Making hash is an excellent way of preserving your valuable kief, which is the resinous substance found in the trichomes of the cannabis plant. Kief contains high concentrations of cannabinoids like THC and CBD, and turning kief into hash makes sure it doesn’t go to waste. Plus, hash is easy to store and keeps kief fresher for longer.
“How is hash made?” you ask? It’s easier than you think. In this post, we’ll walk you through how to make hashish, step by step.
[But just in case you wanted to skip making your own hash and get it from the professionals, check out Budmail’s fine hash menu here].
How is hash made?
Some people use the words “hash” and “marijuana” interchangeably, and while both come from the cannabis plant, they’re not the same.
Joints are “cannabis cigarettes” typically rolled with the dried buds, leaves, and (sometimes) stems of the plant, whereas hash is derived from kief.
What is kief?
If you’d like a comprehensive explanation of kief, our “What is Kief & How to Use It” article is an excellent place to start. Suffice it to say that kief is a resin naturally produced by the cannabis plant for self-protection.
Kief is produced by trichomes on the buds of the plant when it starts flowering. You’ll find these trichomes primarily on the buds and leaves.
Kief serves a twofold purpose:
- Contains a high concentration of cannabinoids that keep the plant healthy by fighting off fungi and bacteria
- Makes the plant unpalatable to hungry insects
Separating the trichomes and the resin from the plant gives us kief.
What’s so special about kief?
Your typical bud has a THC content of up to 25%, whereas kief’s THC content can be as high as 70%.
Kief is, therefore, a far more concentrated product and produces a more potent high. Hash & kief are the original forms of weed concentrates, which have since transformed into a variety of other products.
What is hash?
Hash is a processed form of Kief. Kief, in its natural state, consists of fine crystals. It’s easy to use, but very light. If you’re not careful, you might accidentally blow it away if you breathe out too hard.
You could smoke hash on its own, but it’s not easy. Most users choose to smoke it on a bed of ground buds or leaves. Some prefer adding it to butter or even their morning cup of coffee. The point is that it’s not very useful on its own.
Hash is much easier to use and store than the kief from which it’s processed. There are a few different ways you can go about making hash, but they all leave you with a solid block of hashish. It’s highly concentrated and more potent than plain buds.
Simply store it in an airtight container until you want to use it. Just slice off a piece and add it to your bowl or joint. It’s a dense, putty-like substance that won’t blow away easily. Once you learn how to make hash from kief, you won’t want to go back!
Making hash by walking the walk
This method is a simple way to make water hash. The quantities you can make are limited, but it doesn’t get much more accessible.
You’ll want to use five grams of kief at most. Wrap the powder in parchment paper, then cover it with a few layers of cellophane. The package should be wholly enveloped, compressed, and tightly sealed.
Wrap it with tape to prevent it from coming undone. Finally, use a needle to prick a tiny hole in it. This hole gives trapped air a way out.
Place the package in your shoe, put the shoe on, and go about your day.
Making hash this way takes anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes. The longer you leave it in, the better.
How to make hash by hand
This method is always available for those without a hash press. Be warned, though: it takes some effort. You should stick to fresh kief of medium to high quality if you plan on using this method. You’ll know your kief is the right type if it’s beige or tan in colour. Anything with a green tint will be harder to mould into hash.
Start with a small amount that fits comfortably in your hand. Clasp your hands tightly until your body heat starts to make the kief sticky. Carefully rub your hands together, applying pressure until you feel a change in density. Start slowly so that you don’t lose any of the powder.
Carry on working it until it forms a solid mass. If it doesn’t come together despite your best efforts, it might mean the kief was too old. As a last-ditch attempt, wrap it in parchment paper and a cotton dishtowel. Using your iron at its very lowest setting, press each side for a few seconds.
This process should warm it enough to make it sticky again.
Using a hot water bottle
This method also requires a high-quality product at the start. It works best with completely dry kief. You’ll need a clean, empty wine bottle and boiling water. Gather the crystals and wrap them in parchment paper.
Fill the bottle three-quarters of the way with boiling water and let it cool for about five minutes. Put the bottle on top of the package of resin and leave it there for a minute. Look at the colour of the resin. Is it changing quickly, or not at all? If it changes rapidly, that means it’ll be easy to work. If not, you’ll need to put in more effort.
Seal the bottle and remove it. Using a heat-resistant glove, hold the neck of the bottle and gently roll it over the package. Roll the bottle over a few times, applying a little more pressure each time. Flip the package and repeat it.
When the resin is flat, open the package and look at it. It should be shiny and sticky. Remove it from the package and fold it in half. Put it back into the package and roll the wine bottle over it a few more times. Flip and repeat.
When you’ve got it flattened out again, remove the packaging and fold the resin. Now roll it in your hands into the desired shape.
