This is a work in-progress. This is the closest I’ve come to high quality hash. But it pales in comparison to the best hash I’ve had in Amsterdam. That being said, it’s heads-and-shoulders above what I’ve gotten in Denver (where I live), and you can make it with trimmings and left-overs from a microgrow.

TL;DR: Collect kief, mix it with hot water (or tea), heat it, knead it.

In the Denver MMJ scene, we have a lot of stuff which is labeled “hash”. Bubblehash, earwax hash, butane hash oil, caviar. I haven’t been happy with any of it. It’s potent, but it doesn’t taste good. It gives me a quick-up-quick-down high that leaves me feeling icky. BHO is very nice, but nothing like what I know of as hash, and is difficult for a microgrower like me to produce. I’ve been trying to learn how it’s done in Lebanon, who’s blonde hash has always been the standard bearer in my eyes. I think I’ve come pretty close, although I ended up being closer to Moroccan hash.

Background

Most real hash is made from kief, which is a large amount on the trichomes from the marijuana plant. The quality of the hash is related to the quality of the kief. The quality of the kief is controlled by how pure it is. If you have a lot of plant matter in the kief, it comes out green and less potent. A finer kief won’t have any plant material. The best kief only has the bulbous head of the trichome because the head is supposed to be more potent than the stalk. Personally, I prefer to get more volume with less potent hash, so I intentionally let some plant material get in.

The kief is turned into hash by a process that includes 2 big steps; heat the kief and break it up. Heating converts some of the THC into a more active form. A slow heating converts it more completely, so you get more of the pleasant, long-lasting high. (nb; I’m not a chemist, but others on the interwebs call this “decarboxylating”) This is why some people don’t like the high from bubblehash. It hasn’t been converted properly, and a direct heat from a lighter doesn’t convert efficiently.

The other step is to break up the trichomes. This causes the hash to stick together properly, and give it that elastic/gooey feel. This isn’t critical, but I like the taste and texture it gave it. If you prefer a more cake-like texture, you can leave out the final kneading.

Middle Eastern Hash Making

Every area of the middle east has their own hash. Some collect the in screens, and then smash the kief. Others rub the buds between their hands and then scrape their hands. Others dry the plants whole, then pound them and collect the resulting tar. This method is based on Moroccan hash, which uses a screen, smashes the kief, then mixes it with hot tea. Actually, I’m not 100% sure of where it comes from…I think Morocco. The literature on the web is inconsistent. The tea gives the hash a very nice spicy flavor and is more reminiscent of the best hashes. My method does the mixing before the smashing, but is otherwise very similar.

Step One – Collect Kief

You’ll need at least a gram of kief. Most people have a grinder with a kief collector, but these don’t really collect a lot. This step will take you through collecting enough kief.

You can use bubblehash bags for this. What’s being called bubblehash is really just pressed kief. For real hash, you need to start with kief, so first making bubblehash makes sense. Just skip the pressing procedure because loose kief is easier to work with. If you are using bubblehash, you can skip to the next step. For everyone else…

You’ll need at least 1/4oz of dried trim or 1/8oz of shake. Try not to use too many fan leaves, since these don’t have trichomes on them.

Tools

One silkscreen, 110 mesh or higher. The mesh is the number of threads per inch. A lower mesh allows more vegetable matter in. The higher the mesh, the higher quality the hash, but the less volume you get. 110 seems to be a good starting point.

A tray large enough to fit the screen on.

A credit card, preferably one you don’t plan on using again.

Dry and freeze your trim and/or shake. Dump it on the screen. Don’t dump too much on, work in batches if necessary, or else you’ll get a lot of dropped leaves in your kief.

Starting with your fingers, loosen the buds until you have a consistent shake.

With the credit card, scrape the bud against the screen, acting like you’re trying to squeeze it through. Kief will fall off the leaves invisibly, and collect on the tray. Don’t expect to see much. The longer and harder you scrape, the more kief you will get, but the more plant matter will also fall in. A little practice and you’ll get the quality you are looking for.

You’ll know you’re done when the bud is all crumbly with a texture like rubbed sage. If you’re into smoking huge joints, this stuff is awesome. It’ll get you high, but you have to smoke a lot. And it makes wonderful joints.

Scrape the kief into a pile using the credit card. If you spilled any leaves in, pick them out. Dump the remaining bud into a jar ot baggie, you can use it to cook with or make qwiso. If you have more bud, repeat the process until you’ve used all the bud and have a decent quantity of kief.

Making the Hash

Tools

1 small pot of very strong, very hot tea. I’ve tried black and mint tea (black tea w/ spearmint leaves), and both worked very well. The mint was a little nicer.

1 small bowl. I use a custard cup (they come 4 to a pack in your supermarket’s utensils section)

1 metal spoon which you don’t mind ruining

1 lighter

Collect all the kief into the bowl.

Add a couple small drops of tea. It only needs a couple drops per gram, don’t overdo it.

With your fingers, mix the tea in and collect it into a pile. The pile should be the texture of wet sand. If you squeeze it, water should come out. If it’s too dry, add another few drops. If it’s too wet, let it evaporate and come back later.

Work the pile into a ball. Put the ball onto the spoon and heat it with the lighter. Ideally, you want to raise the temperature to between 185F and 250F. Since water boils at 212F, let it get hot enough to steam a little, then turn it and work on another side. When it’s heated evenly through, remove it from the heat. You can also do this with a microwave, but I found that method to be very touchy.

Knead the ball in your fingers. I like to use a folding motion. The ball will get a smooth, elastic feel. When it’s all nice and smooth, you’re done!