If you’re new to cooking with Cannabis, the terms can be a little intimidating. Cannabidiol, Tetrahydracannabidiol, “still federally illegal”… you know… the kind of terms that make you a little confused.
Today here at Wake + Bake, we’re tackling the big one – Decarboxylation (pronounced: DEE-CARB-OX-OH-LAY-SHUN).
It’s a big word, but there’s no need for overwhelm or stress when it comes to cooking with Cannabis.
In a nutshell: Decarboxylation is a necessary step in making Cannabis infusions that are effective and affordable. Both THC and CBD need to go through the process and it’s not complicated at all. You can do it in your own home and it will greatly improve the effectiveness of your edibles.
However, the science behind it can get a little confusing, so I’m going to break it down in detail.
If you just want to skip the Cannabis science geek out and get to the instructions, just skip to the section that says “the Verdict on Decarboxylation”. For the rest of my fellow Cannabis nerds… read on.
Cannabis Decarboxylation
Decarboxylation is absolutely essential to making potent Cannabis oils, butters, and tinctures. So let’s get to the point of this article and start by learning what decarboxylation is, and how beneficial it is and how to do it.
What Is Decarboxylation?
We’re going to get a little science-y here, but stick with me. It sounds more complicated than it actually is.
Decarboxylation is simply “a chemical reaction that removes a carboxyl group and releases carbon dioxide (CO2)” [wiki].
When it comes to marijuana, decarboxylation effectively removes the COOH group from the THC-A molecule by releasing H2O (water) an CO2 (carbon dioxide), turning it into the psychoactive THC.
This release of water and carbon dioxide naturally occurs during the drying process and happens instantly when you burn one down.
When making edibles, it’s easy to take this step for granted. Decarboxylation happens haphazardly (to some degree) when we heat oil or butter to infuse it with Cannabis and when we cook with it.
But if you want fully activated material to use in Cannabis capsules, raw edibles, marijuana tinctures, or activated topicals like weed lube, decarboxylation is necessary.
Benefits of Decarboxylating Marijuana
There are several reasons why decarboxylating Cannabis is so important when making potent and medicinal edibles, tinctures and topical treatments. When you decarboxylate your Cannabis at a controlled temperature for the right amount of time you:
- Fully activate the THC in your material making it readily psychoactive.
- Fully activating the CBD in your material making it more effective
- Get potent edibles, tinctures and topicals with all of the medicinal value intact…every time.
Time and Temperature of THC Decarboxylation
Ask 10 Cannabis cooks how long they decarb for and at what temperature, you’ll likely get 10 different answers.
I’ve been on the hunt to find the most accurate scientific data surrounding this, and if you have something more up to date, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section below. Here’s been the journey so far:
When I found this article at Skunk Pharms Research about decarboxylation, I felt like I was really getting the hang of this whole decarb thing. They shared this handy little chart that shows the rate of decarboxylation of thc at different temperatures:
via Skunk Pharm Research
But this chart shows data from a “marijuana extract”. Since I’d be working almost exclusively with trim, keif and flower, would my temperatures and times be the same? It turns out… no.
And this widely circulated chart, while helpful as a starting place, doesn’t really have that up-to-date science feel to it. I mean, it’s from the Journal of Chromatography’s 1990 edition and…is that Greek at the bottom?
Enter: Marijuana Growers HQ
and their amazing decarb experiment.
They tested keif and trim at 240• F for 30 minutes and 60 minutes and had the results tested for several different cannabinoids. Here’s what they found:
Kief
| Compound | Before Decarb | 30 Min Decarb | 60 Min Decarb |
| THCA | 24.5% | 2.6% | .1% |
| THC | 3.8% | 25.4% | 25.5% |
| CBDA | .6% | .3% | .3% |
| CBD | 0% | 1% | .1% |
| CBN | .4% | 1% | 1.4% |
| Moisture | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Total Cannabanoids | 29.3% | 30.3% | 27.4% |
Cannabis Trim
| Compound | Before Decarb | 30 Min Decarb | 60 Min Decarb |
| THCA | 6.5% | 2.9% | .2% |
| THC | .6% | 4.8% | 6.9% |
| CBDA | .2% | .2% | .1% |
| CBD | 0% | 0% | .1% |
| CBN | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Moisture | 3.4% | 4.5% | 0% |
| Total Cannabanoids | 7.3% | 7.9% | 7.3% |
Testing provided by SC Labs and experiment conducted by Marijuana Growers HQ
“As you can see from the two charts, 30 minutes was not quite enough to completely decarboxylate either the kief or the trim. At 30 minutes the kief was about 90% decarboxylated but the trim was only about 60% decarboxylated. This difference is likely because the trim had a higher starting moisture content. After 60 minutes however, both keif and trim samples were close enough to 100% decarboxylation for my satisfaction.
So there you have it. 240° F for 60 minutes should be enough to decarboxylate any Cannabis with a reasonably low moisture content. For material with higher moisture content, the time can be extended but the temperature should not be increased. If you are concerned about losing organic compounds, lower heat can be used but the time should be extended to compensate.”
(UPDATE 2023) It’s Not Over: Enter the Ardent Mini
So after gathering all of this information, I was pretty content thinking I was decarbing at the right temp for the right amount of time. Since I don’t have a lab to test in, I thought that I was really killing it at the decarb game and my edibles were more effective than ever.
But just when I was getting comfortable and set in my ways, Ardent Cannabis released some data that explained how my oven method was probably burning off some of my THC.
As a matter of fact, they found that decarbing in an oven can cause a 33% loss of THC.
That’s 1/3 of the active compound in your very expensive Cannabis lost due to temperature fluctuations.
They used lab supported data to test every purported decarboxylation method that I’ve ever heard of… which is quite the undertaking.
They also have sweet graphics that break things down in a way easy-to-understand way. I felt like I had woken up from a decarb nightmare and everything was so much clearer and simpler.
Controlled temperatures are key. Controlled temperatures are very hard to consistently achieve in an oven or crockpot or toaster oven.
I don’t like living in that kind of mystery.
And I really don’t like wasting a 1/3 of my homegrown organic Cannabis just because I don’t know whether or not my oven is going to kick on at the wrong time or the heating element in my crockpot is going to decide to fluctuate.
And so yeah, I couldn’t resist. I had to try one of these babies…
The Ardent Mini Decarboxylator aka the Lift boasts 100% THCA to THC conversion and no THC loss. I did a test on the same material I’ve been working with for awhile now and it was truly incredible. It allowed me to use so much less Cannabis and cut my dosage almost in half.
I’m writing up a review with a cost analysis (it’s finally here!), but I can tell you for certain that if you decarb and cook with more than a couple of ounces a year, this little machine is absolutely worth the investment.
The Verdict on Decarboxylation
Based on the the results of the MGHQ experiment, I felt confident enough to decarb my trim at 240º F for one hour and my keif for 30 minutes at 240° F. Since I started doing so, my edibles and topicals have seen a dramatic increase in efficacy.