How is hash made using a machine?
Making hash is easy with a machine—in this case, a mechanical press. You’ll package the mixture just as you do when putting it in your shoe. The difference here is that you can press more at once.
A bookbinding press is ideal for this method. If you’re mechanically minded, look on YouTube for ideas on how to make a press with a hydraulic jack. These machines allow for higher torque.
You simply apply pressure, release, and repeat until you get the desired results.
If a hydraulic press isn’t within your budget, think creatively. A pasta machine or die-cutting machine might be a cheap and workable alternative. You might even use a set of vice grips or a simple pollen press.
What counts here is how much pressure you’re able to apply. The more pressure you apply, the better the results will be.
The water and ice method
Would you like to learn how to make hash from trimmings? Your high-speed blender and a silkscreen might be all you need.
Put the trimmings into the blender. Cover them with water and top the blender up with ice. Blend for about 60 seconds.
Drain the mixture through your silkscreen into a jar and allow it to settle for half an hour. The trichomes will sink to the bottom. Scoop out the water and top the jar up with ice water again. Drain this mixture through the silkscreen again and let settle for ten minutes.
Scoop out the water and repeat four or five times. Finally, strain the liquid through a coffee filter. Squeeze out as much of the excess water as possible and compress the kief.
Allow it to dry, then apply any of the methods above to make it into hash.
Other ways to make hash
The dry ice method makes a high-quality hash. The resulting product will be easy to work using any method you prefer.
For this, you’ll need safety goggles, gloves, dry ice, bubble bags, and a bucket. Bear in mind you’ll be upending the bucket later, so don’t make it too big.
If you want the highest quality resin, you should use a 73μm bag. For a wider variety of hash, you’ll definitely want to go for the bubble hash method below, which uses bags of different filtration capacities.
Dry ice is ideal for this method because it doesn’t cause humidity. The ice turns to gas immediately (a process called “sublimation”), and the cold causes the resin to separate. Using dry ice requires extra safety precautions. Don’t touch the ice and stay in a well-ventilated area. Don’t seal the lid of the dry ice container.
When you’re ready, dump your cannabis into the bucket of dry ice. Now take the bubble bag and open it. Secure the open bag to the top of the bucket by taping it on. The bag should cover the top of the bucket snugly so that nothing escapes when you upend the bucket.
Lay a sheet of parchment paper onto a large tray. Turn the bucket over the surface. The bag should catch the weed and dry ice. Don’t touch the bag. You’ll see what looks like dust floating from the bag onto the surface. Shake the bucket a little to shift the contents and release more “dust.”
Keep shaking the bag until no more dust comes out, then set it aside and start working on your resin. Use an old credit card to scrape together the particles. They’re fresh, so they should still be reasonably sticky.
Wrap them in parchment paper and place them in a pollen press to make them into hash. Alternatively, choose any of the methods we’ve discussed above to get the job done. Working such fresh crystals with your hands is easy enough, but a little messy.
If it’s too messy, consider using the shoe method instead.
How to make bubble hash
Bubble hash image courtesy of Weedmaps.
If you wanted to know how to make hash from shake, then this method might interest you. Making bubble hash is a relatively simple, modern technique. It might not be worth the effort for the odd bud or two, but if you’ve got an abundant harvest to process, you’ll love the simplicity.
You’ll need three to four bubble or mesh bags with differently sized holes, shake or trimmings, ice water, two buckets, and a wooden spoon.
Place the mesh bags into one bucket. Secure the bag with the finest mesh first to the lip of the bucket, leaving space at the bottom for the water. Now place the bag with the next finest layer of mesh inside.
Secure this one a little higher up along the side, leaving a space between it and the first mesh bag. Repeat with the remaining bags and set aside.
Put your weed into one of the buckets and top it up with ice, then add enough water to cover the cannabis. Stir it for at least 15 minutes. The icy water makes the trichomes brittle and loose. The stirring breaks them off.
Pour the mixture into the bucket with the mesh bags. Let the water drain for 15 minutes before removing the top mesh bag. Shake the bag and let it drain a bit more. Hold it open above the bucket and rinse it with more ice water. Shake it again and let it drain. Set it to one side.
Take the next bag and follow the same steps. Repeat this process until you’ve taken all the bags out. Either discard the water or set it aside to restrain later.
Keep each bag separate. The bag that has the finest mesh contains the best quality product. This will be the easiest to press and process.
The uppermost bag has the lowest quality kief in it. It’ll be harder to process but could still be worth your while. You might allow it to dry entirely and smoke it as is.
Turn out the substances from each bag and press or allow them to dry.
For more info on bubble hash, click here and if you don’t have the time or enough kief to make your own hash, check out Budmail’s selection of fine hash here.
