Distillate: For Those Who Crave Consistency

 

Weed is weird. Think of beer if you will. Every time you buy a certain brand of beer, it’s the same. You may end up with a can or a glass bottle or even a pint, but a Heineken tastes like a Heineken and a Miller Light tastes like a Miller Light every time. This is because making beer is really not all that different than baking. A set of inputs are added with specific ratios and measured out the same each time making a homogenous end product. Cannabis however is very different.

The humidity of the room that weed is grown in changes the quality of the end product. One cut grown from seed of Banana Punch will vary wildly from another growers cut grown from the same seed pack of Banana Punch. The differences come down to everything from natural genetic variations present in plants to environmental factors in the growing process that change the terpene or cannabinoid output or profile.

For those that crave consistency, the solutions are few. Sure you can find some hometown favourites and consistently support those vendors. But if you’re traveling or just want something different, distillate is a good option for folks who want a consistent and reliably similar experience every time.

Producing cannabis distillate involves utilizing a specialized apparatus to heat a solution to a precise temperature, enabling the vaporization of a particular compound within the solution without causing its degradation. Subsequently, the vaporized compound is efficiently condensed back into a liquid state, effectively segregating it from the other ‘undesirable’ compounds present in the original solution.

A straightforward illustration of distillation can be seen in the purification process of water. Elevating the temperature of water to 100°C (212°F) leads to the vaporization of the H2O molecules, while any unwanted impurities are left behind. Swiftly cooling the water vapour then results in the re-condensation of pure, distilled water.

Just like distilled water, distilled cannabis oil is stripped off impurities and terpenes or flavours are added back later if at all. Because of this, most distillate is pretty much the same. There are levels of quality for sure, but good distillate is good distillate.

Distillate can be used in cartridges or dabbed, but one of the best uses is baking. Not only does distillate not leave a weedy taste, but it is very potent per gram. If you’re baking with distillate and you know the THC percentage you can even figure out roughly how much THC will be in each treat you make…roughly. Be careful with at home baking math and trusting lab tests on cannabis labels.

However, it’s true that baking is one of the best uses for distillate. It also save a lot of time over making weed butter. Weed butter, while it works, is a pain in the butt to make and everyone knows how dank a pot brownie or cookie can taste when it’s made with weed butter. In addition, it can be pretty expensive to buy ounces to dump into pounds of butter. Cannabis distillate is shelf stable and lasts forever seemingly if stored correctly. All these reasons are great examples of why distillate is better than weed butter for at home cooking. The downsides are that it’s pretty sticky. Because of that it can be a bit difficult to work with. If using a bulk jar or syringe, submerging the base of the vessel in warm water can help loosen up the product for easier use. For cleanup expect to use isopropyl alcohol.

Here are some Distillate products available for mail order in Canada:

1g Vape Cartridges by Elevated Extracts come in a variety of strains. Each cartridge contains 1g of premium HTFSE. With strains like Trainwreck and Durban Poison these are sure to be tasty and hit nice. What’s so convenient about distillate is that it can be packed up in cartridges. That means the consistent flavour and strength consumers love can be brought with them discreetly wherever they go. Most cartridge stans swear by them for their lack of heavy, lingering smoke smell as well.

You can also buy larger amounts in a jar for dabbing or cooking here through Chronic Farms. Their distillate is produced in BC, Canada, using high-quality starting materials that are free of pesticides and heavy metals, resulting in an exceptional final product. All the products undergo laboratory analysis to maintain both potency and consistency. In marijuana, the primary psychoactive component is Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), along with Delta-8-THC. The distillate exclusively contains Delta-9-THC, ensuring consumers receive a potent experience.

Lastly, Vape Cartridges from Straight Goods Supply Co. a newer cannabis company based out of beautiful British Columbia, Canada. These are 95% distillate and 5% organic terpenes. This is another vape cartridge that will hit hard and deliver the same experience ever single time.

If that’s your thing, distillate is the way to go. Check out the deals above. As always Potsmart gives customers 15% off on all of them.

 

By Rico Suave, for Potsmart