The vapor has a slight lemony tang with an undertone of smokey wood and fresh flowers. It’s pleasant and summery, and its nuanced citrus profile lingers like a refreshing sip of lemon juice, charred firewood, and rose petals. The effects were nearly instant and felt like a warm glow spreading through my chest before landing lightly at my fingertips. The head high was cheery, but not in a saccharine way. It delivered a mood-lifting effervescence that rang authentic, almost as if it hadn't been manufactured. The happiness felt genuine in its gradual development.

My first rendezvous with Daybreak was initiated as soon as I stumbled out of bed. Daybreak indeed. I was dazed and cranky from the previous day's air travel and the stiff embrace of a bed other than my own. Gathering myself for a day of caregiving and emotional labor had me in a messy state, but only a moment after hitting this vape, the dark clouds that had settled around went from asphalt grey to diaphanous white. Over the course of the two-hour buzz, they would slowly lift completely, leaving me with a mellow feeling of contentment—or at least a semi-reluctant acceptance of the will of the universe. Same difference.

Daybreak feel like a classic sativa: all good vibes and fizzy body highs. At a hearty 73.9% THC, the whole trip felt like a swoony, modern love letter to the uplifting strain. The most engaging moments were fleeting but my two throaty draws gave me a solid two hours of clear, calm contentment. The lasting clarity negated the briefness of the euphoria.

“It led me deeper into my thoughts than I imagined was possible, unlocking a calming ambiance to boot.”

During session two, I experienced a deeper, more cerebral high. The day had been long and arduous, so I snuck two deep tokes in the parking lot of a Rite Aid. I spent the next 45 minutes wandering around the drugstore in an introspective daze, pondering the chaos of existence and the impermanence of life. It takes a considerably multifarious sativa to thrust me so deeply into my own mind while maintaining a body high that feels bouncy and bright. I bopped between aisles, my body effervescent with unfocused energy and my brain locked in an existential loop. This leads me to believe there may be potential here for a meditative workout situation. Spending an hour on a treadmill and pondering all of life’s greatest mysteries while also feeling my thighs burning super good might low-key be my new religion.

My second rendezvous with Caliva Daybreak was cooly therapeutic in the same way it had been during round one. What really sparked my enthusiasm for the concentrate was how responsive the high was each time. When the darkness was slowly infiltrating my typical love and light mentality on day one, two puffs was enough to cast the darkness out without erasing my starry-eyed empathy—a most necessary emotion. Round two was an indulgence that blanketed the end of an emotionally draining day like sweet fondant icing on a triple-tiered cake. It led me deeper into my thoughts than I imagined was possible, unlocking a calming ambiance to boot.

Caliva’s Daybreak implies early morning shenanigans with its obvious title, but I assert that Daybreak has a more complicated meaning. Yes, this is a great vape for waking and baking, but more than that, it's a great vape for breaking through the mundane distress of the everyday. Whether I was hopelessly bogged down by emotional baggage or finally wriggling out from underneath it, Daybreak was precisely the lifeline I needed.