by Ed Rosenthal
1.BUD BITS AND PIECES—cosmetically challenged “popcorn bud”
2.BAG SHAKE—the residue at the bottom of the bag
3.PRIMARY TRIM—the small leaves near the bud sites
4.MATURE FAN LEAVES—the large sun leaves
5.IMMATURE BUDS—these vary in THC content depending on stage of development
6.IMMATURE TRIM/IMMATURE LEAF—also variable depending on stage of development
7.VEGETATIVE LEAF—leaf from a plant that has not entered flowering phase of growth (has the lowest THC content)
Plant material is shaken over a fine screen, which allows the glands to fall through with only minimal vegetation. Different grades of kief are produced depending on the amount of sifting time, the size of the screen and the pressure used when sifting. Often the same material is sifted a few times. With each repeated sift, a higher proportion of impurities, fine leaf powder, mixes with the glands, lowering the quality. The color ranges from blonde for the purest kief to green, which indicates that vegetative material containing chlorophyll has also filtered through the screen with the glands.
In Morocco, marijuana is aged for a few months and then pressed during the cold winter when little humidity is in the air. A silk scarf is stretched over a bowl and dry marijuana is rubbed over it. The result is kief.
PREPARING LEAF FOR SCREENING
Very little preparation is needed to sieve plant material for kief. In fact, kief making is so quick that small quantities can be done while the trash is being sorted or prepared for another process. It can also be done in large batches.
KIEF
Capture glands while manicuring by using a HarvestMore tray with a stainless steel screen.
www.harvest-more.com
The best kief comes from trim and leaf that is dry, but not crisp. Very dry material is brittle and crumbles into smaller pieces or dust that passes through the screen. Kief made from such material contains more vegetative matter. Pressed material or “brick” marijuana does not work as well for kief as loose material does because the gland caps are broken, spilling their contents, which congeal to the leaves.
On the other hand, in the mountains of the Hindu Kush region hash makers wait for cold, dry weather to sift plant material. The connection between the glands and the dry leaves becomes brittle so they break away easily when they are frozen.
Another advantage of using cold material is that the thick oils of the resin do not clog the screening material, however you should be careful because the cold also promotes crumbling so that finely ground plant material sifts through.
Excellent kief can be made in temperate, room temperature conditions. To make kief of the finest caliber, cool temperatures, less than 60° F (15° C) are best. Low to moderate humidity is okay, and the presence of a little humidity is even welcome if the material is particularly dry.
MANUAL SCREENING
Manual screening is cost-effective and no more labor-intensive than sifting flour. It is possible to buy ready-made screens or kief boxes from many sources and in many sizes. The screen, usually wire mesh, comes framed and often includes a solid bottom drawer where the kief is collected.
Screens are especially useful to use when manicuring. Glands that fall off the buds and would typically be lost fall through the screen and are conserved.
It is also possible to make your own screen. Wire mesh or silk-screen material can be bought from print supply shops or wire cloth sellers. Some resources are listed at the end of the chapter.
If you build your own screen or have a screen without a tray, a piece of glass or mirror is useful to catch the filtered material. A credit card, business card, or other straight edge can be used to gather the filtered material into a pile.
THE SCREENING PROCESS
Place the collection tray under the screen. Start with a handful of trim and leaf. Rub material softly against the screen. A softer touch allows the glands to pass through without scraping off much vegetative matter. This first layer of powder is the cleanest and most potent.
Even the cleanest kief contains some vegetative matter. Some people pass the material trough multiple screens to increase purity. In the first pass, they use a screen that is coarser, under 100 strands per inch (2.5 cm). This first screening cleans out the bulk of the vegetative matter. The sifted material is then placed atop a finer screen and shaken or tapped lightly. Since the vegetative material is only tapped through the second screen, not pushed, the multi-screening method yields cleaner results.
This rolling tray is made with 100 strands per inch (2.5 cm) of stainless steel mesh. It comes in handy for rubbing stray trim as well.
Kief makers usually sift the same material several times. The first sift is usually light and short in duration- from one to three minutes depending on the amount of material and size of the screen. The biggest, most mature glands are the first to break free and sift through. This is the highest quality kief, but the yield is fairly low.
The material is sifted again. The less mature glands fall, but so does some plant material that has crumbled into dust and is also small enough to pass through the screen. The second sift produces a large quantity of kief which contains more vegetative material and isn’t as pure as the first screening. The color reveals this. The color is darker and greener.
Manual kief screening is good for making small amounts, and is cheap and easy to do. To process larger amounts of or to produce a cleaner product with less elbow grease, upgrading to a drum machine is a worthwhile investment.
MACHINE SCREENING
If you have a lot of leaf and trim that you’d like to screen for kief, manual screening can be tiresome. Luckily, some other folks have already discovered this and come up with inventions that take the labor out of kief making.
The Pollinator® turns much like a side loading washer. The marijuana tumbles against a screen and the glands fall through to the bottom of the machine for collection.
Drum machines are simple devices that gather a higher percentage of glands from the plant material than flat screening can.