UPDATE: Since I started using the Mini Decarboxylator, I’ve seen an even greater increase in potency and I’ve decreased my dosage by at least a third since making the switch. I’d highly recommend checking it out. You can read more in my review here.
How To Decarboxylate Cannabis in an Oven (to Activate THC)
So now you know that decarboxylation is an important step in making Cannabis infused products. Thankfully, it’s a super easy process that requires very little input from you.
1. Preheat oven to 240• F (116•C).
Any amount of Buds, Trim, or Keif
3. Cover with tinfoil (optional).
4. Place pyrex into the oven and bake for 30 minutes for keif or 60 minutes for buds/trim.
5. Remove and allow to cool completely. Use immediately or store in a mason jar in the freezer.
OR…
Put your Cannabis in an Ardent Mini and push the button. In about an hour, you’ll have fully activated THC without having to wonder or waste weed.
How To Decarboxylate Cannabis in an Oven (to Activate THC)
Equipment
- Oven
- Pyrex Dish
- Tin Foil optional
- Mason Jar optional
Ingredients
- Any amount of Buds, Trim, or Keif
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 240º F (116º C).
- In a pyrex dish, evenly spread out your Buds, Trim, or Keif.
- Cover with tinfoil (optional).
- Place pyrex into the oven and bake for 30 minutes for keif or 60 minutes for buds/trim.
- Remove and allow to cool completely. Use immediately or store in a mason jar in the freezer.
Decarboxylation and the Ardent FX or Ardent Mini
I get this question really often, so I’m going to use this post to answer it.
Do you have to decarboxylate if you’re using the Ardent FX or Ardent Mini?
Yes. Yes. And yes. If you want a psychoactive experience. Yes. Research is starting to show that THCA (remember… that’s the non-psychoactive precursor to THC) has its own benefits, but if you really want the big bang for your buck, decarbing is the way to go for both THC and CBD rich infusions. [see: Do you need to decarboxylate CBD?]
One of the best things about the Ardent is that you can infuse your oil at a controlled lower temperature and keep all of the incredibly medicinal terpenes, cannabinoids and flavonoids intact. For this reason, you really want to decarboxylate your Cannabis before you run it through the Ardent FX, the Ardent Mini, or any other infusion gadget.
Are you interested in starting your own Cannabis business? Click here.
Thank you so much for this information! I will shamelessly ask for a little more information from you. I have home-grown a Cannatonic 4 strain, hoping for high CBD content, low THC content. I would like to prepare the buds/leaves as coconut oil capsules. The patients I work with need as little THC. So if I understand the process correctly, if I want to burn off the THC and have mostly CBD left, I need to increase the temperature and the time in the oven? Any information greatly appreciated! I am having trouble finding specific recipes to draw out mostly CBD. Apologies to those who are cringing at the thought of sacrificing all that THC, but it’s got to be done! Looking forward to hearing from you, well, after the baby, and the new job!
Hi Beth,
I too am interested in your question. Another corollary: If the desire is not to get high, would it make sense not to decarboxylate? If the THC retains the COOH group, they wouldn’t bind to the CB1/CB2 cannabinoid receptors.
-Peichen
Dear Beth\
I hope you succeed on your CBD research, to increase CBD while growing, in flowering stage you would need to monitor the color of resins as the time passes ( from milky to amber ( about 70% turning color )) . Actually heating cannabis does not effect much turning THC into CBD but harvesting time and strain kind does.
Can you please recommend a site that I could learn about harvesting times
I know it’s been a long time since you posted but I only just read it now. I believe the point is not to try and burn the THC,and likely other valuable items, out of your material but to buy material that is high in CBD and low in THC and work with that. The decarboxylate process converts some CBD precursor to CBD also so it has value for those looking to enhance CBDs. This happens at a lower ratio, so it would appear, than THC. I’m wondering if you came up with any alternate resolution since you posted???
There is no way to my knowledge to draw out the CBD content of a high THC/low CBD strain of cannabis. any of the charts or information that you see saying otherwise is misinformed, and is actually effectively referring to THC acid being turned into CBN, which is not the same as CBD, but is a partial agonist of the CB2 receptor as well as the CB1 receptor, but with a higher affinity to the CB2. it’s effect is much more sedative then THC, but not the same chemical. CBD actually boils off at a lower temperature then THC, so unless you’re actively distilling the CBD, a higher temperature would actually be taking away more CBD then it would be drawing it out. TBH if you want to work with CBD, find a hemp farm! it’s the most abundant and cheapest source of CBD you’d be able to find.
Evan, I just got this article, and nobody here is talking about distillationi process. That process is completely different than decarb process. NO, you cant increase the cbd of a plant, but you can make it more available. In addition, its the c o mbo of terpenes and cannaboids that make CDB work best for inflammatory processes. The CBD from hemp is NOT as effective due to some of the missing compounds. THey have been trying to isolate these compounds for YEARS behind closed doors and have not been succesful. For you to come on here and say you suddenly know more than any highly educated scientist working on this not only here but Jerusalum, I find that a little difficult to believe. Hemp is NOT the answer for CBD, but the only legal option in prohibition states. Its a well known fact hemp cbd is not as effective, so I politely disagree with some of your statement. Good to h ear what other ppl are believing tho, whether its true or not doesnt get hidden by trying to talk over others to sound intelligent about it, but your facts are not completely correct.
Hi Corinne, you’re my shero! Got your books and already ordered the new one. I’m 78 and low income and am working with leaf. no trim or keif, just leaf, I get it almost for free. anyway, been backing and have made a lovely lube of coconut oil and cocoa butter. Washed the oil twice and mixed it and whipped it up. everyone in the family has found a use for it. not the decarb. have butter machine but now it will be a while before I can go Nova, so what’s the best way to decarb in oven. I use oven bags and so nothing escapes but want to make some muffins and I’d like them as high in thc as possible. what it the time for leaf? I’m ‘C not ‘F. Thanks for all the free advice, and for keeping the cost of the e-books in my budget range. Looking forward to the new book and love your blogs.
Hi, so I’m not looking to decarboxylate marijuana for the THC but for the CBD. I’m not interested in getting high. I do know that you need some THC in your product for the CBD to work. I would be using mine for sleep as well as for pain. With the same process of decarboxylation work for a high CBD content ? Thanks so much, Karen
I’m really curious about CBD, too. I’ve been vaping high CBD/v. low THC strains (AC/DC and Canna-Tsu) lately and it’s totally changing my life. I am getting so much pain/nausea relief + increased energy and focus. I want to make some glycerine tincture for myself with these so I can easily dose through the day. Do I need to decarboxylate? How does that change the availability of the CBD?
