Cannabis concentrates run the gamut from liquid oils to extracts with a solid form. Hash is an age-old concentrate that can be traced back to ancient cultures in Morroco, Lebanon, and Afghanistan. Hash was made using rudimentary tools like hands compared to today’s standards. Pressed hash, in particular, is a convenient and potent cannabis product that can be found in dispensaries across the states.
What Is Pressed Hash?
Pressed hash is composed of trichomes from a properly cured cannabis flower bud. Trichomes are mainly found on cannabis flower and contain therapeutic chemical compounds like cannabinoids and terpenes. Cannabinoids and terpenes are responsible for the effects and aroma of a cannabis strain, which differs between strains. Essentially, pressed hash is a compressed trichomes in solid form.
Pressed hash can vary in colors. Generally, pressed hash ranges between a light and yellow hue to a dark brown color. Lighter-colored hash typically contains less plant material than pressed hash that features dark colors. In terms of smells, pressed hash can feature smells that range between spicy and floral to diesel and cheesy scents.
How Is Pressed Hash Made?
High-quality pressed hash starts off with properly cured cannabis buds. Hash can be made using a sieving method. Raw cannabis material is filtered through a mesh to separate the resinous and sticky trichomes on female cannabis plants. Trichomes fall through the mesh leaving behind pure trichomes, also known as kief. Afterward, kief can be pressed into pressed hash using a mechanical press to fuse trichomes together.
Pressed hash-makers have been known to use vice grips, machine presses, or their hands to assemble resin glands into a portable object. The presses are used to apply heat and pressure onto kief or dry-sift hash to make dense slabs that contain a high concentration of cannabinoids like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which can have sedating and hallucinogenic effects.
How To Use Pressed Hash
Pressed hash can be consumed through a variety of methods including smoking, vaping, or consuming it as an edible. Pressed hash can be added on top of a packed bowl on sprinkled inside the contents of a joint. This type of concentrate can also be used with a dab rig. Keep in mind, pressed hash has a high THC concentration which can make some first-time users feel overwhelmed, paranoid, and anxious.
Like any other cannabis product, pressed hash can degrade in quality from exposure to heat, light, and oxygen. Consumers should store their pressed hash in an airtight and UV-protected container to maintain their product pliable and soft, not difficult to break apart.
Pressed hash has many benefits over other cannabis products and concentrates. For one, pressed hash is easy to transport and store compared to loose kief. Additionally, making pressed hash required no solvents like other concentrates. Pressed hash can be a great product for those looking for supreme potency, aroma, without any solvents.