Simplicity, Competition, Passion: The Art of Hashmaking
The word hash or “hashish” is a bit arbitrary like most cannabis terminology but it generally refers to ice water hash or “bubble” hash and hash rosin. It’s a concentrated form of cannabis made without the use of chemical solvents like butane and in its highest quality form it can be dabbed or vaporized for, in my opinion, the best possible experience the cannabis plant has to offer.I’ve been smoking hash for several years and I actually don’t smoke flower much at all anymore. I’m a recovering benzodiazepine/opiate/anything else available addict and dabbing hash rosin is the only medicine I have tried which quells my anxiety without making it worse the next day. It has given me back a quality of life I thought I had lost forever, one that flower simply cannot produce for me. Maybe I’ve been smoking for too long, maybe it’s my biochemistry or maybe I’m just a basket case but whatever the case, when I smoke hash, I don’t want to use. When I smoke hash, I don’t have panic attacks. When I smoke hash, I feel more capable of being the person I believe I’m supposed to be.In the process of learning about hash and learning how to make it so I could produce my own medicine without going bankrupt (cheap hash ain’t good, and good hash ain’t cheap) I have crossed paths with many hashmakers, though none moreso than my good buddy Cold Craft Hash Co. who taught me the vast majority of what I know about the modern art of hashmaking. To continue explaining this shit without crediting him would be sinful. For this article I also talked to Todd, owner of Resin Ranch Extraction and Bryan who processes rosin for Heritage Hash Co. Resin Ranch is a legacy brand that comes highly recommended by almost every hashmaker I know and Heritage Hash Co. just took home the gold for their Riddlez rosin at last year’s Ego Clash.
The Wash
The process of hash-washing varies from person to person and country to country, but in general, it involves mixing ice water with cannabis and agitating the mixture, typically with a paddle, to separate the trichome heads from the plant matter. Trichome heads are microscopic resin glands found all over the cannabis flower which contain THC, cannabinoids, and probably a whole bunch of other yummy shit we have yet to identify.Once the trichome heads have been separated from the plant matter into the ice water, the water is drained through several different size filters to collect different sizes of microscopic material. The larger micron sizes collect the plant matter and gunk you don’t want, the mid-range size filters tend to catch the higher grade hash that can be dabbed on a quartz nail and the material found in the smallest size filter bag is usually what is used to make edibles and such because it’s a lot of broken, chipped or smaller trichome heads which tend not to dab as well (though this is not a universal rule). In general, fresh and high-quality cannabis material that is processed properly will create workable amounts of high-quality hash.