For the uninitiated, the difference between weed and hash might be quite confusing. But to put them simply, weed is the dried flowers of a cannabis plant while hash is the ripe resins that line the surface of cannabis plants. The latter possesses a stronger effect because they are a more concentrated form of the weed. In this article, we will try to answer all your questions about this potent product, including the different ways on how to make hash.
What is a hash?
The word “hash” is said to come from “hashish,” which means grass in the Arabic language. It is a waxy product produced when the resin glands or trichomes from the cannabis plants are separated and pressed together into a single block. Hash contains all the goodness that everyone is looking for from weed – trichomes that are filled with rich cannabinoids, terpenes, and small amounts of plant material.
While shreds of evidence have shown that hash has been used as early as 900 AD, its appearance in the Western world did not happen until the turn of the 19th century. After this, various experiments and research surrounding this product has been initiated. And by the turn of the 20th century, they were mainstream in the cannabis community as well as in the Western pharmacopeia.
Why make hash?
Making hash is all the buzz nowadays. And there is a good reason for that. By making hash, you can preserve the resin heads of your cannabis plants long after they have been harvested. That being said, you will be able to enjoy the effects – recreational and medicinal – of the plants in a more significant degree or an unparalleled potency.
How to make hash?
Over the last few decades, a variety of methods to extract hash have been developed and all of these processes seem pretty straightforward. They all involve removing the resin heads, collecting them, sorting them by size, and drying them, all before smoking and enjoying them. Here are some of the different methods you can follow when you’ve finally decided to venture into the hash-making world.
Finger Hash
This method is the oldest and perhaps the original way to make hash. As the name implies, it practically involves no instruments other than your hands and your non-dried cannabis buds. To create a hash, you can simply rub your fingers on the cannabis blooms to physically remove the hash off. Then, all you have to do is scrape the sticky resin from your fingers and into a ball of potency. Thus, the name “finger hash.” This method is still used in many third world countries that openly cultivate cannabis, like Afghanistan. Once the cannabis resin has been removed from your fingers, it is a quick and easy trip to your joint, pipe, or vape.
Kief Hash
Every seasoned marijuana smokers will most likely have a personal grinder for their buds. Take a look at the bottom of your grinder and you will see a decent amount of kief lying around it. Kief will look like pale brown-colored dust. They are the sticky resin glands that have fallen off the buds.
To make hash from the kief, all you have to do is collect them and squash them together using your fingers. The heat from your fingers will melt the kief where you can then use to make a hash block. Of course, this may be too time-consuming especially when you have a lot of extra kief in your hands. In this case, we will use some simple materials and tools that you will have lying around your house to turn that dry kief into useful hash.
The traditional method is to wrap the kief in a plastic wrap and then put them in layers of wet newspapers. Next, put the bagged kief on a skillet and turn on the heat to the lowest setting. Moisten the newspapers again before flipping the block and letting it sit for a couple of minutes. Be careful not to melt the plastic. Then move the bag into a counter and roll it flat using a rolling pin. Flip it a couple of times to achieve the correct consistency. This may take hours to achieve but the results are worth it. Once you remove the layers of newspaper and plastic, you will have a pressed brick of potent hash.
Dry Sift Hash
This method is a very popular and relatively easy way to extract the hash. It is widely used in Morocco and, as the name implies, the hash will be extracted using a kind of a fine sieve. You have the option to use one screen with a very fine screen or you can use several boxes with different sized screens. The screen sizes become smaller towards the bottom where a large piece of parchment paper is placed to catch the sifted materials.
To do this method using multiple screens, first brush the plant material back and forth on the first screen to help separate the trichomes from the plant material. But because the first screen usually has the largest sieve, you will still see contaminants in the sifted material. Repeat the same steps on the next screens until you reach the last screen. When you are done sifting, you can collect your hash and press it to form a block.
One of the main goals when making hash is to make sure that you have good material to work with. If you try to make hash with immature plants, chances are that you will end up with a completely useless brick weed. Another thing you must remember when going through the different methods on how to make hash is to ensure that during the process of separating the trichome heads from the plants, they should be exposed to as little contaminants as possible. A good hash can range from brown, gold, white, and red. A green hash indicates that there are too many contaminants or plant materials on your product.