Grower’s Choice now has ACDC CBD seeds! before ACDC was only available in short supply as clones. ACDC is the pure sativa child of Mr. and Mrs. Cannatonic. In the process of the breading this child lost nearly all her THC (some plants are less than 1%) !! Look it up 🙂
I just wrote the first book on the topic, named Cannabis Cocktails. In my research, I discovered that 240 for an hour, covered is just the beginning of the fun.. you have to let the cannabis rest after it comes out of the oven before opening the lid… I wait another 15-30 minutes before opening. Just like when you roast a chicken.. you let it rest before slicing to keep in the juices.
my book is out in June 2016. Stay tuned. (and on Amazon, B&N, etc…)
Warren perhaps you answer this question in your book, (I just bought the kindle version, but haven’t looked through it.) , I am wondering if it’s necessary to decarb CO2 oils. I want to use it in a topical application mixed with MCT oil. Do I need to decarb? And if so how? I have never seen anything posted about using the NOVA machine or any other process with these oils…
Thanks for any help you can give me.
Hi Beth,
I too am interested in your question. Another corollary: If the desire is not to get high, would it make sense not to decarboxylate? If the THC retains the COOH group, they wouldn’t bind to the CB1/CB2 cannabinoid receptors.
-Peichen
I just sent this reply to Beth and thought you might be interested also since you also quite a while ago posted regarding the subject.
“I know it’s been a long time since you posted but I only just read it now. I believe the point is not to try and burn the THC,and likely other valuable items, out of your material but to buy material that is high in CBD and low in THC and work with that. The decarboxylate process converts some CBD precursor to CBD also so it has value for those looking to enhance CBDs. This happens at a lower ratio, so it would appear, than THC. I’m wondering if you came up with any alternate resolution since you posted???”
I’ve heard mixed things on using stems to make oil and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thanks a bunch!
Corinne, you’re the best!
hello. i have been experimenting with decarb and it seems to me leaving it in for even half and hour leaves me with burnt smelling trim which turns into burnt tasting butter… ive tried this at 280°f for 10 min, terrible. at 240° for 20 min ( i took it out early because it was starting to smell burnt and still ended up with burnt tasting oil) and the best ive found so far is at 210° for 20 min.. it seems to activate the most without compromising flavor. have you had any trouble with this “burnt” flavor when decarbing?
oh! also i forgot to mention when i first tried this it seemed as if all the kief from the trim stuck to the baking sheet so i started “greasing” my sheet with whatever i was making the trim into (butter or coconut oil) and putting the trim on top of that, then wrapping the WHOLE thing in foil… wondering if that might be contributing to the burnt flavor, anddd if theres a better way to save the kief from sticking to the baking sheet, or if youve noticed this happening at all on a pyrex.. as i usually use just a plain baking sheet. thanks so much i have learned a TON from your website!!
If you want butter–> first heat the butter at low temp. When it starts to bubble and froth then remove with a spoon all the white milky bubbles floating on top. You end up with clear butter oil without any milk protein in it.
Place your cannabis in a bowl, pour the cleared butter over it, cover it with tinfoil and then place it (butter+ cannabis) at 220-240f for 1 hour in the over. Leave it overnight in the fridge, take it out the next day, put it back in the over to let the butter melt. Now you can strain all the greens from the butter and ur done.
So basically you can skip one step and add only the strainer step at the end.
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This is such a beautiful resource… Thank you.
Have you ever tried putting magnesium powder in with the coconut oil?
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Hi there, knowledgeable folks! I am in the process of making a salve cream and am slightly confused.. hoping one of you can help!
I made cannaoil out of coconut oil in a crock pot on high for one day and low for 3 additional days. I was wondering if this timely process may have decarboxidized my plant matter.
Thank you kindly for your help in advance!!
Decarbing Frank’s Gift Cannabis
I’ve been searching for a reliable way to decarboxylate medical cannabis for a while now, and there seems to be no consensus as to exactly how to do it. Different websites and forums all have a different take on the best temperature to use, how long to heat it, how to prepare it etc. My search finally led me to a British patent for a process of liquid CO2 extraction of resin from cannabis, in which they mentioned how they decarbed their samples and, most importantly, they documented the resulting lab analysis of 4 different amount of time and 3 different temperatures, and the differing results on THCa, THC, CBDa, CBD, and CBN. To me, this is a wealth of information. Here is a link to the patent:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7344736.html
The 3 temps are in Celsius and translate to Fahrenheit as follows: 105° C = 221° F, 120° C = 248° F, and 140° C = 284° F.
My takeaway from this long, very technical paper is the following 2 sentences:
Chemovar producing primarily CBD is 1 hour at 120° C. or 0.5 hour at 140° C.
Chemovar producing primarily THC to minimise CBN formation, is 1 to 2 hours at 105° C. or 1 hour at 120° C.
Translation: heat your cannabis in a 120° C (248° F) oven for an hour and you are good to go. Regardless of if your cannabis is high in THC or CBD this will work very well. So I did just that (sort of) and then had the cannabis analyzed at OG Analytical in Eugene, OR. Here is what I did, the lab analysis of cured Frank’s Gift bud, and the decarbed Frank’s Gift bud.
In the patent, they say it is preferable to dry the herb at a lower temp, then decarb it at a higher temp, but since I had put a pizza stone in the oven to try for a more even temp, I dried it and decarbed it at the same temp.
5/10/16 I started with 36 g total; removed 1.124 g for analytical lab testing. That left @35 g before removing stems, @ 34 g after removing .9 g of stems.
9:00 AM I put a 16″ pizza stone (9.5 lbs./4.3 Kilograms) in the oven and preheated to 250° F. I used a Farberware oven probe (laying on the pizza stone) to get an accurate temperature. It showed that it took @ 90 minutes to get up to temp.
I was aiming for a temp of 250° F, but since my oven fluctuates about 20° F, I could not achieve this. After almost 3 hours of screwing around with the oven, turning the temperature dial up and down, trying to get it to a stable temp, I gave up, and settled on a setting of 245° F.
I broke up the buds into small pieces (it was very sticky), put it on an aluminum baking sheet, and put it in the oven at 11:45AM. I left it in the oven for 20 minutes to dry completely. It was not sticky at all after drying it. I crumbled up the buds in my hand (very easy) and wound up with mostly powdered bud.
I returned the baking sheet to the oven and waited until the oven probe said 250° F, which took about 15 minutes. I left it in the oven for another hour, removed it, let it cool down a little, and weighed it. It now weighed 28 g, so it lost about 6 g of moisture (17.6%). I took out 1.15 g for the lab. Here are the lab results:
Before Decarbing
THCa = 4.8%
Δ9-THC = 0.9%
CBDa = 9.9%
CBD = 0.6%
CBN = <0.1%
After Decarbing
THCa = <0.1%
Δ9-THC = 4.8%
CBDa = <0.1%
CBD = 9.1%
CBN = 0.2%
I am thrilled with the results – all of the THCa got converted to THC, all the CBDa got converted to CBD, and very little of the THC got degraded to CBN. Not too shabby.
Next time I wouldn't mess with the oven temp. I would just set it at 245° F and leave it alone.
