Cannabis tinctures are one of the products taking the new medical marijuana industry by storm. The ability to safely dose yourself with a reliable quantity of cannabinoids has been absent from the industry largely until now. A cannabis tincture is either an ethanol oral tincture or glycerin sublingual tincture. However, the main difference between the two being glycerin is absorbed via the mucous membrane and ethanol is ingested.
Decarboxylation
Recently I made a Cannabis tincture using pure kief. Decarboxylation is one of the most common questions regarding infused cannabis products. Decarboxylation is the process of THCA converting to THC. If cannabis is not decarboxylated, THCA is not converted and does not pass the blood brain barrier, resulting in no psychoactive high. Most methods will tell you to decarboxylate inside the oven, over a stovetop, double boil, all at or around 160 – 220 degrees fahrenheit. One of the most impressive features of Cannabis is this decarboxylation process happens naturally. This natural process is important because when plant matter or kief is heated past 80-90 degrees fahrenheit, terpenes and flavonoids are burned off. These compounds are responsible largely for the entourage effect and provide many of the medicinal benefits of cannabis.
Cannabis Tinctures – The Process
The process used to make our cannabis tinctures was incredibly simple, but understanding why it works is more important. I used 10 grams of 3 month old kief which sat in a stored container in a cool dark spot. By allowing the kief to sit 3 months, the decarboxylation process has taken place on it’s own because THCA naturally converts to THC over time. No need for heating the kief! I measured out 10 grams of kief and put it in a small mason jar. Then I measured out 10 ounces of grain alcohol and poured it in with the kief. Shake every 10-15 minutes for 2-3 hours, then transfer to another clean mason jar using a coffee filter and funnel. Total process took time less than 4 hours from start to finish.
Our Cannabis tincture turned out great!
Why Use Kief?
The main advantages of using kief are;
- More Concentrated
- Easier to work with
- Chlorophyll contents greatly reduced
- No decarboxylation needed if kief stored for 3+ months
- Less material to filter
12 Comments on “Cannabis Tinctures”
accurate .. thanks for this post. I used lemon heart 151 rum . and leif about 6 months old. works .. thanks.
how do I decarb my new keif ? I cant find how to decarb leif. ??? thanx for your time.
Decarbing kief take about 5-7 mins in the oven at 220°
Can I separate and redry keif I forgot to decarb? Mixture is not strained yet. 95 per ent ethanol and slot of keif
Does all cannabis do this I had a great friend give me a medium sized U haul box of shake! Love that kid! In any case I have not used it all up, I put it into bags from my old orders to keep it fresher and stored in the refrigerator but it’s getting older now like a year +/- and I was thinking that I would just make tinctures out of the rest should I bother with decarboxylation at this point
Article states terps burn off at 80-90 F , which is not true. They start to burn off above 220F, except ocimene. I would decarb at a lower temperature, like 160-180F.
My keef is 3 months old but its been in a freezer, will it still be decarbed?
Hello,
Is the rule of making tinctures with keif….1/1. So 10gm of kief to 10 ounces liquor?
Thank you for your time.
Charity
Hi Charity,
The 1/1 ratio you provided is solid, but there is no set rule when it comes to tincture ratios. I would encourage you to experiment a little and find a recipe ratio that fits your needs. Hope that helps!
I’ve mad green dragon tintire using lied was not impressed during the reduction it jus stopped simmering for some reason I’ve made brownies with Kiev put 2g per stick of butter in a Masson jar I set the oven to 165 and left it for twenty minutes then added the kief straight to the melted butter and let barely simmer for a few minutes until blended and then went directly to making the brownies and they have Ben a hit a half a brownie is the normal dose and have Ben praise on the taste and the buzz of them still have a couple ounces of kief to exspearment with but if anyone knows how to get better results I’m open for suggestions
what i did.
take tinfoil make a boat. put Keif in boat evenly.
\___/ ~< Boat.
~pre-heat 240
~put the boat in the oven when it hits the temps.
~Softly move keif around boat evenly spreading keif.
"Ready the Good Shit"
~ 190 proof EverClear.
~ Mason Jar Clean.
Dump EverClear in Dump Decarbed Keif in let it sit in a dark place for 6 months. best used by 1 year but it will keep!! yes it will still "keep"
-This is a Waiting game. take a Dropper and Test every month at the end of the month…
wait about 30 minutes – drop under tongue! telling you please be careful. this is not for the faint of hart.
Seems to me that a 1-1 (gm to fl. oz.) is VERY STRONG. When I use bud I use 1/2 oz. bud to 8 fl. oz. of Everclear. Maybe my thinking is wrong, but if I look at a gram of kief being basically equivalent to an ounce of bud, then I would only use 1/2 gram of kief for 8 fl. oz. of Everclear. I think I may make a few different dilutions and see what works best.