Notes from Cultivator - LSO
Why hand trimmed cannabis?
Is hand trimmed cannabis superior to machine trimmed cannabis? It is all about process and how each process affects the finished product. Mechanical trimmers remove most if not all of the sugar leaf from the buds. This is why buds often look like peeled potatoes. Dry trimming also beats a fair amount of trichomes off the flowers, leaving this kief in the trimmings not on the flower. The sugar leaf contains the most cannabinoids on the plant after the calyxes, the seed cover. So by trimming the flowers down to the calyxes you lose not just some of the THC but also other cannabinoids. Although THC is the main cannabinoid in cannabis it is not what makes each stain unique. The total cannabinoids create the entourage effect that makes each strain unique. When properly hand trimmed, flowers supply the highest total cannabinoid profile that the plant has available. An experienced trimmer observes the plant and removes only the part of the sugar leaf that does not contribute to the highest values. So when considering which strain to try, look for one with a little leaf left on the buds and the highest percentage of total cannabinoids.
Total cannabinoids, what's the big deal?
The total cannabinoids are comprised of all the cannabinoids in a strain including the THC. Although THC is of interest to most people for its affects it is only one of many cannabinoids in a Cannabis strain. There are approximately 113 other cannabinoids in the Cannabis plant discovered so far and currently in Alaska only 9 are tested for. These are CBD, CBN, CBG, CBGA, THCA, CBDA, D-8THC, and THCVA and THC.
Why are these other cannabinoids important? They are important because the THC is the same molecule in every cannabis strain and if THC was the only thing in cannabis that affected the smoker then different strains with the same amount of THC would affect the smoker the same and this is not the case. Why?
The reason is simple. It is called Entourage effect and it is what makes a strain unique, along with the terpenes. This effect is the total cannabinoids interacting with each other to produce a strains unique character and interacts with your own body chemistry. It is why one person really likes a strain and another is not so impressed with the same strain.
In searching for the strains that are right for you, keep an eye on the total cannabinoids along with the THC%. If not listed ask your budtender. As a rule of thumb the other cannabinoids should not be lower then 2% and the higher the better. 4% or 5% for the other cannabinoids would be great and 6% would be the bomb for strains in general. If you want to dive deeper into the specific cannabinoids in a strain ask your budtender for a copy of the lab report, it will list the other cannabinoids and terpenes if they were included, for that harvest batch. With this in mind you can look for stains that work best for you and make your cannabis experience the best it can be.
The red pill or the blue pill?
Most people are constantly evaluating a strain by looking at the percentage of THC in a strain. This approach makes little sense and the reason is simple. The THC in cannabis is the same molecule in all of the cannabis plants and although it is a key component to feeling high it is not what distinguishes one strain from another from a consumer's viewpoint. The real question for the individual is "Do I want to feel really high or do I want to feel really good?". Because feeling high and feeling good are two different things although it is possible to feel both at the same time.
It is a good idea to ask yourself what you want to experience when consuming. Do you need to medicate for health reasons like pain or sleep or perhaps anxiety? Are you looking to relax and be a couch potato for the evening? Are you going out and look forward to socializing? Do you need to get busy and accomplish some tasks? Are you looking for a creative boost? Do you want to get blown to oblivion and then come crashing down or do you want to relax and enjoy the small details that make your everyday life meaningful. The environment you wish to create for yourself will determine which strain will work best for you.
Once you find a strain you can work with you also need to make note of the cultivator. Cultivators use different growing techniques and all inputs to the plant help determine what the cannabinoid and terpene profiles look like in the end. This can take a bit of time and effort but can be well worth it in the end. So you have a choice. Take the red pill and buy it like it is being sold using the THC # to pick your strains or take the blue pill and open up to the reality of the cannabis plant and your relationship to it.
Who is the cultivator?
Who cultivated that cannabis? The importance of the cultivator to the final product is one of the most valuable pieces of information a consumer can have when deciding what product to purchase, not the strain nor the THC%. Let's talk about the strains to start. Strains with the same name but grown by different cultivators can very quite a bit. The reason being that lots of strains have been around for years and as they are grown there is a natural genetic shift that occurs over time. This is caused by the plant responding to its environment, where and how it is grown. This shift starts at the seed cultivator growing the same strain over and over. Then that seed is passed to the cultivator who will produce the final product.
How that cultivator applies their growing techniques to the plant has a tremendous effect. Is it grown in soil or hydroponics, how much and what nutrients were used. How well was the plant grown, was it very healthy or marginal? At what point in its life was it harvested? What type of soil was it grown in? All this and more that you cannot see determines the overall quality of the high you will experience.
