With the recent explosion of popularity in cannabis concentrates, many people have begun to wonder just where these highly potent forms of marijuana came from, as well as how they are created. It is quite an interesting process for sure! Some even wonder how they themselves can go about making marijuana concentrates at home, and while a few decades ago this may have been near impossible, it’s actually quite common today. While there are many types of marijuana concentrates, there are some that are far more common than others, for example, we have; Shatter, Oil, and Hash. By far, the following three consists of the majority of marijuana concentrates, and for good reason. Not only are these specific concentrates highly effective and potent, but they are also relatively easy to make; which means they are affordable if you are going down that road or, they are quite easy to make at home if that is more to your liking!
Today, we will be discussing and exploring the various ways in which you can make these three types of marijuana concentrates at home, so sit down, relax, and get ready, because it’s time to go back to school.
Making Concentrates:
So, you want to make your own concentrates huh? Well, you’re in luck, for look no further! In this article, we will be learning how to create the three most common, and popular forms of cannabis concentrate. Shatter, wax, oils, and hash. Not sure what a concentrate is? Fear not! Concentrates, simply put, are forms of cannabis where the cannabinoids, mainly THC are extracted via some process from the actual plant matter of the marijuana. Meaning, you are consuming pure, or near pure THC, etc., vs. carbonizing plant matter during smoking. This makes for a much cleaner, and healthier high. But you know all that already! So how do you go about making these concentrates?
Cannabis Oil:
One of the most powerful forms of medical extracts, this specific concentrate is also known as Rick Simpson Oil, Black Oil, and Phoenix Tears among other things. Used for treating a variety of ailments, from cancer to diabetes, this concentrate is one of the most popular methods of consuming medical cannabis. This oil can be rubbed into the skin, consumed via capsules, or by being placed under the tongue. This oil is very potent and powerful.
While there are many ways to make cannabis oil, we are going to review one of the easiest and most effective ways. This does not mean that other methods are worse, this is just our preferred way.
What you need:
- Cookie Sheet
- Oven
- Slow cooker
- Some Sort of Oil
- Canola
- Peanut
- Olive
- Avocado
- A Grinder
- Herb!
Steps:
- Take your herb, and grind it up into a find powder.
- Spread out your newly made powder onto your cookie sheet, and place it into the oven.
- Bake the ground weed at 240F for thirty, to forty minutes. This is called “Decarbing”.
- Continue this until the herb is dry and brown.
- Take the oil of your choice (the higher the fat content the better to aid in the ingestion process), canola; coconut, peanut etc. and place two cups of it, per one-and-a-half oz. of weed in a bowl and stir until the herb is fully saturated.
- Pour the mixtures into your crockpot or slow cooker, and allow it to simmer on its lowest setting for three hours.
- Allow cooling for another six hours.
- Repeat two, to three more times to get out every last bit of THC, thus making the mixture more potent.
- Strain out the oil from the leaves, and you’re good to go!
You now know how to make some potent and very effective cannabis oil right from your own kitchen!
Shatter:
Shatter is softened and considered to be one of, if not the purest form of cannabis concentrates available. A form of wax, shatter is the perfection of the art of butane or C02 extraction. This golden, gooey concentrate is often times well over eighty percent THC, meaning what you are handling when you touch this stuff, is almost pure cannabinoids! Used as an alternative to burning flowers, this is an extremely powerful, and pure form of cannabis.
What you need:
- Either A Professional Butane Extraction Rig or…
- So much other stuff that you won’t want to make it at home.
Now this one is a bit of a mixed bag, if you can afford the proper materials to make this at home, then go for it. Otherwise, while it is possible to create makeshift devices; it is not always safe and can lead to a sub-par product. Regardless, we will go over the process so that you can better understand either way. The process of creating shatter is as follows: The herb, the flower is taken and blasted with liquid butane, separating the trichomes from the flower itself in a very efficient way. This leaves you with a mixture of butane, and now pure trichomes separated from the flower. This mixture is then heated in what is referred to as a “purge” in order to try to remove and purify the extract from the solvents. The grade of the shatter will depend on this last step, and how much of the butane is purged from the mix. Unlike other forms of wax, shatter is not agitated in any way during creation, leaving the smooth, amber-like appearance that so many users know so well. There you have it! Simple enough right? Well, if you have the proper equipment and are not make shifting the whole scenario! Again, while you can do this with items from your own home – that process can vary so greatly you’re on your own there. But at least now you know the process.
Hash:
Now on to the final form of concentrate that we will be exploring today; hash. Hash is the oldest form of cannabis concentrate, probably because it is the easiest, and safest to make. As with all other concentrates, the hash is just the separated trichomes from the plant, collected together into a thick, dense form that ends up being much darker than the herb you started with, and has a wide range of different tastes, smells and effects; but it’s still cannabis-just a much more potent form. There are many ways in which to make hash, some better than others, but today we will be discussing one of the easiest methods with the highest yield. So, we are going to learn how to make bubble hash!
What you need:
- The Flower itself, or Trimmings. It’s about a 10-1 ratio. 10 grams of flower yields
- Ice Water
- Special Mesh Bags (which can be purchased on Amazon for $20, such as the Ice-O-Lator).
- Wooden Spoon
- 2 Buckets
Ok, now are you ready for how easy this is?
Steps:
- Take your ice and place it in one of the buckets.
- Then take your shavings or flower, and place it in the bucket with the ice.
- Fill the bucket with water, the more the better until the leaves or shavings are completely covered.
- Stir for 15, to 20 minutes, the ice water will sedate the trichomes from the plant itself.
- Now, following the instructions that came with the mesh bags, filter the mixture through each one, making sure to get out each and every drop into the next level, adding more water each time.
- It’s important to note that each bag will contain a different level quality of hash, the bottom bag being the strongest, highest quality.
- Now take the hash out of each bag, and allow it to air dry, do not mix the bags!
- There you go! You now have a high yield of high-quality hash!
Things to keep in Mind:
Regardless of what type of concentrates you are making, it’s important to understand the quality will always vary depending on the original herb you are using, if you don’t use the best, you won’t get the highest quality product, or in some cases much out of it at all in general!
There are many methods to make each of the listed concentrates above, and while these methods will work, and might be the preferred method of many, it is definitely not the only way!
Don’t be discouraged if the first time you try to make concentrates doesn’t go as planned, as with all things practice makes perfect!
Don’t forget, safety first!
Conclusions:
There you have it! You can now join the ranks of at-home concentrate creators! You now know everything you need to begin creating your favourite concentrates from the convenience of your own home. Of course, there are many other forms of concentrates out there, and there are even other methods to making the ones we did discuss, and in the end, it will all come down to personal preference but know you have the tools to make those choices for yourself. Regardless of your preferred type of marijuana concentrate, you are now better equipped to get out there and explore making concentrates! What will be the first you try to create?
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