If you’re a cannabis enthusiast, you probably have a few favourite ways to enjoy it. You may prefer smoking it, using it in edibles or tinctures, or even applying it topically. But if you’re looking for something new and exciting, try making your own hash!
With the right tools and ingredients, making your own hash is easy and fun. Plus, when you make your own hash at home, you can control the quality of the product. You know exactly how much solvent was used, how long it was heated for—even what kind of material was used to make the final product.
But why should you make your own hash?
Here are just a few reasons:
- It saves money! By making your own hash at home with quality ingredients like trim and kief (the resinous trichome heads found on marijuana plants), you can save up to 80% over buying commercial products from dispensaries. This means more cash in your pocket!
- You can customise flavours! Whether you like citrusy flavours or earthy ones (or both!), there are endless options for creating unique blends that fit your tastes perfectly. The sky’s the limit!
- You can create special blends for specific uses! If you’re looking for something to relax with at the end of a long day, try making some hash that contains indica-dominant strains. CBD-infused products are great for treating pain, while sativa-based hash is said to have energising effects.
At its most basic level, hashish can be made by rubbing buds between your hands over a piece of cloth until they produce a sticky substance. This substance can then be pressed into a ball shape and dried out to make hashish. But if you want to take things up a notch, here are some tips for making your own hashish at home:
The process of making hashish is simple but labour-intensive. It takes several steps to get from a fresh nug to a rolled joint or a vaporised hit—and there are plenty of ways to mess it up along the way!
The first step is to harvest your plants and trim them down to just the flowers (the bud). Don’t worry about leaves—they won’t be used for this process. You’ll want about 2 ounces (56 grams) of trimmed buds per pound (454 grams) of finished hashish. The more buds you have, the less time you’ll spend pressing them into hash!
Once you’ve got your trim ready, break it up into small pieces and place it into a grinder. Grind until all of your trim has been reduced to powdery dust—this will make the next step easier on both your hands and wrists!
Next, put your powder in a large bowl and add just enough water to form a paste. You don’t want it too wet or too dry—a good rule of thumb is about one part powder to two parts water. This will make it easier for you to knead the mixture into a ball that can be pressed later on.
When you’ve got your paste ready, transfer it to a piece of parchment paper and start kneading! You’ll want to work it for about five minutes—this will help release some of the oils from the leaves, making them easier to extract later on. Once you’ve finished kneading, wrap up your ball of hashish in plastic wrap or aluminium foil and set it aside for 24 hours.
This will allow the mixture to settle and for the oil from the leaves to seep out. After 24 hours, unwrap your ball of hashish and place it on a flat surface. Using a rolling pin or your hands, begin pressing down firmly—you’ll want to continue doing this for about 15 minutes (or until your paste starts getting stiff).
This will help extract any remaining oil from the leaves, which will make your hash stronger. Once you’ve finished pressing, wrap up your ball of hashish in plastic wrap or aluminium foil and set it aside for another 24 hours. After 24 hours, unwrap your ball and place it on a flat surface once again. This time, use a knife to cut off pieces that are about an inch square—this will be easier if you wet the knife first.
Once you’ve cut off your pieces, roll them between your fingers to form balls about the size of blueberries. Now that you have a handful of hashish balls, all that’s left is to let them dry out in an airtight container for another 24 hours or so.
When the 24 hours are up, you’ll have a handful of perfectly-formed hashish balls. To use them, simply crumble one up into your joint or pipe and enjoy!