We wrote this one back in 2020...
"Some people call it “connoisseur grade”, a high-end "luxury product", or “boutique-bud”, but we just call it hash. Hash the way hash is meant to be made. The rest of what's bought and sold in today's market, is largely the mid-grade results of corporatism, sucking quality right out of Cali's recreational market and its endless bureaucracy. And with the high price investment of closed-loop butane extraction labs and equipment, (and the enormous profit margins for BHO) brands have dug their heels in and resisted the solventless revolution.
But this is not another trend, it's cannabis the way it's meant to be and consumers should demand nothing less. Gone are the days when vastly different priced butane extracts made sense. They all fail to compare with the quality and cannabis flower necessary to produce modern solventless hash. Instead, BHO should sell for half its current cost, with a standard price range that reflects the inputs and final product. As demand increases for solventless hash, so will the supply. The increased demand will force brands to go solventless or sink, and provide consumers more for less."
Back to Hash
The idea of ice-water hash is to isolate and preserve only the very tip or "head" of each cannabis trichome as seen pictured below:
This process was made possible by freezing cannabis immediately after harvest to preserve as many terpenes as possible, which naturally degrade over time. It's said nearly 80% of terpenes are depleted during the drying stage alone. This technique was developed for hydrocarbon B.H.O. (butane hash oil) extracts to make live resins, but has helped solventless hash to reach new heights.
Borrowing the fresh-frozen technique, raw cannabis is submerged in water and ice. The cannabis is gently mixed in the water as trichomes break free from the plant material. In theory, only the round heads of each trichome will break free, leaving their stems and everything else behind. Thanks to the non-water solubility of cannabis trichomes, the heads sink in the water while the plant material floats. This natural separation of debris and plant material from trichomes, led to our eventual breakthroughs in the art of refinement or extraction.
Using mesh screens, often referred to as "bubble bags," they are stacked in descending order allowing the finer material to pass through the first few larger sized micron screens, but are caught before falling through the finer micron screens toward the bottom. The trick is to isolate only the round trichome heads, filtering out all the plant material including trichome stems. The valuable trichome heads contain a full-profile of terpenes and cannabinoids (THCa) in the same ratio as Mother Nature intended.
Some cannabis varietals, or strains, develop bigger trichome heads than others. Getting to know their genetic library allows producers to understand and gauge the average size of trichome heads for different strains or varieties of cannabis they grow. This means that some varieties of cannabis retain the greatest trichome heads in the 120u micron size, while others produce better from the 90 micron sized screens.
Next time you see a tray or a jar of white, sand-looking, cannabis hash, you can know you are looking at tens of thousands of isolated trichome heads piled on top of each other. While appearing to be a loose sand in the jar, these trichome heads bond to one another in a surprisingly firm and stationary extract. From there, you can scoop and dab, or elect to press the hash between parchment paper in order to better gauge the amount or size of each dab. After pressing the hash in parchment it can be cut into small squares, called "flags", which are then dabbed as normal, albeit at greatly reduced dabbing temperatures.
Regardless of how it is consumed, there is no better extract made anywhere on Earth. Ice-water hash is the pinnacle achievement in hashish, combining generations of information to achieve full-melt, 6-star, ice-water hash. Below is a perfect example of ice-hash naturally turning to an oil as it reaches room temp:
Just as traditional Fresh Press Live Rosin cures and budders the first time it reaches room temperature, Ice Water Hash "greases down" to create an all natural oil of the highest quality. However, unlike fresh press rosin that can be brought back to life with the #baddertech, a dry ice water hash has no remedy. Once greased, the next step is drying out, which will occur even under constant refrigeration. To preserve ice water hash it requires freezing between uses.
This is what makes ice water hash so hard to deliver. A fresh and frozen ice water hash will immediately coat the inside of the jar with a sprinkling of the sand-like texture, instantly sticking and turning to oil everywhere in the jar. An oil that is firm and will not settle back down in the jar.
Ice Water Hash Jam
Hence the ingenuity of our latest creation: Ice Water Hash Jam. It doesn't grease down, as it comes in a pre-greased consistency and it doesn't dry out even at room temperature! This allows it to be shipped and even when it goes everywhere in the jar, the stable nature allows the jar to sit out overnight where it will drain back into the bottom of the jar thanks to the Jam consistency. You will have to wait for another day before we reveal this brand new tech that took years of R&D.
Just like ice water hash, ice water hash jam requires lower dabbing temperatures to prevent burning of the outer cuticles or membranes of each trichome gland head. These membranes, any remaining trichome stems, and other debris is what the Rosin Press filters out, but at the cost of losing terpenes. In fact, the moment the trichome gland head ruptures, volatile terpenes off-gas and escape forever. Skipping the heat of the rosin press makes ice water hash a cold filtered, hand-made product.
Cannabis Mecca
While it's incredibly difficult to produce, harder to jar and store, tough to deliver, and tedious and difficult to dab, Ice Water Hash remains the mecca of cannabis. When hit just right, no other product or method delivers the euphoria or the perfect snapshot of flavor like Ice Water Hash. This is why it remains the premier product despite its difficulties. Those patient and willing will be rewarded with something tremendous. Certain farms can try all they want and they will never produce a six star Ice Water Hash. Our terroir is truly blessed by the Hash Gods and we love sharing it with you.
top quality rosin and top quality knowledge.
Thanks for all you do to spread the knowledge and connoisseur-level products where it's never been before, I appreciate all you do for the community. Keep up the good work brother.
I learned a lot here, can’t wait to try out some Jam! This also got me thinking what temps would you recommend running for the jam? Most of my dabs I run between the 480-510F range but curious if I would need to go lower for the jam?
Thanks so much for the Hash Jam education ! I was completely in the dark on the subject. Especially treating the Jam with kid gloves by using much lower temps to dab with. Without that knowledge, I would of burnt everything and never had the wonderful experience that I did ! I must say, the Jam is one of those once in a Lifetime Experiences ! If you ever get the opportunity, don’t even give it a second thought. Just hit the Buy It Now button IMMEDIATELY !!! YOU WON’T REGRET IT !!!
Great write up. Appreciate the knowledge you spread. A true legend.