Effect of curing on the high

[JohnnyChicago]

I don't know if there is already a dedicated thread to this subject.
But what do you think?
Does curing affect the high?
If yes, how much?
.... And how?

I know the cure does or can affect the high, but found a plant where quality of high and potency improved so much with the cure that is almost unbelievable it is the same plant it has been few month earlier after 1 month of cure or with no curing at all.

I guess I wrote few weeks ago in this forum, that when a pheno is a good one or the best, you know it from 1st day after finished drying. If not then it is no good enough.

Was wrong I guess.

 

[Nannymouse]

There are a couple of jars that Mouse cannot decide which is better...as time goes on, they keep changing! One is definitely better 'fresh' for vaping, then after a couple of weeks, the other seems nicer. Been going that way for months. They may both evaporate before there is a final victor.

 

[Im'One]

I found my buds easier on the throat after a good cure but haven't found a strain that improved in strength.

 

[Guest]

In relation to the terpenes:

They harvested 60 grams of buds from the same plant and grouped them into four categories of 15 grams each: one was kept fresh (A), the second was dried at room temperature for a week (B), the third was dried at room temperature for a week then stored in a brown paper bag for one month (C), and the fourth was dried for a week then stored in a brown paper bag for three months (D). The four allotments were steam-distilled, and the resulting oil was analyzed chemically and a yield was calculated for each. Steam-distillation extracts just the oils (terpenes) that give cannabis its smell, and nothing else.

The major components were myrcene (hoppy smell) and limonene (citrus smell), with linalool (lavender, citrus smell) and caryophyllene (strong peppery smell) being relatively significant players as well. Fresh buds obviously had the largest terpene content, but only during the first week did most of the terpenes evaporate; after that the terpene loss plateaued.

Their findings show that drying changes the relative concentration of terpenes in the oil. Smaller, lighter terpenes (monoterpenes) like myrcene and limonene evaporated faster. Bigger, heavier terpenes (sesquiterpenes) like caryophyllene don’t evaporate as quickly, and represent a larger percentage of the oil after drying.

In summary, if you want the full terpene content in your oil, extract it from fresh frozen buds, but keep in mind that moisture in the buds prevents the butane from dissolving everything it needs to dissolve.

If you’re going to dry the pot, you might as well dry and cure it all the way because most of the terpenes are lost during the first week, and the loss stabilizes after that. The terpene loss isn’t homogeneous; drying will likely lead to a more peppery-smelling oil, since caryophyllene will make up a larger percentage of the oil. There will be considerably less myrcene after drying, but limonene stays relatively constant.

Study by university of Mississippi
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/np960004a#citing
Article here
https://hightimes.com/grow/what-does-drying-buds-do-to-terpenes/

 

[Switcher56]

I test (thoroughly) after the dry, only to see what potential it holds. I always wait a month or 2 before resampling. The cure IMHO raises the buds "smokeability", potency remains pretty much the same, with maybe, the operative word here is maybe, a slight increase which, in itself can be very subjective (as we are hoping it is better). To me, prior to the cure buds tend to taste a "little green", very noticeable while vaping. OTOH, after the cure the nuances (flavour profile) can be readily detected, but not as much when combusted. Not an issue with mari-pills as you don't taste them.

 

[Nannymouse]

yes, i was referring to the taste. To be honest, since going to a strong tincture before bedtime, i've sort of lost the ability to 'feel' the strength of inhaled bud.

 

[therevverend]

I guess I wrote few weeks ago in this forum, that when a pheno is a good one or the best, you know it from 1st day after finished drying. If not then it is no good enough.

Was wrong I guess.

I used to believe the same thing, took me a while to figure out I was wrong. It took me a while because in the past I rarely kept more then an 1/8 for more then 3 months. My idea was that once the stuff is dried it's at it's peak in potency, smell, terpenes and the rest and begins to degrade.

First we have to talk about what 'finished drying' is because more good cannabis is ruined after harvest then any other way. I'm talking about hanging in a cool dark dry place with good air circulation for a minimum of 10 days but 14 days is better. Until completely dry. No burping in jars or 7 day cure in a warm room. After 14 days you can roll a joint and assess the stuff. After that it's stored in a clean air tight container at temperatures 65 degrees F/ 19 C or lower. Not a plastic bag.

At this stage I have a friend who takes it one more step. He'll stack the untrimmed branches in cardboard boxes, covered with newspaper. A couple times a week he'll re-stack them, move them around the room,
maybe remove the newspaper from on top of a box for a few days. This curing process will go on for a month or two. His cannabis is the best I've smoked. He also doesn't fertilize for the last four weeks of flowering outdoors and stops using nitrogen two months before harvest but that's a different thread. Both of these steps, the cutting off of nutrients before harvest and long term curing are practiced by tobacco growers, at least the good ones, and have been studied extensively. The growers of fine hashish in Central Asia do the same.

