Malawi Style Cob Curing.

This is how i reproduce the traditional cob cured buds bought in Africa the main difference is I dont bury them to sweat.
I seal them in vac bags so I can keep an eye on them in case of mold developing.
The finished product is golden/orange and sweet tasting. I also jar cure my buds for the different tastes. Power wise the cobs feel a lot stronger this may be from being compacted you smoke more or the trichs may be more matured I make no claim other than it tastes great, looks great IMO.
Most people I give it to agree with me on the taste and power and use this technique on their personal stash.

cob cure

cob cure

This was my original method, but at the bottom of the page is an alternate method developed with some friends on this and other forums
Before sealing them in a vac bag I get the sweat started by wrapping the cobs loosely in a plastic bag in a warm/hot location, you should see the perspiration on the inside of the plastic bag and the cobs should feel wet/moist on the outside. Then vac seal the cobs in the vac bag.
I leave the cobs in the vac bag for between 1 and 3 weeks to sweat. When opened the smell should be a strong sickly sweet smell if the sweat was successful.
Then remove them and let them air dry in a cool dark place.
By the end of a week the outer skin is dry and stiff. The buds inside will have amalgamated to form a stick. This can then be stored for years in the usual way. The buds inside will need to be carved off and broken into rocks to be smoked the usual way.
The buds need to be dried to just dry on the outside but moist on the inside before compacting in the cob.

Tip: Once the cobs are cured dry them but not fully, so they are slightly moist in the centre, then store ina jar or vac seal them for long term storage. If you fully dry the cobs it stops any further curing. I have cobs vac sealed over 3 years old and they are still as good if not better than when first dried.
Below is some Malawi cob and buds cured this way plus the trichs after curing.

The trichs were clear and mostly cloudy before the cob cure


Since posting this a while ago some friends and I on another forum have developed a sure fire method to get good results.
You need a Yogurt maker $60 online, crockpot on minimum or any other regulated heat source heat mat ect
You make you cob as normal and vacuum seal it. I have used buds as fresh as 24hr after harvest through to smoke able dried.
Then put the sealed cob into the yogurt maker for between 6 and 24hrs at 40c. You can go up to 60c or possibly even more but fermentation will be quicker.
Then remove the cob which will be wet and dry it to about 80% dry
Next re vacuum seal the semi dry cob for a month to further cold cure at 30c or room temp
After a month remove and dry to smoke able consistency
You can smoke it now but it will be very stony, if you reseal it for a further 2 months to age at room temp it will be the most potent and very clear.
You can vary the time in the yogurt maker even 48hrs is ok but the longer you sweat it for the darker the result. Darker cobs tend to be more narcotic but still very trippy
You can also vary the moisture content of the buds going into the cob in the first place to give differing results.
Its as simple as that and works every time as long as its vacuum sealed you will not get mold.

thats cool as hell man thnks for sharing!

nice! thanks for sharing!

I hope you won't mind if I ask a few clarifying questions:

-your rec for bud moisture "just dry on the outside but moist on the inside" is this the same as when I'd normally throw buds in paper bags in Simon's method? are the stems snapping or still bendy?

-are you using fresh corn husks from an ear of corn? or do you use those prepared ones they sell for tamales? are they moist or dry?

-how much herb per cob? is that important or can you scale up and down easily?

-have you tried longer ferments? how'd you settle on 2 weeks in the vac bag? it sounds like you're getting finished smoke in like a month from harvest?

-have you tried it with non-Malawi types?

thanks again! I'm excited to do some experimenting...

Hi Heady I will try to answer your questions in the order you asked them
The stems must be still bendy and not snap cleanly, the buds must be dry enough to smoke though
I use corn husks I have removed the day before, but you can use fresh they are just easier to work with 24 hrs later
I use an ounce and a half to two ounces per cob, this weight will be about half when finished curing and dried.
I have found 1 to 2 weeks in the bag is about right as you are basicaly starting decomp and halting it at the stage that makes it best to smoke.
Yes it works with any dope, you will need to fine tune the times to get the result you prefer but 1 to 2 weeks will not ruin the buds.
In Malawi they cure by burying the cobs or inserting them between the thatch on the roof of their huts, which also sweats them, some also just let them air dry(low quality)
I also mix blends of different heads for different effects. You can use less bud per cob but for thin cobs use less time in the bags.
If you need any help during the trial just ask, you could try with pop corn buds until you get it right. I use my best buds in my cobs but I have been doing it for 30 years so I have a good feel for it.
Regards Tangwena

tang thanks a million! only just saw your reply today.

i'll have to do some experimenting. i'll post back results here when i get around to trying it!