If you look at Table 5 in the patent, you'll see that there is quite a bit of leeway in time before the THC starts to seriously degrade into CBN, so leaving it in the oven for 1-2 hours at 250° F would not degrade very much THC (4.1% after 1 hour and 6.7% after 2 hours).
Miscellaneous notes: Franks Gift organically grown outdoors, harvested on 10/4/15, dried in 50% humidity, 70° F temp for 5 days (stems snapped at that point), then placed in 2 quart canning jars with a 62% Boveda pack for curing. It has been in the jar for 7 months.
I hope this is helpful.
Jackson
thanks so much for this very best info. Analyzing the data (Table 3 and 4 of http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7344736.html) myself I would prefer 1h @ 105°C (=221°F) because the decrease of the decarboxylation rate compared to 2h is small (only 7% for CBD (from 86% decarboxylation for 1hour to 93% for 2 hours) and 5% for THC (from 93% to 98%).
105°C is a very unpractical temperature, 100°C (=212°C) is boiling water and very easy to handle as you don’t need lab stuff.
So I suggest to estimate the duration for an effective decarboxylation rate of 90% @ 100°C , which I would guess for 2h.
Sumary: A duration of 2h @ 100°C (=212°C) is suggested for an efficient decarboxylation (a 90% rate for CBD and 95% for rate of THC is estimated interpreting the data presented by Jackson.
yours jense
Ive been reading about a device that automates this process but I haven’t seen much reviews on it. you should check it out. http://www.ardentcannabis.com/product/nova-decarboxylator
Thanks for the suggestion Jules! I got in touch with them and hope to test it soon and report back. Stay tuned 🙂
much love,
C
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As for using the magic butter machine, if you put it on high (250 F) for one hour, it actually decarboxylates it in the oil, which means no evaporation of active ingredients. Even using a turkey bag or tin foil when decarbing in the oven is going to lead to a lot of evaporation of both terpene/terpenoids and cannabinoids. Something to consider. This is the most effective way I have tried so far. The rest of the article is spot on though 🙂
To Beth and Peichen,
There is no way to my knowledge to draw out the CBD content of a high THC/low CBD strain of cannabis. any of the charts or information that you see saying otherwise is misinformed, and is actually effectively referring to THC acid being turned into CBN, which is not the same as CBD, but is a partial agonist of the CB2 receptor as well as the CB1 receptor, but with a higher affinity to the CB2. it’s effect is much more sedative then THC, but not the same chemical. CBD actually boils off at a lower temperature then THC, so unless you’re actively distilling the CBD, a higher temperature would actually be taking away more CBD then it would be drawing it out. TBH if you want to work with CBD, find a hemp farm! it’s the most abundant and cheapest source of CBD you’d be able to find.
Can i make kief from decarboxylated weed?
got me 5g and put it in 240 for an hour, placed in a jar and covered with 100% VG and double boiled for 3-4 hours. strained and put it right in my kanger tank ( rba @ 0.5ohm/22watts). dont get a head buster like if i smoked it, but damn if it didnt stop my neck pain ive had for months. slept sooo good too. today is a day of rest as i binge watch tv and work on my vape box. thanks for the info!!
Do you still have to decarb. Vaped marijuana?? TIA
Not three times, you don’t 😉
Liquid vaporizers do decarb. My coil heats to 350C. Trouble is trying to get the THC (or THCA for that matter) into the VG as Erik did by boiling it. Haven’t tried it like this, but did a quick dirty experiment once with high proof booze and just poured the evaporated goo into VG. It worked, but it’s a messy business, TBH. Thus the dry herb vape.
ok maybe stupid question but does the weed come from actual plant or can I get at my local clinic
Hi Gina!
I’m a tiny bit confused at this question. Weed comes from a plant (cannabis, marijuana) and if you live in a state with recreational or medical marijuana laws, you can get it from your local dispensary. If you don’t, cannabis is an illegal plant, so you’ll have to wait until things change or advocate for the laws in your area to change 🙂
I hope that helps!
Much love,
Corinne
What to do with the fact that when covered with tinfoil, the temperature inside the bowl won’t go as high as it is supposed to – for example, I get 65 Celsius (149 fahrenhait) when my oven is able to give me 108 celsius (226 fahrenhait) if it wouldn’t be covered with tinfoil.
So far I’ve only done testing the temperature, but what I’ve read I got the sense that covering will prevent it from smelling a lot – which is crucial in my situation. Should I dare to pop op that oven way way higher to get the insides over 100 celsius? Or is there something I’m missing out?
So I did my decarbing.
Started with tinfoil wrapped twice around the plate I had my sweet stuff on. After half an hour, as I had kept my oven at the 105-110 Celsius (around 226 fahrenhait) I decided to check how it was: I popped my thermometer through the tinfoil. It dropped fast to <70 celsius (158 fahrenhait). But, since it now had a small hole (which the rod of the thermometer mainly covered, but a hole still) it started to gradually rise. Too slow, thou, so I increased the temperature of the oven to get the inside-the-tinfoil-temperature to proper degree. With this finetuning, I was able to get it to first fluctuate and then stay between 105-118 celsius. Did that for another 55 minutes (so total time was more than an hour, but since it had been <70 celsius for the first half an hour, I decided it's not worth to take account for (I've seen the graphs and it doesn't do much at that temperature).
But, I started to freak out about the smell, so I took the plate out and wrapped it another round of tinfoil to cover the hole. I do believe the temperature inside the tinfoil didn't drop too much when I took it out, since it was sealed apart the small hole which I covered up fast.
After finishing the decarbing I had it cool down for half an hour taken from the oven, with foil on it.
The end product didn't smell like your regular weed. It didn't seem burned – black, as some have written – but it had become more like brown-green. I'll cook it to oil after the sun sets today.
So, my take on this is that if you use tinfoil, you have to increase the temperature of the oven quite much to get it right inside the tinfoil, then re-adjust the oven to keep that desired temperature.
I can imagine only two ways to do this:
1) pop your thermometer through the foil and after reached the desired temperature, keep it there or re-seal (to prevent smell and loss of some unnecessary stuff – ie. I'm here for the thc), or
2) do some pre-testing with foil-wrapped plate and see how high you have to set your oven for it to reach proper temperature inside the foil. After finding this, you would have to test if it will rise or stay the same – and if it will rise, you'd have to find another heat setting to use as the 'keep-it-up'- heat.
Otherwise you'll be decarbing your stuff in (crucially) less than the desired temperature.
Hi there- quick question, do you recommend decarbing full melt hash for at the same temp for a full hour as well?
I have the same question; the full melt hash – how long would you suggest decarbing?
Constantly checking this website for new decarb methods. Can anyone help with a good way to decarboxylate flower without leaving a smell. Live on the first floor of the apartment building and don’t want to be easily pointed out as the ganja house.
