Every so often, a Google Alert delivers genuinely good news. This week it pointed us to Loveland, Colorado, where the team at Diesel Hemp published a thorough buyer's guide — "What to Look for in a THC Cold Brew: Lab Tests, Dosing and Ingredients" — and cited our guide to making low-dose THC drinks at home as a resource for first-time consumers.
So first things first: thank you, Diesel Hemp. In an industry where brands are often tempted to treat education as a walled garden, you linked out to another company's content because it served your readers. That's the kind of move that builds trust in hemp-derived THC beverages as a whole — and it deserves recognition in return.
What Diesel Hemp's THC Cold Brew Guide Gets Right
If you haven't read the article yet, it's worth your time whether or not coffee is your format. Diesel Hemp walks readers through the three questions every hemp beverage shopper should ask before buying any infused drink — a THC cold brew, a sparkling water, or a citrus tonic.
First: what's actually in it? Their guide urges readers to look past the buzz and read the full ingredient panel — the quality of the base beverage, the cannabinoid profile, and any added flavor or functional ingredients. We couldn't agree more. A great THC drink should be a great drink first.
Second: can you verify it? The article dedicates an entire section to decoding third-party lab reports, walking readers through cannabinoid profiles, potency per serving, contaminant screens, and batch-number matching on a Certificate of Analysis. This is the gold standard of consumer education in our category. If a brand can't show you a COA, that silence is the answer. (You can find 23rd State's lab-tested COAs here — every product, every batch.)
Third: how much should you drink? Diesel Hemp recommends beginners start in the 2.5mg–5mg range and wait at least an hour — ideally two — before considering more, because ingested THC onsets more slowly than people expect. That "start low, go slow" framework is the same guidance we've built our entire education library around, and it's exactly where they cited our work.
The Guide They Featured — and Why Low-Dose Education Matters
The resource Diesel Hemp linked is our step-by-step guide to how to make THC drinks at home, which covers infusion basics, flavoring, storage, and — most importantly — how to dose conservatively when you're the one measuring. Their citation appeared in a passage about first-time experiences, noting that low doses around 5mg are widely recommended for newcomers.
That's not a coincidence of phrasing. It's a consensus.
Across the hemp beverage industry — from Minnesota taprooms to Colorado roasters — responsible brands have independently converged on the same core guidance: know your milligrams, start low, wait for onset, and never mix guesswork with THC. It's why our own catalog is built around approachable doses, and why our educational content returns to dosing discipline again and again, whether we're comparing THC drinks and gummies for microdosing or explaining what actually determines a THC drink's potency and effects.
When two brands 900 miles apart, in different formats and different flavor lanes, teach the same fundamentals — that's how a category earns mainstream trust.
Why Cross-Brand Recognition Matters in 2026
Here's the honest context: this is a demanding year to be a hemp beverage company. The category is growing fast, consumers are curious, and the regulatory ground is shifting under everyone's feet at once. In a moment like this, it would be easy for brands to hoard attention and treat every other company as a threat.
Diesel Hemp did the opposite. They pointed their readers to the most useful information available — including ours — because accurate education is a rising tide. We've long believed the same thing, which is why our THC drinks education library links freely to research, journalism, trade organizations like the National Cannabis Industry Association, and yes, other brands doing good work.
Consumers can tell the difference. A shopper who learns to read a COA, understand serving sizes, and respect onset times becomes a confident, loyal customer of the category — and every transparent brand benefits. A shopper who has one bad experience with an unlabeled, untested product may never come back. Education isn't marketing garnish. It's infrastructure.
It's also why we anchor our own claims in independent data. 23rd State participates in the MoreBetter Real-World Infused Beverage Study — observational, participant-reported research spanning thousands of consumers and dozens of brands — and we publish our study results so you don't have to take our word for anything. Verification over vibes, always.
The Fundamentals, One More Time
Since Diesel Hemp's article and our featured guide land on the same principles, here's the shared playbook for anyone exploring hemp-derived THC beverages — cold brew, sparkling, or homemade:
Read the label like it matters, because it does. Milligrams of THC per serving and per container, full ingredient list, batch number, and the 21+ marking should all be present and legible.
Find the COA before you buy. A QR code on the can or a lab-results page on the website should lead to a current, batch-matched Certificate of Analysis. Confirm potency matches the label and contaminant screens all pass.
Start at 2.5mg–5mg if you're new. Wait at least an hour before deciding whether to have more. You can always add; you can't subtract. If you're curious what a genuinely social, low-dose evening looks like, our guide to THC beverages and the future of social drinking is a good place to start.
Know your setting and your plans. Don't drive after consuming, store products securely away from kids and pets, and keep drinks refrigerated per label guidance.
Know the law where you live. Hemp-derived beverages under 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight are legal under the 2018 Farm Bill framework, but state rules vary widely — and federal policy is actively evolving in 2026, so buy from compliant, transparent brands that stay current.
Raising a Glass (and a Cold Brew)
To the Diesel Hemp team: thank you for the feature, and thank you for setting a high bar for what hemp beverage education should look like. Guides like yours — grounded in lab testing, honest dosing, and ingredient transparency — make the entire category stronger.
To our readers: go read their THC cold brew guide, then come back and explore our education library. The more you know, the better every sip gets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good starting dose for a THC cold brew or THC drink? Industry educators broadly recommend 2.5mg–5mg of hemp-derived THC for beginners, followed by at least an hour of waiting before considering more. Ingested THC onsets more slowly than inhaled THC, so patience is the most important dosing skill. Individual results vary.
What is a Certificate of Analysis (COA) and why does it matter? A COA is a third-party lab report verifying cannabinoid content and screening for contaminants like pesticides, heavy metals, and residual solvents. Trustworthy brands make COAs easy to find and batch-matched. You can view 23rd State's COAs anytime on our lab results page.
Are hemp-derived THC drinks legal? Beverages with no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight are currently legal under the 2018 Farm Bill, though state rules vary and federal law is changing, with a federal ban provision scheduled for November 12, 2026 unless Congress or the courts act. Check your local laws and only purchase from brands that verify age.
Why do hemp beverage brands link to each other's content? Because consumer education outranks competition. When brands cite each other's accurate, safety-forward resources, consumers make better decisions and the whole category earns trust — which is exactly how a young industry matures.
23rd State products are hemp-derived and intended for adults 21+. Statements about consumer experiences reflect observational, participant-reported study data; individual results vary. Nothing in this article is medical or legal advice. Please enjoy responsibly and never drive after consuming THC.
