The importance of drying it properly
Thinking about Harm Reduction, it is essential to dry your hash properly for it to be consumed. A moist hash, stored in a closed, dark environment for the beginning of the curing process, can trigger the spread of fungi.
The formation of hash fungi is a very serious problem. If this happens, please, we advise you not to consume. There are countless risks to respiratory health in relation to smoking some fungus, mold or spore (especially in times of global pandemic).
To prevent this from happening, it is essential to be patient and know how to dry your hash properly. The key to drying the bubble hash is in the temperature and humidity of the place where the procedure is performed.
This 7/10, we’re highlighting one of the most important but least well known aspects of making perfect water hash: removing the water after it’s been washed. First, a quick refresher on the process of making the hash: the flower is fresh frozen after harvest to preserve all those precious trichomes and is hand washed in ice water to lightly agitate and remove the trichome heads into the water, where they are collected in mesh screen bags. The result of this process is a wet, loose, almost clay-like hash patty. So what’s the best way to remove the water from the hash? We’ve seen it all over the years, from air drying on parchment paper or cardboard (anyone else ever tried drying their hash in a pizza box?) to microplaning to freeze drying. The reason why there has been so much experimentation through the years is because the drying process can often make or break your hash. There are lots of stories of great washes that have been ruined by poor drying. One of the biggest problems that can arise from improper drying is mold and fungus taking root in the hash. Beyond that, you also risk having terpenes evaporate or mutate and rancify. We’ve found freeze drying to be the most effective method of removing the excess water through the process of sublimation which is accomplished through vacuum pumps that ‘sublimate’ the moisture out of whatever is inside. Often used in niche high end restaurants as an alternative to a simple food dehydrator, sublimation can remove frozen water from a piece of food or wet hash patty without thawing the ice and removing it in the form of a vapor. Each cultivar produces a different consistency in the end, with some being greasy and some being more stable. What’s most important is keeping the resin glands that we sieve in the bags as intact and undisturbed as possible from the wash, through the dry, all the way up to the time it hits your nail for a dab. What should you do if you don’t have a commercial grade food dryer and you’re trying to dry some homemade water hash? It’s important to remember that each cultivar is different and will thus require slightly different drying conditions, but we have some good general guidelines you can follow here. First, you want to make sure that your drying environment is as controlled and sterile as possible. One big problem with the air dry method is the potential for contaminants in the air to taint the hash. Air filters and purifiers and contained environments are helpful in preventing this from occurring. Temperature and humidity control are also key in this process. An ideal temperature is somewhere around 55-65 degrees Fahrenheit with as low humidity as you can possibly get. Bone dry if possible. Once you have a controlled environment ready and you’ve washed your hash, we recommend freezing your wet hash patties until they are a solid frozen block. Put on some surgical gloves and use a Microplane grater (available at most places that sell kitchen tools) to microplane the hash paddy into a thin layer on your drying surface. It’s best to do this in increments. When the patty starts to get a little wet and you’re getting hash sticking to your gloves, put the patty back in the freezer until it’s frozen again. The goal of this process is to spread out the surface area of the hash, allowing it to dry without providing space where the excess moisture can cultivate mold or fungus. Air drying can take anywhere from 15-17 hours depending on the wash and the cultivar so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on it to make sure you don’t over or under dry. After you’ve mastered the technique, you’ll have lots of solventless hash ready to dab. Happy 710 fam.
How Bubble Hash Differs From Other Concentrates?
Bubble hash differs significantly from most concentrates because it’s a solventless extract. Solventless means that no chemical solvents were used to extract the THC from the plant.
The vast majority of concentrates are extracted with various solvents. The solvents commonly used are butane, CO2, alcohol, ethanol, and propane. Concentrates that are routinely extracted with solvents are shatter, isolate, budder, live resin, crumble and CO2 oil.
Other solventless extracts are rosin and hash. Rosin is extracted via pressure and heat. Hash is one of the oldest methods for smoking cannabis, and it’s been extracted traditionally by rubbing hands on the marijuana flowers.