I would also like to know any means of reducing the smell. I live in a mixed household of both cannabis users and haters. The latter mostly complain of the smell, and the agreement to keep the peace is to keep the home odor-free. So far, no one besides Valery has made so much of a peep about it (at least that I’ve noticed). Any feedback would be appreciated, even just a heads up about how smelly and how long it lasts. TIA!
I put the herb in a 9×9 baking dish covered with tin foil and put the dish into a poultry oven bag, seal it and then put it into another oven bag and seal it. No smell at all while cooking. Then I turn off the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes, remove it and let it cool until it is room temperature. Then when opened there was very little smell, absolutely no objectionable smell to anyone in the house. The wife was puttering in the kitchen and had no idea I was decarbing. I am going to look into a remote thermometer so I can leave the sensor in the baking dish and have the meter on the counter to monitor the temperature more closely. Gosh, isn’t this getting so techy?
I found the information in this article very interesting. I have always just decarbed for 30 min. But I will now do it for 60 to see if I can tell the difference. Thanks for all of the great information.
My latest decarb was at 240 degrees for 1 hour. I am making an alcohol based tincture. I had read elsewhere in High Times that researchers in Holland determined that the optimum decor came at 230 degrees for 110 minutes. http://hightimes.com/edibles/edibles-the-scoop-on-decarboxylation/.
I imagine variable oven temps and elevation also factor into the equation. The Nova machine would take the guesswork out I suppose, if one could afford it
I am forced to try decarbing in a nuwave oven which only has preset temp. Ant either 225 or 250 any suggestions? I was thinking 225 for about 50 mins.
I think that would be perfect! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Much love,
Corinne
Was experimenting with some of our crop (copperheadcannabis.com) by baking the nugs then adding the cooked flower to items. I had to leave a note to let folks know that you need to make sure you bake it someplace with good ventilation. The flowers have been in the oven for 15 minutes and the house smells like Woodstock or the processing room at harvest time. :s
I’ll definitely update this post once I try out the baked flowers.
Guess I should have read all of the posts above instead of skipping to the end. 🙂 The tin foil definitely reduced the odor.
Try double bagging it in poultry oven bags. It does wonders for cutting the smell, just be sure not to open the bags until cool.
To start off, I must say I owe Corinne a complimentary gallon size bag of our finest boutique bud for this article and the information within.
I had never tried baking buds. We don’t sell edibles or extracts with our top-quality product, so I had no reason to. Now that I’ve done so it’ll be a regular occurrence.
Let me rewind a bit. After reading the rest of the posts on this page and already starting the bake, I put on the tin foil as listed above. After 45 minutes I removed the pan from the oven and let it sit for another 15. Thinking of the intense smell of baking bud, I figured if I was going to eat this I’d better find a food that has a similar aroma to neutralize the pungent smell. I decided on queso dip since the salsa has a similar but offsetting flavor.
I melted 1/2 cup Velveeta cheese, added 1/4 cup salsa and mixed them up. Then I crushed and crumbled in 3 medium sized baked buds.
The queso flavor TOTALLY hid the MJ taste. Couldn’t even tell there was any in there.
I ate about 1/2 of the cheese mix on chips and got pretty baked myself. And not the same way as smoking too much using a water pipe. The high was calm, cool and relaxed. Felt like I was drifting in a cloud.
Instead of heading out to the garage to weld something together as I normally do after work all I wanted to do was sit on the floor and color with my baby girls. I am grateful it didn’t make me too tired since this bud was a 70/30 Indica/Sativa blend.
I thank you Corinne for this post! Had I not seen it I would have never tried baking some weed. Now that I have it’ll be something I do again and definitely for friends or those who have never tried edibles.
Thank you so much Ed! That sounds amazing!
I’ll take that gallon size bag of boutique bud anytime now 😉
Much love,
Corinne
Dear Corinne
What a helpful article about decarboxylation, thanks a lot. That is one of the best articles I have ever seen.
I am 68 years old with chemistry background suffering Idiopathic Peripheral Neuropathy in my feet. I still use prescribed painkillers for my burning feet at nights mostly ineffective.
As you mentioned, temperature fluctuation is an important issue in cannabis decarboxylation. Since in electrical heaters controlling exact temperature is almost impossible and that could also go for Nova decarboxylators, we can use a precise digital thermometer in our kitchen oven. what I did was I made a small hole ( exact size of prob diameter of my digital thermometer ) and pass the prob through the hole ( about 2 cm in oven ) .
In this way I could get a good control of temperature of the oven but I needed to stay and look over my oven during the decarboxylation process.
Since I am living in Tehran and far from canna educated people, any correspondence to the issue would be gratefully appreciated.
Rahim
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Hi Corinne,
I think the new site looks good and is efficient. my question is: decarbing leaf, and ground leaf? Do I use the same time and temp?
Hi Corinne,
I have a dehydrator that I am able to adjust the time and temperature on and I am wondering if you, or anyone else on here, has ever used a dehydrator for decarboxylation? I would love some input on this as I am new to Medical Cannabis and would like to be able to make my own tinctures, lotions, and edibles.
Is there a way to decarb without a NOVA and not in an oven? I haven’t smoked in a very long time because it makes me so paranoid but I need something for anxiety, big time. I am too new to invest in a NOVA and… I don’t think my room mates would be too keen on the smell. I wonder if decarbing in a mason jar in the crock pot could work too?
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Has anyone tried to decarb in a cast iron crock pot on a Nuwave cooktop for precise temperature?
Awesome work, Corrine. I’ve spent months perfecting my tincture without ever stumbling on your method or the facts within. Yours differs, I ONLY, because you’ve provided scientific backing as opposed to the “put it in the oven at ‘around’ 300° for ‘around’ 5 min”. I’m confident enough in your method that I am about to do a 2oz batch intended for 48oz of ever clear, with the intention of ending with 20 oz of “green dragon” tincture. The I found you’ve provided should increase my potency by 20-25% and that is HUGE. Thanks again and keep up the good work. I’ll be following from now on.
Was supposed to read:
Awesome work, Corrine. I’ve spent months perfecting my tincture without ever stumbling on your method or the facts within. Yours differs from the countless others ive read because you’ve provided scientific backing as opposed to the “put it in the oven at ‘around’ 300° for ‘around’ 5 min”. I’m confident enough in your method that I am about to do a 2oz batch intended for 48oz of ever clear, with the intention of ending with 20 oz of “green dragon” tincture. The I found you’ve provided should increase my potency by 20-25% and that is HUGE. Thanks again and keep up the good work. I’ll be following from now on.
Should I do decarboxylation on the plant immediately after harvest, or does it need to hang-dry for a bit first?
Either way. You’ll just have to decarb longer in the oven if you don’t hang dry first.
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I just got the Lift and wondered if it is necessary to dry my buds before decarbing them ? Thanks
OK, watch Season 2 Episode 16 of “Bong-Apetite”. A chemist-chef decarbs in a sealed ziplock in boiling water for 2 hours. Viable?
