Pay attention that growing marijuana may be subject to special restrictions and regulation in your country or state. Please contact your attorney to obtain advice before cultivating cannabis.
Disclaimer
Pay attention that growing marijuana may be subject to special restrictions and regulation in your country or state. Please contact your attorney to obtain advice before cultivating cannabis.
After growing cannabis, it's time to harvest the crops. It might seem that all the work has already been completed; however, it’s not true at all. Now you have the significant task of preserving your crop and making it usable. But how to decarb weed in a right way?
What is decarboxylation?
Decarboxylation is the process of heating cannabis to activate the cannabinoids. Decarbing primarily targets inactive cannabinoids in plant trichomes. If you are consuming raw or dried crops, you are unlikely to feel any effect of THC. In addition, you cannot add weed to edibles or make tinctures and ointments from marijuana. The CBDA and THCA acids found in marijuana are not heady, although good for health. To get the CBD and THC, you need to remove the carboxyl group from the chemical constituent of your cannabis.
Ways of decarbing
Decarboxylation occurs when marijuana is exposed to heat, light, and solvents. It is something that you can cope with even in your kitchen.
The most crucial point to understand is that each cannabis strain is unique in its way, as it contains a certain amount of terpenes, cannabinoids, and more. And therefore, you will not be able to create an ideal controlled environment. After all, all people have different kitchen utensils, and your oven (for example) may have an inaccurate index when you specify average temperatures. And this is normal because practice decides everything. If you are a beginner, after a few such processes or "experiments," you will begin to understand when the cannabis is ready.
Heat-assisted decarboxylation process
Heat is the easiest way to control when it comes to the kitchen. Using the oven is very convenient, and the purpose of the process is to heat the crop at a low temperature. Despite the variety of strains that complicate the universal approach to the process, we have some recommendations.
- To obtain THC, you need to bake cannabis for 30-40 minutes at about 240˚F (115˚C).
- The process of extracting CBD from CBDA will take about 90 minutes at the same temperature.
- If you intend to decompose THC to CBN, you need to heat the marijuana for 3 hours at 240˚F (115˚C).
Some factors can undoubtedly affect decarboxylation, so it is worth considering some nuances.
- Control the temperature strictly. Extreme temperatures can destroy essential connections, so do not overheat cannabis. Examine the contents of your strain and find out in more detail what temperatures will be detrimental to the terpenes of your cannabis.
- Kitchen ovens of the same brand can vary in temperature by up to 10 degrees. A 10-degree difference can be critical for your cannabis. Our recommendation is to purchase an oven thermometer for accurate measurements. It is also worth reducing the number of oven door openings. It changes the temperature of the environment dramatically, which can complicate the whole process.
- A multicooker may also work fine for decarboxylation, but you will need a digital thermometer.
How to prepare a bud for decarboxylation?
The main problem is the issue of shedding cannabis. On the one hand, grinding can produce even pieces of marijuana and thus better control the heating process. But on the other hand, most of the trichomes will remain in your grinder, not on the deco.
Besides, small grinded pieces allow more chlorophyll to be absorbed. The component gives a bitter, earthy aftertaste and is not pleasant for everyone. We recommend manually chopping the cannabis to popcorn size and baking that way first.
Also, cannabis gives off an odor when heated. Of course, you can enjoy this scent, but it may disturb other residents or neighbors. To avoid that, you need to bake the marijuana in an airtight container.
How to store the finished product?
You can store cannabis in an airtight container in a cool place. However, do not forget to take care of the humidity. Too high levels of it can lead to mold. You can also choose a freezer as a storage place, which will effectively save the potency of cannabinoids.
Decarboxylation itself looks like an easy process at first, but take it responsibly. We think that decarbing has its charm of curiosity and experimentation, so if you're sure of what you're doing, it's worth trying something else. Perhaps, you will find more convenient ways for yourself.