THE POLLINATOR®
The Pollinator® is the original drum machine developed by Mila Jansen in the Netherlands. Mila is a natural innovator. A hash aficionado who was born in the Netherlands and lived for years in the Hindu Kush region, Mila has spent her fair share of time manually screening leaf and trim to make kief.
Many years ago, cold weather had set into the mountains of Northern India. Since it is believed that the trichomes snap more cleanly when the plant material is frozen, cold weather meant it was time to screen. She and friends spent several chilly days manually screening loads of trim for powder. The repetitive nature of screening was tedious and tiring.
1. Marijuana leaf is poured into the revolving drum of the Pollinator®. 2. The drum is placed in the machine. 3. After rotating for a few minutes the drum is removed and the contents are discarded or used for cooking. 4. The kief has dropped to the bottom and is ready for collection.
One evening after a long day of screening, Mila returned home and in the late hours, she stood, tired from the day’s work, waiting for the laundry to finish. Suddenly her attention shifted to the clothes dryer. She was struck with the brilliant simplicity of her idea. The dryer was essentially doing what she’d been doing all day! Soon thereafter, she invented the Pollinator®.
Mila worked out a model for personal use, but it would be a few years before it occurred to her that this machine was marketable.
The Pollinator® is available in a few sizes. Resembling a clothes dryer, it is electrically powered. Trash is placed inside it and the machine is turned on. The material is softly tossed against a fine screen, around 130 strands per inch (2.5 cm). The amount of time it is allowed to turn determines the quality of the kief that is collected.
This machine makes creating kief or hash ridiculously simple. It can be used over and over. The same material can be reprocessed according to the collector’s wishes. A+ hash can be collected by briefly pollin
ating the material and removing the powder. Then that same material can be screened again.
Screening for kief, whether manually or with the help of a machine, is a fabulous way to recycle plant material that was destined for the compost heap. It is less labor intensive, less expensive, and less time consuming for the yield than most other processes.
WATER HASH
Water hash has fast become a favorite worldwide. Its name comes from the efficient water process used to collect glands from the trim, leaf, and bud bits. Water hash is actually loose, kief-type product that can be smoked as is, or pressed into traditional hashish form. Either way, many people are quickly converted once they’ve experienced this pure and potent product.
Water hash can be made in small or large quantities. Ready-made systems can be purchased to simplify the process. These systems have increased the precision and efficiency of the water hash process and contributed to its surge in popularity. It is also possible to make water hash using home-gathered equipment.
HOW WATER HASH IS MADE
The quality of water hash, especially from the finest grade material, is impressive. Of course, as with the other processes, the high produced from water hash depends upon the quality of the plants being used. Processing plant material with water yields hash that has been washed free of contaminants: green plant matter, mold, fungi, and chemicals.
Any gland-bearing plant material can be used to make water hash, including leaf, trim, buds, shake, or a combination. Fresh or dried material can be used.
Water hash varies in color, much like kief. The finest grade is typically a light tan, while the coarser second-tier material is slightly darker and a little green from vegetative plant material. High quality water hash turns to liquid, melts and bubbles when it is smoked.
It is possible to extract a quarter to one ounce (7-28 g) of hash from every eight ounces (0.25 kg) of plant material. The yield depends in part on the number of glands present on the material. Buds and A+ trim have a higher concentration of THC bearing trichomes, so the yields are higher.
The water method uses agitation of grass with water and ice to separate glands from the plant material. The ice serves a dual purpose; it chills the material making it brittle so the connection between the glands and the plant easily snaps and it acts as an agitator that scuffs the material. After the plant material is agitated in ice water, it is allowed to settle, and then the bags are separated.
The filtration bags are similar to the screens used for making kief. They filter the glands by micron size, separating the trash from the hash. A micron is one-millionth of a meter, or .001 millimeters. The material is trapped and floats in the top bag, while the glands, which are heavy enough to sink are collected in the lower bag. After the water hash dries, it is ready to smoke.
The entire process takes three to six hours to complete. The bag method is kind of like doing the laundry; it does not require constant attention, but is something that you keep coming back to at regular intervals.
Some ready-made systems use multiple bags that sort the glands into grades, unlike kief making, the material is separated in one step rather than through repeated sieving. The process works best when the material is cold. In humid areas, it is a good idea to store dried material in the freezer to avoid deterioration or molds. When using material that has not been stored in this way, place material in the freezer until it gets cold.
Payload Bags (shown above) separate the grades of water hash using a color-coded bag system and varying grades of strong fiber. Many connoisseurs prefer water hash over screen kief. Using a combination of cold temperature and agitation, trim can be screened by quality.
Bubblebags have a series of finer and finer screens that are used to sort out different grades of kief.
Since glands reside on the surfaces of the plant, that material does not need to be ground to make water hash. Small cutting or coarsely chopped material is most convenient. Remove any big twigs or stems, as they could tear the bags.
Whether using a ready-made bag system or materials from your kitchen, the basic principles of making water and hash are the same. Aside from the caliber of the plant material, the quality of the filter determines the purity of the results.
