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Kief is a wondrous beauty in and of itself that comes from quality buds. The concentrated and delicious powder that comes from the dried crystals on your buds can be a beautiful addition to any session.
All cannabis plants contain resinous glands that are called trichomes that contain THC, CBD, terpenes, and other compounds found in the plant. Trichomes look like small, granular crystals and when they fall away from your bud, its called Kief. Kief generally has a more yellow/brown color than your buds because as they fall off the plant, they oxidize and change color. It looks like powder and can feel sticky. While you can collect kief by it naturally falling off your buds, many grinders are outfitted with kief screens right inside. The grinder will have multiple chambers, including one with a screen. The buds are ground above the screen and only the finest will pass through to start your collection of kief. Once enough is collected, you can add a little to the top of your bowl or bong, or even sprinkle in into your joints.
Collecting kief can take some time, as it is ground so fine. Some people even enjoy smoking straight kief, but this can be a little overpowering for some. Because trichomes contain the most THC, kief has a much higher THC content than the relative plant. While you may enjoy the extra THC, kief can be harsher to hit and the high can be a little shorter lived wihtout the other compounds of the plant.
Some people use kief to make their own hash. Hash is one of the oldest cannabis extracts. Hash is essentially pressed kief. When making kief, you put your collected kief into a tray or box and apply pressure to force the kief into a hard brick form. Because the color darkens the harder you press it, a dark colored hash is ideal. Another option is to take the kief and roll it into pressed balls, called charas. These charas can be popped right into a bowl or bong and be smoked.
We’ve talked about them before, but kief is essential to making Moon rocks. Moon rocks are cannabis buds that are coated in a cannabis distillate, and then rolled in kief. Sun rocks can also be made from kief, but you need to make sure all the kief collected is from the same strain. Moon rocks can use kief from any mixture of strains.
You can make press rosin with kief, as well. Press rosin is similar to hash, but the kief is pressed between two heated surfaces to create a hot oil. While this is something that can be done at home with sometime as simple as a hair straightener, the taste will not be as good as hash.
Kief can be used as a booster for cannabutter, too! If you feel the cannabutter you made is a little weak, you can always sprinkle in some fine ground kief to give it a little kick. Just make sure you decarb the kief with the flower before adding.
We dont suggest dabbing with kief or rolling a straight kief joint. Dabbing requires as little live plant matter in a concentrated form and kief wont deliver the desired results. Dabbing with kief will end up just burning it and ruin the nail before you can even get a hit. While kief joints can sound like a great way to get really high, you will most likely just find yourself coughing up a storm. Because kief is so fine, it burns really quickly and hard. Instead, try sprinkling a layer on top of your ground bud before you roll up.
Just like your standard buds, kief can go bad. Make sure to keep it out of direct sun-light and in a cool, dark place. Be sure to keep your kief stored in a proper container, as it can oxidize and dry out unless tightly capped.
