Have you ever noticed the “dust” that collects at the bottom of your cannabis grinder? It goes by many names, including dust, cannabis crystals, and chief. Most people, however, know it as kief. Although it doesn’t look like much, it’s a slightly sticky, powdery substance that can take your experiences with your favorite strains to a whole new level.
What Is Kief? A Closer Look
If you’ve ever looked closely at a cannabis flower, you may have noticed tiny hairs on it topped with even smaller “crystals.” These hairs are actually trichomes, which are where the strain’s cannabinoids and terpenes get produced. The crystals at the top of the trichomes are tiny resin pockets that contain the substance from within them. When it dries, it can fall off the plant. That’s kief.
What makes kief so special? That dried resin is essentially concentrated cannabis. It’s full of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other beneficial compounds. The substance is quite potent, ranging from 50% to 80% THC. It provides a simple way to obtain concentrate that you can then use to enhance the potency of your cannabis sessions.
How To Use Kief
One of the best things about kief is that it’s incredibly versatile. With so many ways to use it, it’s well worth the minimal effort it takes to collect it (we’ll get to that in a bit). Not sure where to begin? Here are a few clever uses for kief to get you started.
Add an Extra Kick to Your Joint or Bowl
We’ll start with one of the most straightforward kief uses. Take a pinch of your collected kief and sprinkle it over the ground herb before you roll your joint. Or, if you prefer a pipe or bong, top the flower in your bowl with a small amount. It adds a delightful extra kick of potency to your smoke sessions.
You’ll want to keep a couple of essential things in mind here. First, a little bit of kief goes a long way. Remember, kief is much more potent than any high-THC buds. Start small and gradually increase the amount you add to avoid getting too high on your first try.
Second, always smoke your kief with some green in your joint or bowl. Straight kief burns very fast. It also creates harsh hits that may irritate your throat and lungs.
Use It With a Dry Herb Vaporizer
Do you prefer vaping over smoking? Try adding kief to the flower in your dry herb vaporizer. Similar to smoking, it makes your hits more potent. You won’t need much to achieve the desired results.
Try a “Snow Cone”
Although it’s one of the messiest ventures, a snow cone is an excellent use for kief. To make one, you’ll need a joint or pre-rolled joint, distillate (concentrate), kief, and a dab tool. Use the dab tool to apply the distillate along the length of your joint. Next, pour some kief onto a rolling tray or plate. Finally, roll your joint in the kief, and you’re ready to go.
If you want to give this suggestion a try, be sure to leave some space between the distillate-kief mix and your filter. The concentrate may drip as your joint burns. That space provides a catch for it.
Make Moon Rocks
Moon rocks are whole cannabis buds coated in kief. Making them is a lot like making a snow cone. All you need is a few of your favorite buds, kief, and some distillate. Gently warm the oil and apply it to your flowers. Then carefully sprinkle the kief over them. You can also roll the buds in your kief. Again, a rolling tray or plate can help contain the mess.
When you’re ready to use them, don’t run your moon rocks through a grinder. Instead, break them apart carefully by hand.
Create Hash With It
Hash is basically kief that underwent slight heat and pressure. You’ll need a piece of parchment paper and a clothes iron or hair straightener to make it yourself.
First, pour your kief onto the parchment and fold the paper over it. Then run your iron gently across the top. Doing this compresses the kief, giving you hash. Just take care to avoid burning the parchment paper.
Press It Into Rosin
You can also use a hair straightener to press kief into rosin. Again, place your kief on parchment paper and fold the paper over the top of it. Then press it between the plates of the styling tool and squeeze gently to squeeze out the cannabinoids and terpenes from the plant material. The process leaves you with an extract, also known as hash oil.
Get Creative in the Kitchen
Do you enjoy cooking or baking? Mix some kief with decarboxylated flowers and boost the potency of homemade cannabis-infused foods. You’ll need some cannabutter (or cannaoil) to get started. The process is similar to making regular cannabutter. The only difference is that you’re adding a little kief to the mix.
The sky’s the limit with your kicked-up cannabutter or oil. Spread it on toast, bake with it, or make sauces or dressings. From baked goods to gourmet meals, you can do all kinds of things with cannabis and kief in the kitchen.
Spice Up Your Coffee or Tea
Adding a sprinkle of kief to your hot coffee or tea is a super simple way to use it. And, unlike other kitchen uses for it, you don’t necessarily need to decarboxylate your kief first. The heat from the boiling water will take care of the process for you.
Again, keep in mind that a little goes a long way. You’ll only need about a milligram of kief per six ounces of coffee or tea. However, start small and work your way up to find what provides you with the best results.
Your Guide To Collecting Kief
While there are a few ways to collect kief, the easiest at-home method is to use a three-chamber grinder. The second chamber, where your cannabis falls as you grind it, contains a mesh screen. Kief falls through the tiny holes and collects in the bottom compartment. You can also purchase packaged kief from your favorite dispensary.
Are You Ready To Explore the Many Uses for Kief? Start With High-Quality Buds From VidaCann
For the best experiences with kief, you’ll want to start with the highest-quality buds. At VidaCann, you’ll find a broad selection of premium cannabis flowers from some of the top, trusted brands. Feel free to check out all we have to offer online or find your nearest VidaCann dispensary and visit us in person!