Bubble hash isn’t nearly as strong as many other concentrates. It’s THC content usually stay in the range of 30-60%. Although this amount isn’t low by any standard, other solvent-based concentrates are much more potent.
Most solvent-based extracts find themselves in the range of 60-80%. There are even methods, such as THC isolate, that are able to reach a mind-blowing 99% THC content.
Although bubble hash ranks as one of the least strong concentrates in terms of THC, they do rank incredibly high in terpenes. Scientists believe that terpenes play a larger role than once thought.
Various scientific reports have stated that terpenes interact with the body to influence the way cannabinoids affect people. This means that THC content works in conjunction with terpenes to make a person feel high. As terpenes become better understood, there may be an even more significant demand for bubble hash.
The effects of bubble hash are unique. Owing to their high terpene content, users who smoke bubble hash claim a strong onset that leaves them feeling incredibly euphoric. Other compounds such as chlorophyll, lipids, and other cannabinoids create “noise” in the effects of cannabis; and without these, the high from bubble hash is surreal and clear.
Users who smoke bubble hash will find that there are no “hangover” effects from bubble hash. There are multiple reasons why this may be the case, one being that bubble hash is solventless and the other being that it’s purely THC.
The method for creating bubble hash is thought to originate sometime in the 1980s. According to historical sources, Neville Schoenmakers, the renowned owner of the world’s first cannabis seed bank, invented the bubble hash technique.
It was then “Sadhu Sam” of Santa Cruz, CA who popularized the method of extracting bubble hash from ice-water. It was from this point on that bubble hash began its rounds throughout the world because of its unique properties. The name bubble hash comes from the fact that small bubbles appear as it’s being smoked.
Bubble hash is also known as full melt bubble hash and full melt ice water hash.
As time has moved forward, so have the methods in which bubble hash is made. The original “recipe” from Sadhu Sam called for a few grams of cannabis, a bucket, a small paddle, a mesh filter, and cold water. It was with these easily accessible tools that he popularized this new form of marijuana.
Soon after, small cannabis niche shops from Canada to Amsterdam began selling bubble bags. These bags come in various sizes and are placed inside of 3-5 gallon buckets that are filled with ice water. The bags allow trichome heads to fall through and sink to the bottom of the bucket.
This method leaves all the plant matter to stay in the bubble bag while the trichomes accumulate on the bottom of the bucket. Once this first stage is complete, and the plant matter has been agitated adequately to make sure there are no remaining trichome heads; the plant material is then discarded.
The next steps are based on refining the trichome heads and material that was small enough to make it through the bubble bag mesh filter.
It’s necessary to have a set of successively smaller micron mesh bags to filter out everything that isn’t trichomes. The starting bubble bag would be in the range of 200-300 microns, and by the last step will be around 20-25 microns.
To put these sizes into perspective, fine sand will slide through a 250-micron filter, whereas a 37-micron size filter will allow pollen grains through. The final micron size for trichomes to safely pass through is 20-25. For added perspective, to filter blood cells, a 12-micron size filter would be necessary.
After the final pass, the only material left in the bucket should be the prized golden/white trichome heads filled with THC. The last mesh screen has an even smaller micron mesh below that catches all of the trichome heads for easier removal.
One of the last steps is drying the newly extracted trichome heads. These trichomes can be left in the bag containing them to air dry, or they are carefully removed and placed onto a fine micron screen. Once on the screen, they can be spread out to dry.
The rule of thumb is to leave the micron screen in the dark for roughly 7 days, giving ample time for the resin to completely dry. The bubble hash is ready once it’s solid to the touch.
Once dry, the bubble hash can be stored in glass jars for as long as it lasts. It’s important to note that bubble hash should always be kept out of direct sunlight.
FAQ
Does bubble hash need to dry before pressing?
Can you press fresh bubble hash?
Can I dry bubble hash in the refrigerator?
