The CBD Brothers (Now the Original Alternative) are one of the biggest and most well-respected CBD companies in the world, offering a wide range of CBD products including oils, pastes, cosmetics, edibles and more. Here in the UK, you can buy their products from Cannatural.
Just as the world was waking up to the benefits of CBD, those who wanted to get into the CBD business wanted to emulate one company: the CBD brothers. They were (and still are) often considered the gold standard for what a CBD company should be. So it is fair to say that these are very big shoes to fill
I have been following the company since (almost) the very beginning and there have been reports online that the standards are slipping. While the company still remains popular, some say that many others have caught up and even supersede the Originals. So I'm going to take a proper look at the company today!
The CBD Brothers / The Original Alternative is currently No.4 on our picks of the best CBD Oil Products from the UK (<— this is our list of the best I have tried)
Who are the Original Alternative/ CBD Brothers?
The CBD brothers started in a garage (By Ben) and are the oldest CBD producers in the country. As the years have gone on, the Brothers seemed to have rebranded to the 'Original Alternative' but it still seems (as far as the About us page goes) to be managed by the same people. They are now based in Suffolk and are continuing to push the cannabis-envelope
CBD Brothers are based in Europe but have grown an international reputation because of their high-quality products. They use an organic growing process to ensure their products are all of the highest quality- what makes them particularly unique is that they offer products produced using both Sativa, Indica and hybrid strains (most UK based oils are Sativa L - here is an article about the difference) which gives them props with canna-enthusiasts. I will explore their process further later in our review.
CBD Brothers are one of the only companies to split products into sativa, indica and hybrid strains. There are a total of six CBD oils that you can buy from CBD Brothers:
- Green Edition Sativa
- Blue Edition Sativa
- Purple Edition Hybrid
- White Edition Indica
- Red Edition Indica
- Black Edition Indica
Although the brand is very strongly associated with cannabis strains, it is interesting that they do not do CBD concentrates or vape oils.
What does Reddit think of CBD Brothers?
As always, I like to refer to Reddit whenever reviewing CBD companies, as there is a thriving CBD community on Reddit (especially in the UK). One of the main reasons behind this is as marketing gets smarter, it is easier to encourage great reviews; Reddit, however, is a writhing hotbed of cynical and brutally honest reviews. Reddit simply gives a wider and more balanced outpouring of public opinion.
This is what I found:
You can see from the review (published in 2019) that this user on Reddit who is based in the UK feels that CBD Brothers have slipped in their standards, and that the products they are selling now differ greatly from the products they sold a few years ago. This theme pop-up time and time again. This is reflected in the increase of negative reviews for the company cropping up online and with CBD beginners.
Another user has claimed that the drop in standard is down to a buyout:
As CBD companies grow, they will often have a harder time providing the same type of customer service they could provide when they were smaller. With higher demand often it is harder to put the love into artisan-style products - plus now with rigorous testing (maybe), the CBD brothers needed to tweak their formula to keep the levels THC down (THC makes a HUGE difference for the better).
However we've heard from the CBD Brothers team and can confirm that there hasn't been a buyout, and Ben the founder is still running the business. This is great to see!
Green, Blue or White - what edition should I buy?
The edition of CBD Brothers that you choose to buy will depend on how familiar you are with CBD, and what sort of strength you are looking for. In another one of our reviews, I noted that the blue edition from CBD Brothers was a pretty good choice to get started with, as it comes in at 5% CBD content (which is pretty low but enough to notice an effect). It's whole plant extract so should provide a full-spectrum oil, and you definitely don't want to choose anything other than that!
When it comes to the strains, the only real difference between these is the terpene content (based on the strains themselves). Traditionally, the Sativa (like Stardawg or Mimosa) is more 'energetic' and the Indica (like Granddaddy Purple or Zkittlez) is more 'mellow'. A hybrid could be either or (like Wedding Cake)- but when it comes to CBD oils these characteristics don't always make sense (a sativa very heavy in CBD may make you feel drowsy for sure). The main factor is the ratio of other cannabinoids, like THC. The process of deciding which strain is for you is down to trial and error!
Where Can I Purchase CBD Brothers Products?
You'll need to head to The Original Alternative website if you want to buy CBD Brothers products in the UK. You can find that website here.
Interested in reviews for similar CBD companies?
Check out our reviews for: Provacan, Holland & Barrett Healthspan CBD oil, OK CBD, Global Green CBD and Paradise CBD.
