Kief: What It Is And How To Make It

WHAT IS KIEF?

To put it plainly, kief is the accumulation of trichomes. What are trichomes? They are those frosty crystals that cover the bud, and contain the cannabis plant's resin, which is full of cannabinoids and terpenes.

As it is these trichomes that are mainly responsible for the high you feel when you use cannabis, collecting them in the form of kief can be an excellent way to cut right to the heart of the cannabis experience. Kief is especially suited to those who love concentrates but don’t want to break the bank purchasing the required equipment you need to make complicated concentrates, like BHO.

HOW TO COLLECT KIEF

There are two simple and practical ways to collect kief, both offering different levels of utility.

The Grinder Method

The first, which will likely suit most people, is to collect it in your grinder. Grinding you bud is an excellent way to break it up ready for use. While most of the trichomes remain intact and attached to your bud during the process, some are knocked off, causing them to cling to your grinder. Over time, this can allow you to build up a stock of kief as you scrape up more and more. It is a nice little bonus for those not expecting it, and ensures you get the most out of your weed.

There are grinders out there that are specially designed to make kief collection a breeze. These often contain 3-4 chambers in total, with a screen under the main grinding chamber to sift and collect kief, while filtering out larger plant material - making scraping it all up and accumulating it all the easier.

Zamnesia Premium Grinder

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The only drawback to the grinder method is that it can take a while to build up a worthwhile amount. If you never set out to harvest kief and are happy to allow it to accumulate over time as a bonus to your smoke, then this is unlikely to be a problem. However, if you have set out to specifically gather kief, you will need to employ a different method of collection. This brings us onto our next method: using a sifter box.

The Sifter Box Method

The sifter box is a simple yet effective method of collecting kief, specifically designed for the job. It is a three-part box that contains a fine metal screen and a removable dark glass base. The process of putting cannabis in the top section of the box and gently shaking it all removes trichomes from the plant matter and allows them to fall through the screen onto the glass, which can then be removed for easy scraping. It is a process that can also be done using a silk screen over a dark, clean surface. What you want to achieve is a sieving mechanism, which allows trichomes to be removed from the cannabis and fall through to your clean surface.

Wooden Sifter Box (Rolling Supreme)

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If you consider yourself a concentrate connoisseur, then you can take things to a whole new level with Bubble Hash. Bubble Hash is the result of collecting kief using a rather involved technique, but the kief collected is considered of the best quality possible, and when compacted and heated into proper hash, there are few concentrates that can rival it.

TRY ADDING A COIN TO YOUR GRINDER

At Zamnesia, we’re big fans of small hacks that can improve the smoking experience. Let us tell you about a little trick that can significantly boost your kief production. A penny (or cent) can’t buy much these days. It can, however, help you collect miniature mountains of kief! Follow the steps below to be smoking kief blunts in no time.

Every smoker is aware of the benefits of triple-chambered grinders. These marvels of cannabis engineering effectively grind bud into a fine, rollable powder. Processed plant material passes through into the second chamber and falls onto a fine metal mesh. From here, trichomes pass through the mesh and collect in the third chamber below.

Most grinders do a good job of collecting kief. But this simple trick will help you gather a whole lot more. All you need is a good triple chamber grinder, a freezer, and a penny (or cent).

HOW TO USE A COIN TO GET EXTRA KIEF

1. Place some of your finest flowers into your grinder. Turn your device until the processed material falls into the second chamber. Open your grinder and place a coin in with the milled weed. Adding a coin inside helps to agitate the cool weed and smashes the trichomes from their home.

2. Close your grinder with the coin inside. Make some room in between the frozen peas and ice cream and leave it in the freezer for 30 minutes. Freezing cannabis causes the trichomes to harden. This makes them much easier to dislodge from the plant material.

3. Remove your chilled grinder from the freezer. Now, shake your grinder vigorously for several seconds. You should hear the frozen coin ricocheting off the inside of the grinder. Shake your device for several seconds at a time over five different rounds.

4. Unscrew the collection tray in the third chamber of the grinder. Tell us you’re not impressed! You’ll notice a significant increase in kief collection compared to orthodox grinding techniques!

Enjoy this cheap and simple trick. It only costs you a penny, after all.

HOW TO USE KIEF

Once you have some kief collected, there is no limit to what you can do with it. Kief can be used for pretty much anything, and you are only limited by your own imagination. Just remember that heat is required to activate the THC and other cannabinoids within, so eating it straight up is unlikely to achieve anything. Most people will use kief as an added kick in their joints, sprinkling it onto their bud and tobacco. It can also be used as an addition to cannabis cooking, or for making other concentrates, such as hash. Many people press their kief into pellets, for easier storage and use.

KIEF VS HASH

Kief is the raw form of hash. Hash is made by taking a large amount of kief, and subjecting it to both pressure and heat to form a soft compact ball. The heat and pressure cause the trichomes to break up and meld, changing their appearance, flavour and effect slightly - offering users a different, more refined experience.

Luke Sumpter

With a BSc (Hons) degree in Clinical Health Sciences and a passion for growing plants, Luke Sumpter has worked as a professional journalist and writer at the intersection of cannabis and science for the past 7 years.

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