How it works
Reading your matches
SŌMA is like a friend who happens to remember every strain and exactly what you like — then tells you, honestly, which ones are worth your money. Here's how to read what it gives you, and the one thing that makes it smarter every time you use it.
What the score means
Every pick gets a score out of 100 — but here's the important part: the score is about you, not about how good the strain is in general. A famous, excellent strain can score in the 60s for you simply because its effect or character isn't what you asked for. That's SŌMA being honest, not wrong.
Your anchors
Strains you've told us you love. As close as it gets — we never go higher, because no two jars are ever identical.
Best Match
A really strong fit for your taste. If the flower itself is fresh and well grown, this is worth your money.
Closest Alternative
Not a bullseye, but close. The smart pick when your usual isn't on the menu.
Worth Trying
There's a lean here. Right on some things, off on others — a maybe, not a yes.
Risky
Mostly not your thing, or it clashes with something you said you avoid.
Avoid
Wrong direction for you. SŌMA would rather be honest than polite.
Your own saved favourites sit right at the top (94–96) — never a perfect 100, because grower, freshness and storage can always surprise you. The strongest non-favourites cluster just below, so the best alternatives stay in order instead of all bunching at one number.
How SŌMA thinks
It learns your taste first
You tell SŌMA what you like — the smells, the flavours, the kind of high you're after, the strains you already love. That's the yardstick everything is measured against.
It weighs the vibe most
The effect — relaxed, clear-headed, sleepy, social — matters most, because it's what you actually feel. A strain that smells perfect but does the opposite of what you want won't score well.
It checks the smell & taste
Does the nose and the flavour line up with what you enjoy? For cannabis, smell and taste come from the same place, so SŌMA treats them together.
It leans on what you already love
The closer a strain sits to your saved favourites, the more SŌMA trusts it. Your lived experience is the strongest signal there is.
It shows its work
Every score can be opened up and explained — what matched, what was missing, what pulled it down. No black box, no hand-waving.
Where the accuracy comes from
The more honestly you fill your profile, the sharper the picks
SŌMA can only be as precise as what you tell it. It's not about answering more questions — it's about answering them honestly and specifically. Pick the aromas you actually chase, the effects you're really after, and — just as important — the things that ruin a session for you.
A thin profile → everything looks similar
If you only say “I like sweet and relaxed,” half the menu fits that — so half the menu scores about the same and the results bunch into a cluster of near-identical numbers. There's nothing for the engine to separate them by.
A thorough profile → a real ranking
Add the nose you reach for, the family you skip, the heads you hate (racy, foggy), the textures you like — and strains start pulling apart. Your dislikes do half the work: they push the wrong flower down, so the right flower stands out.
Want to see the level? Look at the quick-start profiles.
The one-tap presets (Gas Head, Citrus Lift, Dessert & Cream…) aren't just a couple of favourites — each one carries its aromas and flavours, the effects it wants, the aromas and families it avoids, the risks to steer clear of, and the texture and quality it cares about. That's the depth that makes a ranking meaningful. Two or three real favourites is plenty — depth comes from the rest of the answers, not a long list of strains. Start from a preset and adjust it, or fill the full questionnaire; either way, the more of you that's in there, the better the match.
One honest thing: it reads the menu, not the jar
SŌMA can tell you a strain should suit your taste on paper. What it can't do is smell the actual flower in front of you, see how fresh it is, or know how it was grown — and those make a real difference. The same strain can be wonderful from one grower and flat from another.
So read a high score as “worth a serious look,” not a guarantee. A great budtender judges the bud in the jar; SŌMA judges the name on the menu and your taste. Different jobs — and we'd rather be upfront about it than pretend.
The part that matters most
It gets sharper every time you rate a pick
This is your engine. The single thing that makes it better isn't more data about strains — it's your feedback on the picks it gives you. After a recommendation, tell it how it actually landed: loved it, liked it, meh, or nope. That one tap teaches SŌMA your real taste, not the marketing on the jar.
A miss isn't a failure — it's the engine learning.
Even a great human sommelier guesses wrong sometimes — that's exactly how they figure out what you actually like and stop putting the wrong thing in front of you. Every “not for me” you log does the same here: it tunes the next round, so SŌMA earns the hits by learning from the misses.
The more you rate, the fewer close-call ties, the more confident the picks — and all of it is tuned to you and nobody else. Rate the recommendations, not just the strains: it's the feedback on the picks SŌMA made that closes the loop.
SŌMA gives sensory guidance, not a guarantee — real quality still depends on the grower, freshness, packaging date and storage. For adults 21+ where legal.