I was wondering the same thing. I saw that if you decarboxylation at a lower temp you should increase the time. A sous vide would be perfect for keeping the temp constant but it only goes up to 194 F
You’re the hottest chick explaining how to cook with cannabis so I won’t look no further =D
Thanks Corinne!
Can someone explain to me how it is the nova is restricted on amazon? I just looked up the Lift on amazon, and its only available thru a third party seller with no reviews listed, making spending 200 bucks on it feel a little sketchy.
And yet amazon freely sells bongs and grinder paraphernalia and cookbooks. How is it these items can get a pass but the nova and the lift are restricted?
How should I decarb bubble hash? Does bubble hash need to be decarbed?
Thanks
sorry for the late response, but yes! bubble hash has to be decarbed 🙂
Much love,
Corinne
Put a baking sheet with a few pieces of bacon in the oven while decarbing or after. Then its just bacon smell.
Thanks for the article! Can you explain how decarbing before using the magic butter machine will preserve the terpenes? Terpenes are very volatile… Are you actually able to make edibles with the terpenes preserved in tact?
Do I have to decarboxylate hash?
It depends on how the hash was made. If it’s bubble… for sure yes… but I’ve had people give me concentrates that were “already decarboxylated” not sure what processes do that, but that’s what I’ve been told.
Thank you for the nova coupon savings. Was able to offset one week delivery fee with it and still save $5. Love and light!
Stumbled across your blog while I was looking for information to make butter (first time trying) and a couple of your posts have been very helpful. I have this site bookmarked.
Wonderful! Welcome to Wake + Bake!
Hi Corinne, I’m just getting started and learning about CBD and THC and I have a question. Is there a way to remove the THC so I get the medicinal value, but not the high, and if so, how?
I mistakenly made a tintacure without decarboxylating first. It’s been sitting about 2 months. Can I use it as is or should I strain it, dry out the bid and then bake it and re-add to vodka, or start over and just add a batch of decarboxlsted buds to stained liquid?
Hello, I’ve been involved in making tincture where the flower was not decarboxylated first. First time, we soaked in PGA for about 6 months in dark closet and shaking bottles every few days. Strained out herb. It was extremely potent. Second batch, same process but less time (bout a month) and was a lot of shake v flower. After straining, it was more useful for inducing headaches. This went on for a few more batches over time and the tincture was starting to pile up because no one was willing to sip through the several gallons of green PGA just for a headache and slight buzz (which was probs from the alcohol anyway). After doing a search on making tinctures, I came across this awesome blog https://wakeandbake.co/tinctures/ and discovered decarboxylation is key.
So….I took some of my stored up tincture, put in uncovered crockpot on lowest setting to burn off all alcohol/liquid. I figured the heating would convert the thca to thc (do not know if that is actually what happened…it’s a question I’ve not seen answered). Out came a very thick sticky dark green product which I spread onto dinner plates to cool and help evaporate remaining liquid. Now, how to get it off the plates? I used some Manuka honey and a lot of lemon EO (which cleans it off the plate and adds some acceptable flavor). I keep it stored in fridge in an old jam jar. A dose about the size of a pea takes an hour or so to kick in and lasts about 4 hours or more.
Hello, I’ve been involved in making tincture where the flower was not decarboxylated first. First time, we soaked in PGA for about 6 months in dark closet and shaking bottles every few days. Strained out herb. It was extremely potent. Second batch, same process but less time (bout a month) and was a lot of shake v flower. After straining, it was more useful for inducing headaches. This went on for a few more batches over time and the tincture was starting to pile up because no one was willing to sip through the several gallons of green PGA just for a headache and slight buzz (which was probs from the alcohol anyway). After doing a search on making tinctures, I came across this awesome blog https://wakeandbake.co/tinctures/ and discovered decarboxylation is key.
So….I took some of my stored up tincture, put in uncovered crockpot on lowest setting to burn off all alcohol/liquid. I figured the heating would convert the thca to thc (do not know if that is actually what happened…it’s a question I’ve not seen answered). Out came a very thick sticky dark green product which I spread onto dinner plates to cool and help evaporate remaining liquid. Now, how to get it off the plates? I used some Manuka honey and a lot of lemon EO (which cleans it off the plate and adds some acceptable flavor). I keep it stored in fridge in an old jam jar. A dose about the size of a pea takes an hour or so to kick in and lasts about 4 hours or more.
Thank you to everyone who has posted their info here. It is extremely helpful.
I decarb in jars in my All American pressure canner. It will hold 7 quart jars or 19 pints…as the jars are sealed you lose no terpenes and temp control is very accurate due to canning food it must be. I reach 240 and 30 mins. later it is done, let cool and you are done. This method only releases a very small amount of smelly csnnabis and could be covered with room spray. Hope this is helpfull.
Sounds like a great method! Thanks for sharing!
Sounds very easy and smell proof. How do you know when it reaches 240°F? When it reaches 240°, do you shut off the heat source or keep it on for 30 minutes?
Helpful article!
One thing, you said THCA breaks down into THC, CO2, and H2O. It’s a nit picky thing, but the reaction does not release water. Just CO2 in addition to THC. This is just the organic chemist inside me.
Thanks for the clarification, David!
I wasn’t able to access the chart. Can you decarb at 210 degrees but leave it in for longer? The max temp for this device is 210. It’s a consistent, even temp, and capacity wouldn’t be an issue. It’s made for sous vide cooking. Add a weighted jar with your ingredients, let it sit for however long you want in perfect temp water, and bingo. Only problem is the max temp. boiling temp is like 215, right, so I don’t think you could turn up the temp in a sous vide higher than that.
Yep 🙂
Mind telling me how long at 200 degrees? I appreciate your time!
Hello small info if possible is it possible too decarde some weed by microwave will be waiting
No, I’m sorry, you cannot decarb by microwave. It will destroy the cannabinoids. The idea of decarbing is an extended period of heat to activate the cannabinoids. The Nova by Ardent is the easiest way, but it still requires extended time and heat.
Maybe I missed it, but do you decarb with freshly cut or can I (need to) decarb with our dried mj? Thanks!!!
Hey Marianne, unless you’re eating it raw for health benefits only, all marijuana should be properly dried and cured after harvest to achieve max potency. Even after the plant is cut, the cannabinoids continue to develop… so you’ll lose valuable cannabinoids if you don’t give your bud time to cure. Any MJ (fresh or cured) you want a psychoactive effect from should be decarbed, otherwise the THCA will not convert to THC before you consume it. Hope this clarifies. Thanks for the question!
What if it is shake 6-12 months old? Thanks!
Still needs to be decarbed to be activated… however, the fun and interesting part about old material is you have to figure in aging. As THC ages it actually degrades to a different molecule called cannabinol, or CBN. This cannabinoid is very sedative. So expect anything made with old shake or trim to be extremely sleepy and sedating.
