CBD Shopy’s first own-brand product is a bottle of 500mg CBD oil. It has been made to the same high standards that they apply to all their stock but is more affordable. The 10ml bottle contains a blend of MCT oil, 5% full-spectrum hemp extract and natural peppermint flavouring.
With no unnecessary frills, this is an oil that looks simple and is effective. The label displays logos indicating that it is organically farmed, vegan-friendly, lab-tested, ISO-certified and non-GMO. Making this so prominent emphasises their aim to provide a straightforward oil that meets high safety and quality standards. I had the pleasure of being one of the first to try this recently launched product. Here’s what I discovered using it for two weeks.
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Contents
Who is CBD Shopy?
CBD Shopy has an online store that runs from an office in Hampshire. Their focus is to provide high-quality CBD products at competitive prices. Because the hemp market is still in its early stages, new customers struggle to know which brands they can trust. At CBD Shopy the best oils are carefully selected so that customers find it easier to get great products from ’well-sourced brands’.
A member of the Cannabis Trades Association, CBD Shopy strongly believes in transparency and effective customer service. They started out as a retail outlet for top hemp brands like Love CBD, Cibdol and Hempura. Having spent so long dealing with market-leading products they’ve now decided to use their experience to start their own range.
Their first oil is manufactured in the UK by a leading CBD producer and is grown on organic hemp farms in Europe. Their hemp extract is obtained using supercritical CO2 techniques and contains high levels of CBDA and other cannabinoids.
Third-Party Lab Tests
An example lab test result for one batch is included in the featured images on the product page. The certificate is clearly laid out but could be improved by a column showing the amount of each cannabinoid in the container. Currently, it only shows the overall percentage and the measurement per gram, leaving you to put your thinking cap on and work the rest out for yourself.
The analysis shows an impressive range of cannabinoids, including CBD, CBDa, CBDV, CBDVa, CBG, CBGa, CBN, CBC, CBCa, THC and THCa. Despite these positive points, my scrutiny did raise a couple of concerns:
1. The advertised 500mg is made up of both CBD and CBDa. CBDa is a precursor to CBD and is considered to have its own range of health benefits. However, on the box, it says both ‘500mg of Cannabidiol (CBD)’ and ‘500mg CBD+CBDa’ making for a confusing combination. Although CBD is occasionally used to refer to a combination of CBD and CBDA, they aren’t exactly the same substance and I think this could be made more apparent. The actual amounts are 340mg of CBD and 260mg of CBDa.
Update: CBD Shopy have recently changed their packaging and the new box no longer says ‘500mg of Cannabidiol (CBD)’.
2. The analysis shows that there is 1.98mg of Δ9-THC per gram of oil. While this is less than 0.2% of the extract, it doesn’t comply with legal requirements. The threshold for THC per container in the UK is set at 1mg.
It’s great to see such a range of cannabinoids detected, but it would also be useful to see a terpene profile and contaminant analysis. Online and on the product packaging, CBD Shopy makes several claims like ‘high levels of terpenes’, ‘paraben-free’ and ’phthalate-free’. I like to see such claims backed up by evidence in the lab results.
Ease of Use
The oil comes in a 10ml bottle with a bulb-tipped dropper. The serving size is stated as 0.5ml (17mg of CBD and 13mg of CBDa). This is a simple amount to guestimate but a mark halfway down the side of the pipette would make it easier and more accurate.
The bottle has a good seal and has never leaked, despite me regularly carrying it around in my coat pocket. It doesn’t have a child-safe cap, which is a shame because they are doubly leak-proof and prevent little hands from getting at your precious oil.
CBD Shopy CBD Oil Taste
There is a choice between natural hemp or peppermint; I’ve been using the peppermint one. The mint essence is powerful, but this is such a thick phytonutrient-rich oil that it does nothing to reduce the hemp taste. Both combine and result in a flavour that is truly unpleasant.
Unfortunately, the meeting of the hemp and peppermint brings out the worst in them. It has resulted in something that is intensely bitter with a chemical aftertaste. This is probably an indication that it is a powerful oil containing lots of natural hemp substances, but it tastes horrendous.
When you hold it under your tongue, the flavour is slightly less awful, but you still get that tell-tale sting from the bitterness.
Potency/ Effectiveness
Despite this only containing about 340mg CBD and 260mg CBDa I found this to be an incredibly potent oil. After each use, I could feel its effect almost immediately. I maintained my focus throughout the day and felt relaxed and grounded.
It’s not often that I get a physical sensation from oils of this strength, but this could be a result of the range of cannabinoids and phytonutrients. Once I’d been taking it for a while I was really pleased with the effects. Because of its strength, I found it more suited to evening use and it really helped me to unwind and sleep.
Value for Money
A 10ml bottle costs £27.95 making it a fairly average price compared to other 500mg CBD oils. However, if you consider that it only contains 340mg CBD, it doesn’t seem as quite as much of a bargain.
It works out at about 8p per mg gram of CBD or 5p per mg of CBD and CBDA, based on the lab analysis. It is cheaper than BioBloom’s 4% oil (£29.90), Biopurus’ 5% (£34.90) and about the same as the Love CBD 800mg Entourage Spray (the 400mg 10ml version is £25.99).
The best way to measure value for money against the impact of the product. This was an oil that had a stronger effect than many oils with much higher concentrations. Consequently, I consider this to be good value.
Would I Buy Again?
No, I wouldn’t buy CBD Shopy CBD oil again. The oil itself is of excellent quality, it was very effective but when compared to similar strength and equally effective products it doesn’t quite stack up in a couple of areas. If you want to see the products we do recommend, check out our best UK CBD oils article. As CBD Shopy only use organic hemp, it cannot be included in our best organic CBD oil reviews.
If what you seek is a high-strength oil, at 5% it is way below the threshold of 25% required to be included in our list of the strongest CBD oils available in the UK.
CBD Shopy 5% Oil Final Scores
CBD Shopy 500mg Review
Overall
A basic oil that has been made to a high standard and packs a surprising punch. The label should make it more evident that the 500mg refers to both CBD and CBDa. With easy to find lab certificates, you can see that this is an oil packed with several different cannabinoids, including slightly too much THC. If you can get past the foul flavour, this is a great oil at a bargain price.
Third-party lab tests
5
Ease of use
8
Potency/ effectiveness
9
Value for money
8.5
Pros
Wide range of cannabinoids detected by 3rd party analysis
Thick oil packed with phytonutrients
Strong effect
Bulb-tipped dropper
Cons
Taste!
The combination of CBD and CBDA aren't clear enough on the bottle
