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Did you overhear a fellow cannabis enthusiast talking about the wonders of kief, but you have no clue what it is?
When you’re new to the cannabis world, there’s a lot to learn. You don’t have to do it all at once- over time you will absorb information and terms as they come up. But it’s important to do your research and be armed with cannabis facts so you can be a responsible, informed consumer.
Okay, mini rant over. Let’s get straight to it!
Kief is a fine powder of cannabis trichomes. Kief is extremely high in THC. It’s collected by using a three-level grinder, which sifts the kief into the bottom layer of the grinder.
Kief can be used to elevate your cannabis experience, but it’s important to exercise extreme caution because of its potency and THC levels.
Kief vs. Hash
Kief and hash are often used interchangeably colloqueally and even in professional writing, but they actually mean two different things.
Kief is the unrefined plant material that you collect through sifting (more on that later). Hash is refined kief.
The term “kief” has Moroccan Arabic origins that translate to “pleasure”. Kief is green-brownish since it has both the trichomes and some plant material.
Kief gets transformed into hash through a second, finer mesh sifting. Hash can range from white to tan.
How Is Kief Collected?
Kief is collected in three-level grinders- that’s partially why it’s important to have a high-quality grinder.
Three-level grinders consist of:
- The teeth
- The catcher
- The kief
Using Kief In a Grinder
If you don’t have a three-level grinder, then the second best thing you’ll have to a kief catcher is the leftover dust at the bottom of the chamber.
Using Kief Catcher
With a kief catcher, there’s a third level in the grinder separated by a mesh screen that filters out the kief.
How Does Kief Pressing Work
Kief pressing transforms kief into rosin via compression and heat. This squeezes the trichomes and transforms them into rosin. Rosin is a gooey and potent solventless concentrate.
Rosin can be many colors including black or yellow.
You can buy a kief pressing kit and press your own rosin, or you can purchase high-quality rosin from your favorite dispensary- such as us! You can find us online or in person if you’re looking for premier rosin or other kief products.
What Is the Best Way to Use Kief?
There are plenty of ways to use kief, the most popular of which are sprinkling it on top of a bowl or into a joint before rolling it up. You can also roll kief into a ball known as a “chara”.
The most reliable way to consume kief is from a preroll because you will know the exact THC percentage and can pace yourself accordingly.
One of the downsides of using kief from a grinder is that you can’t be sure of how strong your joint/bowl will be because of how many factors are at play, including:
The original THC percentages of all the strains you’ve recently ground
How fine your grinder’s mesh is
How much kief you sprinkle on
Truth is, you’re likely going to just guestimate how much kief to put on. That’s okay. Just proceed with caution!
Can Kief Go Bad?
Kief can go bad the same way that any cannabis can go bad.
Proper storage is a must. And although your kief will be in a dark place in your grinder, there’s no temperature or moisture control.
We recommend getting top-notch storage containers for your cannabis. You want to get your money’s worth, and your cannabis can weaken in strength and flavor if stored incorrectly.
Dark, moisture controlled, temperature controlled storage is a must for any avid cannabis consumer- although many people skimp on this step and leave their cannabis in glass jars exposed to light all day long.
All that is to say, the best way to maintain your kief’s potency is to regularly transfer it from your grinder into proper storage, awaiting you to use it.