“Still needs to be decarbed to be activated… however, the fun and interesting part about old material is you have to figure in aging. As THC ages it actually degrades to a different molecule called cannabinol, or CBN. This cannabinoid is very sedative. So expect anything made with old shake or trim to be extremely sleepy and sedating.”
I am new back into the “game” and am definitely going the infusion route. Also, my consumption is very selectively timed. So, I have gotten a NOVA and a LEVO. I have used MCT as the oil for infusion and included Lecithin as suggested by wakeandbake.
The final product is added to a protein shake or taken half teaspoon.
I kept some of the decarbed product in a baggie in a sealed jar.
Questions wrt to the point made about THC –> CBN transition with age:
1. Will the already decarbed dry herb loose its THC — convert to CBN ?
2. Will the fresh, not decarbed, herb is kept (well sealed in a cool – not refrigerated – environment) THCA also convert to CBN – probably what you are saying above.?
3. Which of the two forms will convert quicker?
4. Is it fair to assume that the THC –> CBN conversion will be slowed, or stopped with infusion – and of course refrigeration?
Thanks for your experienced enlightenment Kristina/Corinne.
I’ve used the decarbing machine mentioned and had a LOT of problems with it, and also its replacement. It always took nearly 2 hours to “finish,” and there were other product failures as well. It only has a one-year warranty, so I personally don’t feel the price is fair. Has anyone else had these problems? Does any other company make a similar machine?
I’ve had my Nova for well over a year. On average I use it at least once a week. I haven’t had any problems with it whatsoever. I think it is the best investment I’ve ever made. Depending on the bud and the amount of bud you are decarboxalating it can take a good hour and a half to two hours to finish. The best part is that you don’t have to stand around and babysit it like you do in the oven. Into the magicalbutter machine and in the matter of a few hours, you can go from a bag of weed to some tasty edibles… Or drinkables. Or honey. Or a tincture. Or some distillate. Or go all the way with some Phoenix Tears. Damn I love cannabis,
Hey! Bottom of the one graph was Russian not greek 😉
LOL, thanks for the clarification Shawn! 🙂
Great easy to understand (I skipped over the chemistry/number parts). I decarbed for the first time in a long time and my gummies knocked me on my ass. Could be because I used homegrown sungrown bud to make it though. Thanks, I’ve shared to friends.
Russian, not Greek.
Oops, didn’t see this was answered already. My b
Hi humans,
I had hoped to find more info related to Sous Vide. All I saw was a comment with a non-answer. Corinne, Are you familiar with Sous Vide Decarb? If so – could you expand the article to include it/ i’ve had great success decarbing flowers and trim but am interested in decarbing some kief.
Thanks!
HI,
I have purchased the Ardent decarb. And I was wondering if and how I could use it to decarb shatter? Is there a silicone sleeve?
Thanks in advance.
Rick
I I don’t decarboxulate, will I still reap the same CBD benefits? I’m looking for something less psychoactive and more CBD. Thanks!
All messages seem to show using fresh moist trim . What do I do with dry trim ? Same steps ?
Thanks !!
peace
same steps 🙂
ok trying to understand this decarb , is it just the method that you normally use to dry out your buds ? being done quicker ? or is it you have to decarb already dried and cured buds as i understand that dried and cured buds have the THC in it ??
Hi Corrine,
I came across your article whilst researching hash for edibles.
I have been using the Nova and the MB2 very successfully for 2 years with cured buds and trim for oils, butter and tinctures for medibles.
I have been trying to ascertain if I can decarboxylate hash (as in the old fashioned brown bricks of hash I used in the late 60s before there was homegrown in the UK) in the Nova and if I can, how do I do it.
Have you tried this type of hash in your Nova? Has anyone? I produce medibles at cost (or donate) for friends and relatives with a need for medical marijuana having found that, for myself, medibles are an excellent way of easing, not only the pain, but also many of the other diseases that accompany Fibromyalgia Syndrome. Any information you can give me will help a lot of sick people including myself.
One love
The Nova + MB2 cost a bit for lighter users to cough up.
I notice however that the Nova claims that it can infuse as well as decarb.
Evan above suggests that the MB2 set on high (250) for an hour first can decarb in the oil, without evaporating volatiles.
How about a review of which device can do a better job of both processes? If you are only going to buy one, which?
It’s on its way Freddie! Stay tuned 🙂
Try the LEVO… It does everything except buy the cannabis for you…
I’ve tried the Levo and haven’t been getting much results is there an easier method?
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OK, a few comments:
A. I have had to return and replace 2 Novas, incredibly bad customer service with unreasonable response times (google boards for this and you will see quite extensive thumbs-down and horror stories). Since they cannot accept used broken units thru USPS/FedEx due to federal transport issues, they should perhaps believe customers who claim product failures. (P.S. If cooking time takes 2 hours, Please just say so instead of the standard “1 hr. and 15 mins.”)They wanted to charge me almost full price to replace second malfunctioning one so I said No Dice. Do they have a patent or something? Competition, PLEASE.
B. After reading the very helpful comments above re: dealing with cannabis cooking odor, I did the following:
Start baking an onion, and also simmer on stovetop in water a cinnamon stick, a few whole cloves, Vanilla Bean ( really helps), mace, a few cardamom pods, any other odiferous sweet spice. Burn some strong incense . . . I used copal. . . near front door. Use foil on top of the Pyrex cooking-canna bowl. I only cooked a gram at a time, x 2. After it’s cooked, remove and leave foil on top till cool. I was very, very pleased with the results. No “outside the apt.” smell. Possibly because I cooked a small amount at a time. I feel free.
I have a question that doesn’t seem to have been asked anywhere before. I got my medical card, bought several strains, and since I don’t want to odor around my young son, I made several hundred dollars worth of tinctures. The bad news is that I did not hear about decarboxing until AFTER I made the tinctures. I just soaked the material in grain alcohol for a week or two. While I can feel some effects, the lab tests indicate that they are just a fraction of their potential. So my question is: Can I decarbox liquid tinctures that were made with non-decarboxed material? Thanks in advance!
golly ive been decarbing for 15 minutes at 250 degrees. its been working great, i do a single dose at a time, a smaller pinch of weed that youd but in a bong for yourself. then i do a 20 minute cook of the decarbed in coconut oil and it gets me high as hell for 10 hours. u sure get more high for your $ eating it…
wonder if 60 minutes would be inproved… ive tried more and ended up the weed tasted burnt
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can I buy CBD oil from you for delivery to UK?
Corinne doesn’t currently sell CBD oil, unfortunately. -Fiona (Corinne’s Assistant)
Hello there B J LIGHTFOOT, just to let you know that CBD oil ( with absolutely no THC) is legal in the UK so loads available online or in retail shops like Holland and Barrett.
If you are looking for a product with both CBD and THC in the UK you are basically going to have to find someone who already makes their own medical products for use in edibles, vape pens, as a tincture or for use in topically applied creams, shampoos etc and approach them personally because, in the UK, as soon as a speck of THC is in a product it is illegal.
