Creme de la Creme Wins Amber Cup 2026 for Third Year Running
Seventeen finalists reached The JazzFarm after a lengthy community judging process spanning multiple locations across South Africa
Interviewer: Cameron Bramley
Transcriber and writer: Andrew Macfarlane
Creme de la Creme took first place at the Amber Cup 2026 for the third year running, with Terpy Tango finishing second and Fire On Ice taking third.
The winners were crowned at The JazzFarm on 3 October after a lengthy, community-led judging process that narrowed the competition to 17 concentrate finalists.
The 2026 competition marked the seventh annual Amber Cup, an event that puts cannabis consumers rather than a traditional judging panel at the centre of the scoring process.
Ticket holders become judges, sampling entries and recording scores before the highest-rated concentrates progress to the final.
For 2026, Fields of Green for ALL confirmed that judging events were held at multiple locations around South Africa, continuing a format introduced to make the competition more accessible beyond Johannesburg.
At the final, concentrates were assessed according to factors including:
- appearance,
- aroma,
- taste,
- and effects.
According to Amber Cup organiser and Fields of Green for ALL Assistant Director Ami Heystek, the lab also tests entered extracts.
The competition’s entry philosophy remains pleasingly simple.
“If you can dab it, you can enter it.”
That lets different concentrate styles and extraction methods compete alongside one another, rather than restricting the Amber Cup to a single category, such as live rosin.
Competitors Bring Community-First Energy
Away from the scorecards, several Amber Cup competitors spoke about the values they hope will shape South Africa’s developing cannabis industry.
For Dino from Zolidarity, that starts with sharing knowledge rather than guarding it.
“It needs to be open-source information. That’s what Zolidarity stands for. No more gatekeeping, no more trying to monopolise things. It’s all about togetherness as a community.”
Danny from Medusa Dabs focused on extraction quality and creating products capable of standing their ground as the local market develops.
“Medusa Dabs is all about pulling the essences out of the plant and doing that in a way that we can present a product that is safe for the consumer and will stand the test of time in this developing market.”
Ash Lurie from Seed to Ash offered an even more laid-back philosophy.
“We just grow and we make hash and we spread love and, you know, share the plant. No one owns cannabis.”
Ash also touched on the importance of ensuring that the growth of the industry creates opportunities rather than simply pursuing speed and efficiency.
“I don’t want fast progression. I want everybody’s inclusive progression.”
Together, the conversations captured much of the spirit surrounding the Amber Cup: competitive when the scores are being counted, but collaborative almost everywhere else.
As Ash put it:
“It’s kind of just a journey with the plant, and I’m just enjoying this. It’s fun.”
Good Company, Good Weather and Good Pizza
For Myrtle Clarke, hosting the Amber Cup at The JazzFarm was about bringing people together.
“We’re very pleased that the sun is out and we’re surrounded by loving friends.”
That relaxed atmosphere carried through the day, helped along by good weather and some very good pizza.
Rolling Dough kept the crowd fed with a streamlined event menu featuring four options from the 13 normally available at its restaurant.
One of the standouts was the chorizo rollie, described by the owner and chef simply as:
“It’s basically a pepperoni bite with a little bit more bite.”
Judging may have been the main event, but the pizza was very much on point.
From California to The JazzFarm
Another sign of the Amber Cup’s international connections came from returning guest Etienne Fontan.
Fontan is Vice President and Co-Owner of California’s Berkeley Patients Group and has been involved in cannabis advocacy for decades.
He returned to South Africa with his wife, Donna, after the couple attended the previous Amber Cup.
“Last year, when my wife Donna and I came to South Africa for the Amber Cup, we experienced something that goes far beyond hospitality. We experienced friendship; we experienced community.”
Fontan also singled out the size of the 2026 final.
“We’re here at The JazzFarm celebrating something that I think deserves to be recognised. Seventeen entries competing for the best concentrates in South Africa. Seventeen.”
Amber Cup 2026 Winners
After the final votes were counted, Fire On Ice took third place, receiving a sponsor goodie bag and trophy.
Terpy Tango finished second, also taking home a sponsor prize package and trophy.
But Creme de la Creme emerged on top, claiming the Amber Cup 2026 title for the third consecutive year.
More Than a Cannabis Concentrate Competition
The most interesting part of Amber Cup 2026 wasn’t only which concentrate received the most votes.
Across The JazzFarm, the same themes kept surfacing: community, shared knowledge, extraction standards, employment, tourism, accessibility and the changing ways people interact with cannabis.
For an event whose headline objective is finding some of South Africa’s best concentrates, the Amber Cup offers something considerably harder to put on a scorecard.
It gives the people helping shape the culture a place to meet, compare ideas and keep the conversation moving.