2014
about when Gelato arrived in the Bay Area
#33
the best-known Gelato number, a parent of Ice Cream Cake
89,923
lab samples in a 2022 study of strain names and chemistry
The Gelato 48 strain is sold as part of the Gelato family, the Sunset Sherbet x Thin Mint Cookies cross that came out of the San Francisco Bay Area around 2014. In that family the best-known numbers, such as #33 and #41, were seedling picks. We found no acceptable record of which plant Gelato 48 is or who selected it, so different growers can mean different plants by the name.
So the useful questions are what Gelato is, what the numbers really mean, and how to read a jar that says 48. Here is all three.
Last reviewed: November 2026.
Gelato 48 strain lineage: the Gelato family
The family story usually starts in San Francisco with Sunset Sherbet, a cookie-family cross usually described as an accident of open pollination. Around 2014, Sunset Sherbet was crossed back to Thin Mint Cookies, and Gelato arrived.
Parent lines
How Gelato was made
Two steps in the family story. Press a record to read it.
Parent names stay with the producer record cited in this article. A diagram is not a lab result.
That makes Gelato cookie genetics stacked on cookie genetics, and Girl Scout Cookies itself is usually traced to OG Kush and Durban Poison. Hype Cannabis Co. describes its Gelato #33 the same way: a cross of Thin Mint GSC and Sunset Sherbet that has produced many phenotypes with their own characteristics.
Menus sometimes shorten Gelato 48 to G48. If you see that, ask for the full name and the producer, since other Gelato numbers get shortened the same way.
Gelato 33, 41, 45 and 48: what the numbers mean
Gelato numbers started as pot labels. When a cross is grown from seed, each seedling gets a number while the grower watches how it grows, smells and smokes, and only a few keepers survive the cut. In the Gelato family the best-known keepers are #33, often called Larry Bird, and #41, sold as Bacio Gelato, with #25 also widely grown. The numbers came first and the nicknames came later.
Some of those numbers became famous parents. Biscotti is usually traced to Gelato #25 crossed with South Florida OG, and Hype Cannabis Co. says it built its Ice Cream Cake from Gelato 33 and Wedding Cake to capture a sweet, doughy terpene profile.
Gelato 48 is not one of those well-known keepers. We found no acceptable record documenting a Gelato #48 selection, who made it or how it was chosen. Without one, two jars with the same name can hold different plants. That is why the producer on a Gelato 48 jar matters more than the number.
| Gelato number | Nickname | What it's known for |
|---|---|---|
| #25 | No settled nickname | Usually named as a parent of Biscotti |
| #33 | Larry Bird | A parent of Ice Cream Cake, per Hype Cannabis Co. |
| #41 | Bacio Gelato | Sold under its own nickname |
| #48 | No settled nickname | Different growers, different plants |
What Gelato 48 smells and tastes like
Start with the family. Gelato crosses are known for dense buds, purple coloring and sweet, dessert-like aromas, the start of what menus now call dessert strains. Hype Cannabis Co. describes its Gelato #33 as sweet and pungent, with fruity cookie flavors and notes of citrus and earth, in compact dark green and purple buds with orange hairs.
That describes Hype’s #33, not a documented #48, so the number alone can’t tell you whether a Gelato 48 jar smells like it. Seedlings from the same cross can smell very different, from sweet and creamy to gassy and sharp, so smell the jar before you choose and ask who grew it.
If you want to check the chemistry, a terpene line on the label comes from that batch’s lab report. Treat it as a clue: a 2025 PLOS ONE study found that terpene profiles alone did a poor job of predicting how the flower actually smelled.
Is Gelato 48 indica or sativa?
Gelato cuts are usually sold as hybrids. Keep the label in proportion, though: a 2022 PLOS ONE study of commercial flower found that indica, sativa and hybrid labels did not reliably match the chemical makeup of the samples it analyzed. The terpenes and cannabinoids on the label tell you more than the category.
Hype describes its Gelato #33 as a balanced hybrid with an upbeat, energizing high. That is a producer describing its own flower. Effects vary from person to person and batch to batch, so check the label, start low and wait before having more. The DCC’s responsible-use page covers the basics, including never driving after use.
How much THC is in Gelato 48?
There is no single figure. Each California batch is tested, and the number on the jar is the one that applies to what you buy. The DCC flower-label checklist shows what every California flower label must show, including the batch’s cannabinoid content.
Reading a Gelato 48 label
Three things on or around the jar can carry a number. Press one to see what it means.
Selection number?
48 in the name
Most likely a selection number, the way 33 and 41 are, though no record confirms which plant. It is not a potency figure.
Whose 48
Producer
Different growers can sell different plants as Gelato 48. The producer tells you which one you have.
This batch
Label THC
The tested cannabinoid content printed on the jar. This is the number to compare.
One more thing worth knowing: the 48 in the name most likely follows the family’s habit of numbering seedlings. Either way, it has nothing to do with THC percentage or strength.
Read the name
Gelato 48, taken apart
What tells you about the jar in your hand
- The producer. Different growers can sell different plants under the same name.
- The tested THC. Every California batch is tested, and the label shows its cannabinoid content.
- The terpene line. A clue to the smell, not a promise.
Family per Hype Cannabis Co.'s description of its Gelato #33. No record confirms which plant #48 is. Label rules: DCC flower-label checklist. If a menu says G48, ask for the full name and the producer.
Buying Gelato 48 and its relatives at Vibe
Menus change daily, and Gelato cuts rotate in and out. Pick your Vibe store to see what is on the shelf, and ask for the full cultivar name if a jar just says Gelato.
Want the family’s next generation? Our Ice Cream Cake guide covers the Gelato #33 cross, our Biscotti Pancakes guide looks at another dessert-named strain whose parentage is unconfirmed, and the learn hub explains strain names and labels.
Frequently asked questions
Gelato is a family of strains from one cross, Sunset Sherbert x Thin Mint Cookies, made by Sherbinski and Jigga in San Francisco around 2014. The numbers (25, 33, 41 and so on) are individual seedlings picked from that cross.
Gelato cuts are sold as hybrids. The category is a loose guide; the label’s cannabinoid and terpene figures tell you more.
It varies by cut and batch. Every California flower batch is tested, and the jar’s label gives that harvest’s result.
Gelato is one of the most influential strain families of the last decade: Gelato #25 and #33 alone parented Biscotti and Ice Cream Cake. Whether a given jar suits you comes down to its nose and its label, so ask to smell it.
Sources
- Hype Cannabis Co.: strain library
- PLOS ONE 2025: a proposed cannabis aroma lexicon
- PLOS ONE 2022: commercial cannabis labels and chemistry
- DCC: flower labeling checklist
- DCC: responsible cannabis use
For adults 21+ (18+ with a physician’s recommendation in California). Keep out of reach of children and pets. Do not drive or operate machinery after use.
Find a Gelato cut at your Vibe store
Pick your store and check today's flower menu for Gelato 48 or its siblings. Staff can read you the full cultivar name and the batch label.