One of the easiest concentrates to make even for the less experienced, is kief. A sticky crystal coating that covers the bud. These crystals are also known as trichomes they contain the highest percentage of cannabinoids and terpenes within the cannabis plant. To extract kief you separate these trichomes from the cannabis plant. You can obtain kief by simply griding your dried flower with a handheld 3-chamber grinder, electric grinder or by hand over a small 50-100-micron filter bag (this will help separate the kief from the flower). Freezing your flower for a minimum of 30 minutes can help assist larger outputs in both processes. The goal is to separate and collect the trichomes from the dried flower, a general consumer will be sure to check for colors. The lighter the color the higher quality/pure it is. If you see hints of green in your kief, there are pieces of plant material still present.
Ways to Use It
Smoked
By itself: You can roll joints or smoke a bowl
With flower: You can sprinkle your kief into a joint, on top of your bowl or in your vaporizer along with your favorite dried flower. If you are going to utilize a vaporizer it is best to blend with dried flower. Most dried herb vaporizers are not designed for fine particles, like kief product. Some patients have coated their joints in hash oil and rolled the joint in kief.
Into food
You can add kief into any drink or meal. Some CHC patients have added utilized kief and made cannabutter, some have added into their tea and some have sprinkled into their brownies. The possibilities are endless with oral consumption. Keeping in mind that the potency of kief over making an edible with dried flower does vary. If this is going to be your first time consuming kief as an edible start with only a small dose. To obtain THC and CBD from kief it still needs to undergo decarboxylation (the application of heat), like the dried flower. Consuming kief start low, go slow, dose responsibly
Make into Hash
Larger amounts of kief can be pressed to make hash balls and/or cakes. Both are simple processes, it is a matter of collecting your kief, or having kief available to order from your Licensed Producer. Then, applying pressure and only a mild heat or pressing with your hands. Hash balls are made by hand, where cakes are from pressing. You can add hash to your vaporizer, joints, or bowls for consumption.
Press into Rosin
Making Rosin from kief is a similar process to making hash but requires higher temperatures and stronger pressure to make. Kief is collected into micron screen bags, and then pressed between two plates with heat applied. The outcome is a beautiful liquid gold, honey like appearance rosin. This can be utilized into dab rigs/nails, dab pens, dried herb vaporizers with a concentrate option, nectar collectors or enail.
In a bowl, edible, hash, or rosin consumers feel that inhalation of kief is a very clean method of intake, and this very well could be true, but this has not yet been demonstrated through research. You are putting less chemicals into your body, as smoking cannabis flower is believed to still contain some impurities harmful to your lungs. Utilizing concentrated forms of cannabis requires less dosing and can be utilized by a new medical patient but is not recommended. If you feel that concentrates may be something you are interested in for symptom control, speak to your Cannabis Educator today. Consume responsibly.