Different strains age differently. Some are at their best within the first 3 months after harvest. Most follow the pattern of improving after 3 months up to 6 months and then begin to slowly degrade. After 8 months they start losing potency and flavor. My ganja I harvested last October has been lesser since mid June. It was at it's peak through May. Now it's noticeably degraded with a few exceptions. Stuff that was stored better, sealed tighter, cooler, darker, opened less times, is noticeably better and hasn't degraded much.

The exception from last year is the tall phenotype of the Azad Kashmir cultivar. It doesn't seem like the same cannabis. Both on the plant fresh at harvest and after drying it lacked flavor and aroma. Had a light coconut milk smell if you really tried to smell something. The high and smoke was nice but nothing special.

I broke it out again two weeks ago and it doesn't seem like the same stuff. It still has the coconut smell but it's gained a subtle fine incense hash aroma. When smoked the taste is stronger and it lingers on the tongue long after you smoked it. The other day it blew me away. The taste kept coming and coming. My friend I was smoking with noticed it too. I'd been drinking coffee, the wake and bake coffee cotton mouth detracted from the pleasure but not much.

The most surprising part is that the high as improved, it's phenomenal. Wonderful psychedelic super chill stone. It still looks good, hasn't begun yellowing and the crystals are still cream colored.

It's sister plant, a bushy aromatic phenotype, had a strong fantastic aroma from day one. It's followed the usual pattern of improving for a while, then beginning to degrade after 8 months. This is normal, the cannabinoids and terpenes break down over time. Cannabis older then 8 months starts to all smell the same, at least until you pinch it or break it open. The buds will naturally start to crumble in the container. It seems strange, you put flowers in a jar and leave it untouched for a few months. When you open it there's crumble on the bottom. How does that happen?

A few days ago I brought out a box of untrimmed buds I'd left curing in my dry room for two years. From 2018. I was amazed by the quality. The strains were excellent to begin with but I couldn't believe how little they'd degraded. The two strains I recognized were White Lotus and Mextiza. I won't say they improved but they were much better then two year old cannabis I'd stored in jars! Mextiza has a recognizable strong fruity and ranky type smell. I didn't have to break a bud to smell it. I smoked a joint with a friend, it got us very high. My only complaint was that the high had turned a bit racy, kind of a mind game type effect that I hadn't gotten from Mextiza before.

I smoked a joint of White Lotus to myself, in the evening. Got halfway through it. I was ripped all night, drank a couple tasty beers and slept very well. As expected the high had become more sedating and hypnotic. Still quite psychedelic. White lotus is a favorite and I can't say the long cure improved it, it took away some of the unique effects. More of a general Afghan Indica type but I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

On the downside the old bud had gotten harsher. You'd think the opposite with the chlorophyll broken down. Maybe dust had settled on it but I think it's more then that, some sort of degradation. It's all going to end up hashish so I'll be able to sieve out any dust. Overall it didn't seem much different then flowers almost a year old, it shows what storage in a cool dry place can do.

 

[flylowgethigh]

I found my buds easier on the throat after a good cure but haven't found a strain that improved in strength.

To a point, and I agree. As the more volitile fuely, gassy terps evaporate off, the smoke taste mellows IMO. The harshness I try to avoid is also stronger when the dope is fresh. I have two OGKs here, origonal was smooth early on, while the gassier Doc's has had to mellow for a couple months before it smoothed out.

Let dope sit too long and all it is good for is a good sleep IMO.

 

[Sunshineinabag]

I don't know if there is already a dedicated thread to this subject.
But what do you think?
Does curing affect the high?
If yes, how much?
.... And how?

I know the cure does or can affect the high, but found a plant where quality of high and potency improved so much with the cure that is almost unbelievable it is the same plant it has been few month earlier after 1 month of cure or with no curing at all.

I guess I wrote few weeks ago in this forum, that when a pheno is a good one or the best, you know it from 1st day after finished drying. If not then it is no good enough.

Was wrong I guess.

Jonny I won't even read any other responses because I've actually had a real deal life experience w this..Back in the day is guerilla grow in cheap hotels ( long story) it worked too!!!!!

Had loompa farms underdog seeds I grew out while working with arcata Trainwreck...the Trainwreck too all my focus and I just cut the underdog...left it on top of my grow tent and turned it once a day as needed...clipped off the buds into a one liter sized mason jar.

Left the jar for 3-4 weeks kinda forgot about it. Had two decent sized flowers left on top of tent smoked em and was impressed.......week later the jar buds were smoked..
..

Fuken light years more potent....so potent that jar disappeared.....fukers

:yay:

 

[Sunshineinabag]

I used to believe the same thing, took me a while to figure out I was wrong. It took me a while because in the past I rarely kept more then an 1/8 for more then 3 months. My idea was that once the stuff is dried it's at it's peak in potency, smell, terpenes and the rest and begins to degrade.

First we have to talk about what 'finished drying' is because more good cannabis is ruined after harvest then any other way. I'm talking about hanging in a cool dark dry place with good air circulation for a minimum of 10 days but 14 days is better. Until completely dry. No burping in jars or 7 day cure in a warm room. After 14 days you can roll a joint and assess the stuff. After that it's stored in a clean air tight container at temperatures 65 degrees F/ 19 C or lower. Not a plastic bag.

