Have you ever wanted to feel like a minor character from a Quentin Tarantino movie? Though the prospect of submerging something into ice cold water and then agitating it profusely may sound like a cut scene from Pulp Fiction, it’s in fact the central conceit behind bubble hash.
In any form, hash is defined as the extracted resin glands or trichomes of the cannabis plant. Kief refers to trichomes that have been removed from the flower — it’s the stuff that accumulates at the bottom of some grinders. Some hash is extracted by means of a dry sift, while there’s also a process involving dry ice. With bubble hash, the resin glands are extracted by freezing cannabis bud or trim in ice water. With the glands frozen, they can be removed from the flower product and cured for consumption.
Despite the fact that humans have been consuming cannabis in some form or another for centuries (scientists recently found evidence of marijuana use dating back to 500 B.C.), bubble hash has only become popular in Western civilization in the past 30 years or so. Though not without its own fair share of complexities, this form of extraction has gained popularity for its ability to retain potency and because it doesn’t require any exotic or industrial materials to produce.
So, What Do You Need to Make Bubble Hash?
Bottom line, these are the things you really must have to make bubble hash:
- Cannabis buds or trim
- Fine-mesh micron bags
- Ice water
- Two buckets
Some folks will probably want to invest in micron bags specifically designed with bubble hash extraction in mind. You can find sets online that come as a package of five bags or eight. Either will be fine! As far as buds and trim are concerned, that’s your call to make. The trichomes extracted from full flower buds will almost assuredly produce more potent hash, but the convenience (and lower price point) of using excess trim is also quite appealing.
How Do You Make Bubble Hash?
- Put your ice water into one of your buckets and add in your buds or trim. The goal is to make sure that all of your cannabis product is fully submerged.
- Stir or beat the mixture to separate frozen trichomes out from the flower. Trichomes can be delicate so you’ll need to be careful here.
- Pour your mixture into the first micron bag, which will be the one with meshing that allows for non-resin materials to pass through, leaving you with kief of various sizes. That’s where the other bags come in, each of which features a slightly more refined mesh than the last. Sift your mixture through all of your bags, using your second bucket to catch any excess water or plant material.
- Each bag must now be left to dry or cure. The bags should all be laid out separately (ideally on a non-stick surface) until they are fully dry.
- Congratulations, you now have bubble hash!
If you’re wondering what to do with your new stash of hash, most folks find rolling the substance into a ball or flattening it out into a sheet works well. As for how to consume it, the possibilities are seemingly endless. If you favor a classic approach, take a piece and crumble it over flower before rolling that into a joint.
Tips for Success
The primary thing to remember here is that cold is key. You’ll want to make your bubble hash in a room that isn’t warm — and with water that is truly icy — to ensure the trichomes properly freeze. Extracting them frozen is difficult enough, we assure you!
Don’t bail on your hash if you don’t nail it the first time! Even though “practice makes perfect” is a lesson no one needs to hear again, it really does apply in this case. That said, even bubble hash that notably disappoints when smoked can still often be salvaged as the basis for edibles. Get high from your mistakes is the lesson here.
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