READY-MADE BAGS
Several ready-made bag systems are on the market, but two have become the most popular systems for making water hash. These are the Ice-o-lator® from Mila at the Pollinator Company, and Bubble Bags® from Fresh Headies in Canada.
Both systems provide high-quality bags that are durable, and easy to clean and use. The bags are color-coded for convenience. Bubble Bags® may be more commonly known in North America because the company is based in Canada, while the Ice-o-lator® system hails from Amsterdam and is probably more widely known in Europe, but both products are available internationally.
THE ICE-O-LATOR®
Mila Jansen’s first invention was the Pollinator®. Her interest in improving hash-making methods also lead her to develop the ready-made water extraction system called the Ice-o-lator®.
The Ice-o-lator® consists of two bags, which line a sealable bucket of the appropriate size. Ice and water are added and then dried material is placed in the bucket. A standard kitchen mixer affixed through the bucket’s lid agitates the material. The top bag holds all of the vegetative matter. Glands filter through the silk screen of the first bag and collect in the finer screen of the second bag. The remaining water in the bucket has particulate vegetative matter, including some nutrients that make it good for watering houseplants or vegetable gardens.
A PRESSING ISSUE: KIEF AND HASH
Once kief is made, it can be used in a number of ways. The glands are delicious smoked fresh and loose. However, some traditionalists insist that they be pressed into hash. Hash made from screened kief, especially using the first-screening, is excellent. Kief is also an excellent ingredient for cooking and use in capsules. Without the vegetative matter attached the glands do not impart the dominating “green taste” to edibles.
BUBBLE BAGS®
Bubble Bags are available in 1 gallon, 5 gallon, and 20 gallon sizes. Each size is available as either a 4 bag or an 8 bag kit. The 8 bag systems separate the hash into finer categories. The size difference between just-ripe THC glands and overly mature or premature ones allows them to be separated into grades. There is also some variation in THC gland size in different plant varieties.
To use the Bubble Bags, all of the bags are placed into a bucket, beginning with the 25 micron bag and ending with the 220 micron work bag on top. Plant material, ice and water are added and then mixed by hand using a wooden spoon. After mixing, the work bag is pulled out and squeezed back into the other bags. The material left in the 220 micron bag can be processed again later.
The Bubbleator® and Ice-O-Lator® (below) are convenient tools for making water hash. The Bubbleator® agitates the vegetation; glands wind up in the water and are filtered out.
The Ice-O-Lator® agitates the vegetation in ice water to remove the glands.
This ganja in Morocco is stored from harvest in September to January for processing. The time in storage and cold weather assures that the vegetation will be dry and crisp, maximizing yield.
The remaining Bubble Bags are pulled out one by one, and the material in the bottom of each one is collected and allowed to dry. The remaining water can be discarded or used for watering plants.
Alternative methods of mixing include using a a kitchen mixer or drill attachment to mix in a separate bucket before pouring the mixture through the Bubble Bags; or Fresh Headies also offers a Bubble Now machine in either a 5 gallon or a 20 gallon size. This machine performs the agitation part of the process.
The empty bucket is lined with the additional bags—either two or five, depending on the system. The finest bag goes in first, so it will be the bottom. Then the other bags are added, with the coarsest on top. The green water is poured into the second bucket, which is lined with the filtering bags. These bags are pulled out one by
one, and the material in the bottom of each one is collected and allowed to dry. The water can be tossed out or used for watering plants.
HASHISH
Hashish is a collection of marijuana’s resinous glands that have been compressed into balls, cakes, or slabs. The origins of hashish date back millennia. It began along the 30th parallel latitude in the Himalayan foothills that include the famous hash making area near the many countries near the 30th latitude, including Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Morocco and Lebanon, both hash making countries, also lie near the 30th parallel.
Making hashish is a two-step process. In step one, the glands are collected. All collection methods yield a consumable product, but it is not yet hashish. Hashish involves a second step: compressing the collected material into bricks or balls.
Sifting for kief is a primary method of collecting glands for hash. Once the glands are collected they are ready for pressing.
Water hash can be pressed using the same methods, but the water must be removed and it must be dried or the hash will mold. Press the water out by placing the hash between two absorbent towels and pressing down on it. Repeat this process several times.
Several kinds of hash including Nepalese Temple Balls, Blond Lebanese and Afghani slabs.
Another method of collection, hand rubbing, dates to ancient times. While low in yield it usually results in high quality hash. Hand-rubbed hash is collected fresh from the plant, and the resin is still sticky, so the method of pressing involves a slightly different process.
Pressing hash involves a combination of force and mild heat to condense the glands into a solid mass. The shape and size of hash can vary depending on the pressing method that is used. When hand pressed, it is often ball shaped. Flat pressed hash can look like thin shale rocks, with hardened shelf-like layers that chip along the creases. Mechanically pressed hash is usually neat cake, like a bar of soap. Hashish ranges in color and pliability. The variety of marijuana used, the pressing method, and the purity of the hash all influence its color, which ranges from light yellow-tan to charcoal black.