Bubblehash or also called WaterHash is becoming more and more popular and has now also established itself in the medical field. Because of its potency, it is appreciated by many patients, but also more and more hobby growers process their resinous crop residues into dope. However, there are big differences in quality, which have to do with the production.
In addition to dry extraction, there is the possibility of separating the trichomes by extraction with water and ice, thus producing an extremely high-quality and pure product. This is achieved by a gentle extraction process in which the resins are carefully separated from the plant residues in a separate container, in contrast to the "conventional" method. It is possible through this method to obtain the highest possible concentration of glandular heads without impurities such as dust, plant material, soil particles, and many more. In short, with the right extraction, very pure trichome concentrates can be produced without altering the chemical properties by adding heat.
What is needed for the production of bubble hash?
To successfully perform this type of cannabis resin extraction you need a few things. Here are all the important utensils together:
extraction bags, we use 7 bags (220-190-160-120-73-45-25µm)- 2 food grade buckets
- Ice cream
- Stainless steel whisk
- Slick pad
The most important thing for the production of high-quality end products is, of course, the starting material. The highest quality and quantity hashish is obtained by using very resinous buds. However, the small flowers at the bottom of the plant and the small resinous leaves that fall off when the buds are manicured are also suitable. Also, cannabis grown indoors from a clean growroom is more suitable than outdoor weed, as the resin and plants have not been "contaminated" by/with insects, dust, etc. "contaminated" by insects, dust, etc. This gives you the purest end product.
The buds / plant material should be frozen in the freezer for at least a day, the key to this type of extraction is frozen resin. The lower the temperature, the easier the resin glands separate from the plant material, so that the starting material requires less beating and thus no impurities can dissolve.
The gentle resin extraction
The extraction bags are placed (put over) in one bucket, from the finest to the coarsest mesh size (in this case 25 - 45 - 73 - 120 - 160-190 and 220 microns). Then the bucket is covered until further use. This prevents impurities and dust particles from entering.
In the second bucket, pile up the ice and plant material, starting with a layer of ice, then the plant material, then ice again, and so on until the bucket is about half full. It is best to mix crushed ice and small ice cubes, this way you get the best final result.
The filled bucket is also covered and left for a few minutes until the layers are frozen together into a large block with the plant material inside. Then the bucket is filled with cold water until the ice block is covered with about 5cm of water. Then a whisk is used to gently move the block up and down until the ice breaks. Once the ice is broken, the contents are gently stirred for 5 minutes and the bucket is covered and left for another 5 minutes.
Now the ice water-plant mixture is poured into the bucket with the extractor bags, the dissolved resins are separated from the plant materials by the different mesh sizes of the sieves.
Then the first bag (220µm) is removed from the bucket containing the ice and plant matrial. Then the 190, 160 and 120 micron bags are also removed, in which very good bubblehash has collected, but which still contains minor impurities and plant material.
Finally, the 73 micron bag contains the treasure we are looking for - top quality bubble hash consisting (almost) exclusively of the trichome heads. The 45 micron bag contains 2nd grade hash. Finally, in the last bag dope of the 3rd category.
Since the best resin glands have dissolved in this pass, the ice and the plant material can be beaten in a 2nd pass for 15-20 minutes with an electric hand mixer in the usual way and then (after the resin of the 1st sieving has been removed) also sieved. This 2nd pass produces lower quality hashish.
On the left, pure Full Melt Bubble Hash from a light cannabis strain (Diamond Cream/Anesia Seeds), right from a purple variety (Purple Domina/Anesia Seeds)
Drying of the bubble hash
After sieving, the hash is scraped off the extraction bag with a teaspoon or plastic card (check card). The best results are obtained by placing the resin on a slickpad or similar to dry and leaving it to dry in a dark, dry place at 20-24° C for several days (at least 4-5) until all water has evaporated. Drying via heating or squeezing out the water present will, in our experience, reduce the quality.