I have been making all my own meds, edibles, vape fluid and topicals for about 3 years now and no longer need the addictive opiod pain relief prescribed by my GP for years for Fibromyalgia Syndrome, 3 prolapsed discs and sciatica in both legs.
I invested in a Magic Butter Machine and a Nova decarboxylator and a few other necessities which didn’t leave much change out if £700 due to shipping costs from the USA and Import Tax added on arrival in the UK but it has been worth every penny.
I have been able to ease the lives of friends and family by being able to make my own products and I am better than I have been for 30 years by using this natural wonder of a medicine instead of opioids.
I am going off the point. The baseline is that CBD oil that contains only CBD is classed as a food supplement in the UK, is entirely legal and can be easily bought online or in health food stores. Even Ocado, the online grocery that deliver to your door stock it ?
Thanks for being a dedicated stoner. Not many left. I’ve been cooking with weed since the 70’s and smoking since the 60’s. Banana bread has always been my favorite thing to make. Don’t even taste the pot. 1 oz per loaf. Got tired of the taste of brownies and weed real quick. Now that you have told me about the Ardent, (have mine now and is cookin as I type), I can get the most benefits from my baking. Always looking for good recipes to use, without a lot of chocolate. Tired of that too. Checking out your info – Thanks Beth —– I’ll be watching you and for your new stuff. Zulupits
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Hi and thank you for all of this. I have a question though. I want to make a sore muscle salve that’s high in THC. In the post it mentions that Decarboxylation happens naturally during the drying process. I’ve purchased some bud from a dispensary. Presumably it has been properly dried. Do I still need to do the Decarboxylation step, or is it as good as it’s going to get? In other words, is Decarboxylation only necessary for fresh picked bud, or do you still have to do it for properly dried weed too? Thanks!
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Best Website Ever – such Great information, Thank You!!!! …..I did get the Arden Decarb machine thru you and technical tests may show numbers, but, that machine is not Great….the purple lid on the internal canister is silicone make to smell like the strongest horrible chemical ever! Tried 3 times, still Stinks like Awful.
the process may prove out in silicon valley, but the elevation is long wait, big elevation for a very short time….old school is the way to go….I did a blind taste test among 12 good friend for dinner – no alcohol….6 disappointed with the machine’s product, 6 much happier with my stove top recipe…..
The lid STILL stinks….I’ve soaked it, washed it….just nasty – prob throw it away…it DOES NOT make your stuff go further….period
hi Corinne – great article thanks! I have a small amount of sugra leaf trim that i put in a mason jar after harvesting last september – it’s just been sitting in the jar, and i now want to make a cannabutter with it – will it still work?? and do i need to decarb? thanks!
same question
I”m not sure if you can help me or not. I have made gummies a few times, from an alcohol based tincture that I first made in my magical butter machine.
I just made tincture but totally forgot to decarb first.
Usually what I do after making tincture is strain out the weed, and then cook down the tincture until it is molasses like.
If I go ahead as usual, would it still work to make effective edibles? Is it possible that the cooking down of the tincture is enough?
I would try put it into a slow cooker for 1 hour on high and overnight at low
This is a great blog… but why do you not answer any comments?? I find that every thing you read here has left me with a great amount of questions. but yet comment questions are left with no answers. WHY?
Great question Kacie! We’re unable to answer every comment or question that comes through (there’s only 1 of me and I’m a full time mom and owner of two online businesses).
I publish all of the questions so other readers can help each other out if I don’t have the time. Then when I review a post to update it, I go through all of the questions and answer them in the updated post. I’ll be doing that next week for this post, so let me know what questions you have and I’ll make sure they get answered!
xoxo – CT
Could the decarbing work by adding the oil and buds or lied together and holding the temp.at say 245degrees for a couple days. I made the last batch that way and have been told it is very effective salve. But I’m not a chemist and wonder if I’m getting all I can get from it. Thanks Mike
Hey Mike!
Maddie here (Corinne’s assistant)
If what you’re doing is working- keep doing it!
And if you have more questions, feel free to reach out to me via [email protected]!!
Have a wonderful day!
-Maddie (Team Wake+Bake)
Very intersting article
The patients I work with need as little THC. So if I understand the process correctly, if I want to burn off the THC and have mostly CBD left, I need to increase the temperature and the time in the oven? Any information greatly appreciated! I am having trouble finding specific recipes to draw out mostly CBD.
Hi Steve,
I’m actually not sure if there is a way to burn off the THC. CBD has a higher temperature when decarbing than THC, but I don’t think it’s high enough where it would negatively affect the THC in a significant way. Have you looked at Sacred Smoke Herbals before? Their hemp flower contains less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC. You’ll also receive full lab analysis results with each purchase.
Warmly,
Victoria (Team Wake + Bake)
Does anyone use an air fryer for decarboxylating?
If interested, we’re trying one and while we have not engaged any independent labs to confirm our product, mostly because we are not selling it, the air fryer (and an ultrasonic cleaner to agitate the solution while soaking in Everclear) seems to work quite well for making CBG tinctures… I suspect it would also work for CBD at a slightly higher temperature.
Hi I harvested my marijuana and set it to air dry in a bucket for 2 weeks the I covered it with a clean dry cloth for a few months now.As you might have guessed I dont have a clue if my marijuana still needs to be decarboxylation?? And would it still be usesable?? I would appreciate any advise that might help me with this situation. Thanks Min H Mez.
Hi Minerva!
Yes, you would still need to decarboxylate it to active your cannabis.
It should still be good as long as there is no mold growing on it, but it sounds like you took very good care of it!
Warmly,
Victoria (Team Wake + Bake)
Hi Hemp Living USA, I can’t thank you enough for all of your guides and tips on BLOG NICHE. They are like a goldmine for me, keep rocking on, you are helping so many.
Never tested sous vide?
Hmm it seems like your website ate my first
comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new
to everything. Do you have any recommendations for newbie
blog writers? I’d definitely appreciate it.
Yes Mariam! Welcome to bloglife 😉 We made a free class at the Cannabis Coaching Institute for folks who are new to this work. You can check that out here: https://www.cannabiscoachinginstitute.com/free-cannabis-business-class/
I hope that helps!
With love,
Corinne
Last email I put my phone number in it . Sorry, the SARGE had a brain fart. Look forward to your response and thank you.
I have some buds from the previous season so they have less moisture. Should I decrease the time to decarboxylate?
Our state has as of August 1st legalized cannabis. During growth, pulling the fan leaves my friend says these are just as well to use to decarb. Is this an OK practice? I did my first batch. Feeling rather old school, baking leaf on a cookie sheet.
Then in my instant pot using 1c cannabis 1c butter 1c water. On low warm temperature stays a constant 170°. Using cheese cloth separate leaves from.
It tastes a bit green. Iam guessing because of the desolate leaves?
Mixed tablespoon cannabutter and tablespoon raw honey.
It’s potent. How do I improve on the flavor .?
Thanks your info is wonderful.