We get this question a lot! Many of you have heard of this wonderful concentrate, but haven’t been able to experience it first-hand. Read on for a great explanation of its many forms and uses by our fantastic, in-house concentrate expert, Matthew M. We’ve also included a handy formula guide for those of you who are interested in making your own edibles at home.
HOW IS IT MADE?
To provide the patient with the healthiest and the cleanest medication our extraction specialists use a solvent less method for making our hash. We only use water, ice, and trim.
TRIM: Fan leaves and stems are discarded. We use whole buds and sugar leaf in all of our batches. These are frozen to preserve the trichomes and the terpenes (organic compounds that contain the flavor and smell).
WATER: The process uses 100% reverse osmosis water to remove any impurities the city may have added to sanitize the water. This water comes from our on-site water processing facilities.
ICE: Our ice comes from a third party vendor and has been tested on site to ensure its neutral ph.
Making bubble hash is a process of agitation, filtration and collection, then drying and curing. We begin by adding the whole leaf and buds into a 220um bag with ice. Then water is added and the entire solution is left to chill. We then agitate the leaf to cause the frozen trichomes to fall off the plant material. The trichomes that are suspended in the solution are then drained into a series of bags that are stacked in order of smallest micron on the bottom to the largest on top. As the water flows through the mesh, each bag filters any runaway plant material. The trichomes separate based on size. Although we use 220um – 25um, Giving Tree only sells 120um – 90um – 73um – 45um – 25um, which are considered the purest. This is smoking hash. Bags 160um – 220um are considered cooking hash.
We freeze each micron separately and then we use a fine grater (called a micro plane) to shred the frozen hash into fine granules for consistency when drying. After they are dry, we congregate each batch into similar microns and store it in a cool dark place for curing. As the hash cures, the terpenes come back from their frozen state and the hash becomes more palatable each day.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MICRONS?
Many people will tell you that 90um (for example) has more flavor and aroma, but this is all subjective opinion. Without testing, it is better to leave it up to the customer as to which he or she prefers. It’s a great selling point. For instance, the 25um is the last of the last. It contains the smallest, most dense trichomes. It has the consistency of mud or paste before it is micro planed and has a tendency to be darker in color. The 120um has large trichomes and therefore looks similar to sand and is very light in color. Both can be harsh or smooth. Both can be extremely potent.
WHICH MICRON IS THE STRONGEST?
Our latest testing of the Cannadential Hash made with this new process:
120 – 77.59% THC
90 – 81.61% THC
73 – 74.75% THC
45 – 63.58% THC
25 – 72.31% THC
As you can see, these fluctuate by micron and by strain. We will continue to update the staff as new data comes in from our continued testing and the refinement of our technique. Transparency is the key!
HOW TO USE HASH!
Smoking:
The most traditional way to ingest this medication is to smoke it. It is extremely easy and its where “Bubble” hash gets its name. Crumble the hash on some flower or on a clean screen inside of a pipe. Smoke as you would normally. The hash should continue to smoke even after the flame has been removed due to its resinous nature. When it is done, it will turn into white ash.
Dabbing:
There are two schools on how to dab our hash. The first is dust to nail dabbing. Heat your nail and scoop a bit of fine hash into a small spoon. Then dab as normal.
The second is called pressing. Take the amount you want and put it in-between two sheets of parchment paper. Hold the parchment above a flame to heat the hash slightly. DO NOT BURN THE PAPER. 10-20 seconds max. Then while warm, roll the hash with a rolling pin or a full soda can. Open the parchment and you will have a sheet of hash that you can dab as you would oil.
Cooking:
For calculating how to infuse your own edibles, we recommend this formula. You will need:
- THC content of hash.
- Total volume of hash.
- Number of servings.
Example as follows:
- 20% THC
- 2000mg (2g) of hash
- 20 total servings or brownies
0.20 x 2000mg = 400mg of THC
400mg / 20 servings = 20mg of THC per serving
Hash over solvent based extraction: Flammable gas extractions are the most common process on the market. The equipment is relatively cheap and flammable gas extracts much faster than CO2. It can be purged to remove any residual solvents down to 0 ppm. While this may seem like a healthy way to make medicine, the problem is not with the gas itself, the problem is with the other additives. Solvent extractionists typically use welding grade gases (or even lighter fluid, YUCK!) as it is cheaper than medical grade. It can contain Butane, Pentane, Hexane, Methane, and Propane, just to name a few. Containers for these cheap gasses are often not well maintained/inspected regularly or are one time use. This allows for metal fragments, rust, and other inorganics to be processed as well. As previously mentioned, they are extremely flammable. There are many different schools of thought as to how oil is made. One vendor’s oil can be fine, while another’s can be toxic. The equipment is often handmade/dangerous. Some dispensaries will sell their extracts without completely purging them, finding that they can move the product once the threshold for smell and tastes have dropped. With all of the irregularity, the patient can be taking a big risk.
In order to create a cleaner product, most solvent extracts are winterized. This is a process by which ethyl alcohol is added to remove plant waxes and increase the potency of the extract. This will remove most if not all terpenes from the extract. Some places will add extracted terpene oil to cover for this bland hashy taste. Adding more solvents to clean up a bad extraction is a truly lazy way to make a buck.
Water hash contains no solvents, retains the original flavor and smell of the flower, and has more applicable uses than just dabbing.
Flavorful, Potent, Healthy. Giving Tree.