Hey Tangwena very impressive! Im gonna give that a try. When u said u use the vac bag to keep an eye for mold, do u open and unwrap the husk to inspect the bud for mold during the 1 to 2 week period?

cob cure

cob cure

Hi Joe2 yes as long as you revac the bag afterwards, I usually open the bag after 5 to 7 days to re bind the cob tighter, as it decomposes it shrinks and if you rebind it it compresses the bud further creating the hard dense cob effect. Then revac the bag for the last week.
After the 2 weeks take it out and let it air dry somewhere cool and dry for a week, its then ready to smoke but just gets better the longer you leave it.
The only major variable is how dry the buds are going in. It effects the end product result, but by experimentation you can get the cob just how you want it. You should feel free to inspect, unwrap, smell ect at any time its a very hands on organic experience and something I find very enjoyable to do.
Also if the cob is smaller or thinner going in the bag shorten the vac bag time by half, and check after 4 days or so everything id going well before re sealing vac bag. The sweat happens quite quickly.






Good luck.
Tangwena

Hey Tangwena thanks for the info. I got a trial run goin now, im using some Mexican airlines that hermied and had to cut early, only a week, and im using an unknown bagseed sativa dom buds. NEways im stoked if I succeed ill post some pics' thanks again
Joe2

Nev Haze Malaw cure

Nev Haze Malaw cure

Hi guys after inspecting the nev haze cobs at 7 day mark I have opened the cobs and found a moist central core with a shrunken and slightly dry skin. I put the loose buds that I cured along with the cobs under a microscope to see what they looked like, here are the pics.


As you can see the trichs have turned golden. I will now keep the cobs and buds in the loosely open bag in a cool dry place for a week or two more and they will be sweet as. You could smoke them now but they improve with age from here.
The smell of the moist damp cob is very sweet, but if you leave the room and re enter the smell of piney haze hits you first then the over powering smell of sweetness.
Once it dries out a little more just the pine haze will remain.
The outside of the cob will smell dull sweet piney, but if you break the cob up the full smell of the bud come very refined.
I am very pleased with these cobs they should make what was a very ordinary looking weed into super charged piney spliff.
Tangwena

Nev Haze cob

Nev Haze cob



Two pics of trichs before and after 7 days.
Tangwena

great thread!

subbed.

Great thread!

Zamaldelica AKA Malawi gold

Zamaldelica AKA Malawi gold

Hi guys for those trying cob curing some pics of some Zamaldelica buds after 2 weeks in a cob. Plus same buds just sweat cured but not cobbed.
The cob cured is mind altering tripped out African goodness, the loose buds, very strong typical zamal high. I will be cobbing the rest of the loose buds for sure.
Because they are still moist and have not dried out, they will bind together and sweat in the cob. Making some more Zamal malawi gold cobs.


The first close up is sweat cured only the second cob cured for the same time in the same vac bag
Tangwena

Awesome - I knew of tightening buds on bamboo sticks as in the Thai bud, but never seen this. Wish I could taste the end product, and in general to have the buds to play around like that.

I can see some of my friends reaction to this - taking my harvest and wrapping in corn husks and burying underground hahah, my friends would think I went completely mad.

Hi Polish whatever you do dont bury them, it may stuff them up, use the vacuum bag method so you can keep an eye on them if you give it a go.
The main benefit is the smooth smoking herb it produces, it tastes really good and not harsh at all. I also find the high very much stronger than the jar cured buds.
Regards Tangwena

very informative
i will have to try this next harvest

well I did some small gram plus cobs, I used grape leaves because the corn aint in heres a pic of the Mexican airline after a week of being wrapped up tight in a grape leaf vac sealed. The camera is crap sorry, in the pic theres a wrapped cob an unwrapped cob and an uncobed mexiairline bud.

Quick question. What are you using to tie the cobs? May have to give this a try.

I used yarn