So once you find a strain you like, look for the cultivators name. If you liked that particular strain you will most likely find their other strains to be equally enjoyable, no matter what the THC% is. This is not to say that you should not try other cultivators as there are more than just one good cultivator.
My curing process creates a top shelf flower that is a smokers pleasure. Colors vary from a golden dark green color to a dark brown hue depending on the strain being cured. Not only beautiful in color, you will find no more harsh feeling highs or burning throats. Our goal is a mellow, enjoyable smoking experience.
This process removes the chlorophyll, lipids, and waxes that may persist in the flowers after harvest creating flower of the highest quality. But that is just the start. With the unwanted by products removed while leaving the Cannabinoids and Terpenes in the flowers you may find a more blissful high. Because in the end it is not about how high you feel, it is about how good you feel.
Red apples or green apples?
When it comes to apples most people have a preference, red or green apples. Although each one has its health advantages it usually comes down to personal preferences. This is a similar situation when it comes to cannabis. The choice here is between green flowers and brown flowers. Brown flowers you may be asking yourself? Yes brown flowers. In the past brown flowers were more prevalent although today only a few growers still produce flower of this quality. Brown flowers are produced by a long slow curing process. This process helps remove unwanted compounds found in the plant like Chlorophyll, waxes and lipids that have no benefits to the consumer. This helps create a smoother more enjoyable smoke.
It is similar to tobacco. The tobacco leaves when harvested are green. I know of no one who smokes these leaves when green. The leaves are slowly dried until they are a golden brown, or cured. They are then ready to smoke. The loss of this traditional technique within the cannabis community has left the marketplace with little of this well cured product.
The golden color of Acapulco Gold and the dark green brown of Thai Sticks were products of the curing process used in those locals. Local indigenous cultures had learned that curing was an important step in producing a quality smoke and had taken the time to make the most of the cannabis they grew.
Time of day and frame of mind
A cannabis strain not only affects you in certain ways when you smoke it but you also effect the cannabis strain. Our experience each time is a synergy of the strain and where we are and how we feel at that time. Have you ever smoked a strain and found it affected you in very different ways when you consumed it at different times? Morning versus evening or when on vacation or just hanging around the house? Pumped up at the time or feeling down in the dumps?
It is good to remember that you bring something to the cannabis experience so you can get the most from what you consume. Perhaps you would feel better If you smoked early in the morning and not at night? Or perhaps reversed? Maybe consume for the first time at noon? Perhaps wait an hour for a better frame of mind? It seems to me that cannabis accentuates how you feel at the time so do you want more of how you feel or less? Everyone is different, maybe you should smoke continually or perhaps just once or twice a week. The message here is Know Yourself.
It is not about how high you feel, it is about how good you feel
The cannabinoids and terpenes make up the parts of cannabis that show promise for treating a large variety of conditions and ailments along with determining how the THC is experienced when being consumed. THC is the same in every strain of cannabis but with the addition of different terpenes and cannabinoids you can find a variety of different highs or medicinal effects. Terpenes are about flavor and for medical users, symptom specific. For recreational users the total cannabinoids are important. Look for a total cannabinoid # that is 2 to 4 points higher than the THC content. As an example a flower with a THC content of 18% should have a total cannabinoid content of 20% to 21.5% or higher.
There have been 113 cannabinoids and 200 terpenes discovered in cannabis to date, each with their own potential. The information on these chemicals is quite extensive and to much to list here.
A bit of Preroll History
There are a lot of prerolls in the market today. So how to tell a good one from a not so good one? I am not talking about what cannabis is in the preroll but the preroll itself. Let's start with a bit of history......
Almost every preroll you see today is a perolled cone. But it was not always so. In the 60’s everyone was rolling joints like a hand rolled cigarette. It was what we saw around us so that was how we acted. The cone showed up from Jamaica. It was the standard way to roll a joint there and had a logic to it. The goal was to have a joint that burned slow and cool. The cooler a joint burned the smoother the smoke and less cannabinoids were lost to the fire. But the cones of Jamaica were much different from the ones you see today. They were more like a funnel than a cone, very large on the big end, around an inch or so and tapered quickly to nothing on the toking end. It was an art to roll one well. Over time the “cone” became popular in the states.
Because in the 70’s joints were rolled like a hand rolled cigarette but did not have a filter like a regular cigarette so folks smoked that baby right to the very end. No Stoner would leave a toke behind! Trying to hold on to a lit joint to the end produced the tell tell sign of brown stained thumb and forefinger. That led to the discovery of the roach clip. A roach was the term for that last little bit of paper that was difficult to completely smoke. The roaches were saved for when there was nothing else to smoke. The basic model was a small alligator clip that would grip the end of the joint to spare your fingers but not so much your lips. All manner of decorative items were attached to the clip, beads and feathers and such. Soon came smoking stones and other devices to accomplish the same objective.
