also visit their two different website pages—the one that is dedicated to their weed products, and another that showcases their pot accessories and other swag.

Good Product Comes from Many Variables

Just like Mosaic Insurance, Sitka would not be who they are today without a strong team dynamic—both within the work family where they build close bonds, and the clients and customers they exist solely to serve.

When asked about their favorite Sitka memory, both Jeff and Sitka’s Digital Marketing Coordinator, Kim Holley, immediately thought of their cherished Sitka Family atmosphere.

For Kim, her favorite memory repeats every week. “We have team meetings on Mondays, and I love them. There is banter back and forth,” laughed Kim. “Listening to these guys talk about their product and how passionate they are about it…and they go so in-depth about the brand and the message they want to take…It is just amazing to listen to how passionate and intellectual these conversations are. Like I have learned so much over the past few months since I started in February. Not just about the cannabis and hash industry, but about branding, financing, the way they operate, how they work as a team. It’s just amazing that they are so passionate with each other. Good passionate—not like butting heads passionate. Everybody brings something so intellectual to the table. Everybody has a different mindset, but they all work together. It’s really cohesive. I love the meetings and look forward to them. I love being a part of this team, I really do.”

Want More?

If you are thinking Sitka is pretty cool, and you would like to keep in the loop with this legendary cannabis brand, you are in luck!

• Check out the pictures in the carousel below!

• Sitka is very active on social media. Their Instagram account in particular is loaded with videos and pictures sure to spark your cannabis wonder. They are also on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

• Check out their blog, The Daily Kief for different hash news and stories.

• Their World of Hash page is full of interesting videos and snippets.

“The most fun we have is on our Instagram page,” said Kim. “We get to be creative. In our stories, we share other people’s stories, like our partners’ stories. I shared a story about this past year being the highest positive testing for employers for marijuana because everybody is working from home. I shared that, and I wrote ‘Haha, oops.’ You know, stuff like that. We like to spread the fun and the joy, and to also educate people about the product. It is a lot of fun. It is not like, you know, black-and-white serious. We want people to have fun with it.”

There is a lot of fun to go around, indeed! Thank you, Jeff and Kim, for the wonderful chat. Hearing about the cannabis industry through your eyes was truly entertaining and knowledgeable. A big thanks goes out to you and the rest of the Sitka team for this rad opportunity!

Own a cannabis business and like what you see?

Do you think that we could help you get cannabis insurance like we have helped Sitka get covered? If you are interested in getting in touch with a Mosaic Insurance professional for a free cannabis business insurance quote, we would be more than happy to assist you! We have all kinds of clients like Sitka, as well as clients who own cannabis shops, vape shops, cannabis farms, Delta-8 cannabis dispensaries, and plant equipment warehouses.

You might also be interested in what Jeff has to say about being successful in the cannabis business:

Q: Do you have any resources that you share with others?

A: “We have a YouTube station we will be using as education. We also want to be leaders in the strategic thinking around how to build a healthy cannabis business. I’m writing an article about the four pillars of how to make money in cannabis. The industry is complicated. It’s got lots of regulations and laws in different states. It’s got the federal and state interplay, which is complex. It isn’t for the fainthearted. We want to help other people in the industry be successful. We think there is enough room for a lot of companies to succeed with it. We are competitive, we want to be the best in class, and we think we are the best in class. We also know that we have things to learn. There will be a further explosion over the next 5 years, and we think it is always good for industries to talk. We talk to people all the time. We have healthy relationships across the industry, and we want to keep it that way.”

Q: If you could go back in time and give yourself some advice when you first started, what would you say?

A (Jeff): “I’m not sure I would do it differently, but I would recommend that when we started this company 7 years ago, if we had managed to attract more capital sooner, I think we would have maybe accelerated our growth, which could have been a good thing. Or, hired certain expertise that we did not have the money to pay for, whether a financial person or a production scheduling engineer…Kind of, you know, bring more talent in. I am happy with where we are at, but maybe that would have changed. It’s difficult in Washington because in Washington state, there’s restrictions on capital. And, the restrictions have been even more severe than they are now. With more restrictions, it is more challenging to bring money in. The people that want to invest in this industry—they don’t want a lending type of return, they want an equity return. The people in cannabis want the equity flavored return—they are not satisfied with a simple interest rate return because it is an intricate business.”

A (Kim): Following your gut is very important, so Kim recommends listening to your instinct, saying “Personally, I have had a lot of people influence me on making wrong decisions, or bad decisions, even though in my gut I knew it was wrong.”

As The Saying Goes, “A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words!”

Thank you, Sitka, for sharing your awesome product pictures with us.