The Hashashin’s Guide to Homemade Hash
If you’re reading this, you are about to be initiated into the secret stoner society of Hashashins and soon you’ll be savoring the pleasures of homemade hash.
Welcome to the circle. No need for any blood oaths or ritual sacrifice. In fact, you won’t need any solvents or have to handle anything flammable, either.
To become a Hashashin, all you need to get started are some dry trim leaves/popcorn buds and a minimalist kit. A hash shaker is an absolute must buy and so is a hand press if you want to mint your own cannabis currency and produce a collection of hash coins. Other items to complete your homemade hash kit include a working freezer, a good-size lunch box, one roll of non-stick baking paper, and a pair of gloves to keep your hands warm is a recommended optional extra.
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Read also: From Trash to Stash: How to Put Your Trim to Good Use
Hash, also called hashish, refers to substances made from the kief of the cannabis plant.
How to Shake ’N Bake
I like a big shaker, preferably the kind you really need to grip with two hands to give it a vigorous shake. Ideally, you want a hash shaker with capacity for 10 grams or more of raw material. But if you are working with a smaller shaker you can still get great results with more frequent, less-packed loads.
Above all, the raw material must be sticky green. Fan leaves and stems won’t work and will likely damage the screen in the shaker so don’t even bother. Only frosty trim leaves and smaller popcorn size buds are suitable for shaking. The objective is to harvest the maximum yield of crystal from the harvest leftovers. Fortunately, the process for transmuting the trim into top shelf is not an alchemical magic trick — it’s easy.
- Freeze the trim in a lunch box. If you’re not in a rush you can leave a securely sealed lunch box full of trim leaves and popcorn buds in the freezer for six months with no deterioration. But if it’s just been dried post-harvest, at least 48 hours in the freezer is recommended. By freezing the resinous raw material, we are making the trichomes much easier to dislodge, which is key to the success of this method. Handle with care and wear latex gloves like you would at harvest if possible.
- Friction will free the frozen resin heads, then they will filter through the fine micron screen into the capture area in the base of the shaker. To make the magic happen, simply load the shaker with frosty trim directly from the lunch box, reseal, and shake like hell. When reloading put the hash shaker in the freezer for at least 45 minutes between shaking sessions. Always reseal the lunch box and return it to the freezer. Don’t forget and let the stash defrost while you’re busy shaking.
Read also: How to Make Rosin and Dry Sift Out of Your Home-Grown Bud and Trim
No need to overdo it. Two minutes of furious shaking is long enough before it’s time to stop and reload. Shaking for too long can be counterproductive with more plant material penetrating the screen. Blonde to sandy sugar is what we want to see. Greenish pollen in the base of the shaker is disappointing and a sign you’ve shaken a load too much. At this point you are probably wishing you paid attention when I suggested gloves. The good news is nobody has yet lost a finger to frostbite from this method. - Carefully unscrew the base of the hash shaker to reveal the hash return. Inside you should find a considerable pile of kief has accumulated after a few rounds of shaking. Ten to 20 per cent returns on high quality trim and small buds is to be expected. This stash is ready to smoke. A coat of moon dust will make your joints even more interstellar. Shake ’N Bake. However, you should resist the urge to dip excessively into the crystal carpet and save most of it for pressing instead.
Hash is usually formed and pressed into a block or ball of hard or doughy resin, while hash oil is the liquid accumulated from the trichomes.
Pressing Hash Coins and Pucks
Roll out a sheet of baking paper across the table and prepare to press some hash coins and pucks. Carefully scoop the pollen up from the base of the shaker with some roach paper for a shovel and fill up that press. Pop the weight or block back on top. Then twist firmly to compact the crystals into a solid coin or puck. Most hand presses these days are very easy to use and some have impressive capacities.
Read also: The Art of Curing Your Cannabis Crop
In practice one-gram and two-gram hash coins are relatively simple to press, but the much chunkier five-gram hash pucks are quite challenging to press by hand.
Pressing hash coins requires a steady hand and you also need to be able to apply sufficient force when twisting the press to compress the pollen into a pristine coin.
By the second or third attempt you’ll have pressed at least one piece of cannabis currency you can be proud of and some of you will press stacks when you get the hang of the process. Best of all, hash has a fantastic shelf life and can be cured for years aging like a fine wine.
Alternative Logging
If pressing is too challenging, or you plan to shake a significant quantity of trim, then there’s an alternative. The humble log shaped lump of hash can be molded by filling a standard plastic coin bag, the typical kind you get at the bank, about one-fifth of the way with pollen. Now you must be prepared to accept some minor attrition for pollen that gets stuck inside the baggie.
By simply compressing and rolling the pollen powder back and forth you can eventually get it to come together in a decent size cylinder of hash. This might take a day or two of occasional firm thumb presses and rolling of the lump to complete.
But if you have a little patience you can press 14 grams of hash into shape. Just turn the bag inside out to retrieve your log of hash. It might not be as neat as a hash coin but its still a very portable and storable stash.