The first time I saw a paper crutch was in the early 80’s when a German friend of mine rolled a joint with one. He took half of a business card and rolled it up into a tube. Then he stuck the joint into the end and used another rolling paper to hold the two together! Great idea! No more carrying a clip around and no more singed lips. That was the beginning of the crutch we see today in perolled cones. A crutch, not a filter as some may call it, does not filter anything.
What makes a quality preroll? There are 3 things I believe make a great preroll. The grind, the pack and the filter.
First is the grind. It should be of medium particle size not to small and not to big and be as uniform as possible. If too fine and packed to tight the preroll will be hard to draw thru, like sucking on a straw in a thick milkshake. If the grind is inconsistent with large particles the burn will run down the side of the preroll leaving behind untouched cannabis. To fine a grind will also cause you to suck some cannabis thru the crutch as well and into your mouth.
Second the pack. As mentioned above if packed to tight the preroll will be difficult to draw thru no matter what size the grind is. If not packed tight enough the preroll could run or it will burn very hot from all of the air rushing through the joint. Like a blast furnace. It is not just harsh poorly cured cannabis that can make you cough but high temperature smoke can burn your throat as well. Worst of all a lightly packed preroll can have the cherry (the hot glowing ember) fall off of the end.
Then 3rd is the working end, the crutch or the filter. As stated above the crutch only saves your fingers and lips but contributes little to the quality of the smoke. A filter on the other hand improves the smoking experience immensely. Currently the only product available with a filter is a prerolled tube. The Kashmir tube with the star filter or the Raw tube with a full filter are the two best tubes available and both create a very smooth smoke. Some people who have not tried a filtered preroll think that a filter cuts down on the high but that is not so. You will experience the same effects smoking a preroll with a filter as with a crutch but with the added pleasant smoking experience. If you have not tried a filtered preroll ask for one at your favorite retailer. I predict you will be pleasantly surprised.
Like a knife to the throat
Who has not taken a big hit and seconds later almost coughed a lung up and felt that burning in your throat going right down into your lungs. A feeling like your throat has been cut with a knife. “Man that is some harsh shit” you would be thinking and possibly you are right or possibly there is another explanation.
One thing to consider is your lighter. The flame on these things are super hot, around 1400 deg. Yes that is correct, you are sucking on a 1400 deg. flame that is just inches away from your mouth. At these temperatures it is easy to burn your throat and wind pipe.
A lot of folks these days are smoking their cannabis in a pipe or bong. Pipes are great for this but not all pipes. Pipes that are made of materials that absorb heat are best. That would be ceramic, wood, metal or stone. Glass is resistant to being heated so not the best materiel.
The longer the stem on a pipe the better. This gives the smoke a chance to cool down some, especially if the pipe is made of a heat absorbing materiel. You may have seen some traditional pipes that have super long stems, there is a reason for that.
Cured cannabis can have different moisture contents just depending on how the cultivator cures it. In general a moister product will be more aromatic so more appealing to customers. But when a 1400 deg. flame hits moisture it turns to steam and steam can burn even quicker than hot dry air. You may find it beneficial to dry a more moist flower a bit before smoking, it could make a big difference.
How the cannabis is cured is a major factor in how well it smokes. A short, 2 or 3 weeks, green cure is not much help. A good cure, 2 months to 1 year, is ideal. This helps remove many of the unwanted compounds from your smoke. Things like chlorophyll, lipids, and waxes that occur naturally in the plant that can contribute to harsh smoking conditions. You do not see anyone smoking green tobacco or drinking coffee made from green beans because they are "fresh".
So what could a person do to make the smoking experience optimum?
First, smoking a pipe or preroll, do not over flame your cannabis. Pass the flame over the smoking materiel quickly or just at the edge of the bowl, just enough to light it. Those high temperatures also destroy some of the cannabinoids and terpenes. So keep it cool. Use a long stem pipe. Puff puff not big draws. Lots of air rushing over the embers creates a blast furnace that increase temperature dramatically. Chose a pipe made of the appropriate materiel or use a “cigarette holder” or a smoking stone for your prerolls when necessary.
Second don’t let the commercial growers tell you cannabis that is long cured is “old”. Cannabis only gets better the longer it is cured if cured properly. Some of the best cannabis is cured by fermentation and is brown to black in color and is prime smoking materiel. If you have not experienced a ferment cured cannabis you are missing out on a unique form of flower.