At this stage I have a friend who takes it one more step. He'll stack the untrimmed branches in cardboard boxes, covered with newspaper. A couple times a week he'll re-stack them, move them around the room,
maybe remove the newspaper from on top of a box for a few days. This curing process will go on for a month or two. His cannabis is the best I've smoked. He also doesn't fertilize for the last four weeks of flowering outdoors and stops using nitrogen two months before harvest but that's a different thread. Both of these steps, the cutting off of nutrients before harvest and long term curing are practiced by tobacco growers, at least the good ones, and have been studied extensively. The growers of fine hashish in Central Asia do the same.

Different strains age differently. Some are at their best within the first 3 months after harvest. Most follow the pattern of improving after 3 months up to 6 months and then begin to slowly degrade. After 8 months they start losing potency and flavor. My ganja I harvested last October has been lesser since mid June. It was at it's peak through May. Now it's noticeably degraded with a few exceptions. Stuff that was stored better, sealed tighter, cooler, darker, opened less times, is noticeably better and hasn't degraded much.

The exception from last year is the tall phenotype of the Azad Kashmir cultivar. It doesn't seem like the same cannabis. Both on the plant fresh at harvest and after drying it lacked flavor and aroma. Had a light coconut milk smell if you really tried to smell something. The high and smoke was nice but nothing special.

I broke it out again two weeks ago and it doesn't seem like the same stuff. It still has the coconut smell but it's gained a subtle fine incense hash aroma. When smoked the taste is stronger and it lingers on the tongue long after you smoked it. The other day it blew me away. The taste kept coming and coming. My friend I was smoking with noticed it too. I'd been drinking coffee, the wake and bake coffee cotton mouth detracted from the pleasure but not much.

The most surprising part is that the high as improved, it's phenomenal. Wonderful psychedelic super chill stone. It still looks good, hasn't begun yellowing and the crystals are still cream colored.

It's sister plant, a bushy aromatic phenotype, had a strong fantastic aroma from day one. It's followed the usual pattern of improving for a while, then beginning to degrade after 8 months. This is normal, the cannabinoids and terpenes break down over time. Cannabis older then 8 months starts to all smell the same, at least until you pinch it or break it open. The buds will naturally start to crumble in the container. It seems strange, you put flowers in a jar and leave it untouched for a few months. When you open it there's crumble on the bottom. How does that happen?

A few days ago I brought out a box of untrimmed buds I'd left curing in my dry room for two years. From 2018. I was amazed by the quality. The strains were excellent to begin with but I couldn't believe how little they'd degraded. The two strains I recognized were White Lotus and Mextiza. I won't say they improved but they were much better then two year old cannabis I'd stored in jars! Mextiza has a recognizable strong fruity and ranky type smell. I didn't have to break a bud to smell it. I smoked a joint with a friend, it got us very high. My only complaint was that the high had turned a bit racy, kind of a mind game type effect that I hadn't gotten from Mextiza before.

I smoked a joint of White Lotus to myself, in the evening. Got halfway through it. I was ripped all night, drank a couple tasty beers and slept very well. As expected the high had become more sedating and hypnotic. Still quite psychedelic. White lotus is a favorite and I can't say the long cure improved it, it took away some of the unique effects. More of a general Afghan Indica type but I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

On the downside the old bud had gotten harsher. You'd think the opposite with the chlorophyll broken down. Maybe dust had settled on it but I think it's more then that, some sort of degradation. It's all going to end up hashish so I'll be able to sieve out any dust. Overall it didn't seem much different then flowers almost a year old, it shows what storage in a cool dry place can do.

I'd love to waft your reeking jars of angels

 

[Stizo]

I've had varieties improve with age and varieties that don't. Depends on the variety. Only time and the space to store will give that indication. I advocate curing strongly though. it does improve the taste and I have varieties that have gotten stronger or the high has evolved. As has been mentioned, some varieties can get racier, some deteriorate to brown dust. You have some experimenting to do if you have the time, space, patience and inclination.

 

[JohnnyChicago]

The plant I was speaking of is a 100% pure Sativa.

The high is speedy, clear and psychedelic. She was one of a few I had selected from a larger number of plants. Smoke tests and blind smoke tests I did with friends all confirmed she was not as strong as her selected sisters.
Decided to not keep her. And now after sitting 3 month in the jars, she has the same potency of her very best sisters.


Especially with the Haze I know there is an improvement on the effect and on the terps.

Also I know taste it can change a lot with cure.

15 years ago I gifted 2 big jars of a Grapefruit pheno I did not like to a friend. Month later, I smell one of his joints. It was smelling so good.... Asked what it was. He said: "that's the stuff you did not like"
Turned out to be the very best grapefruit pheno.

 

[Great outdoors]

The cure is crucial to flavor but doesn't really have an effect on potency IMO.
Way too many people cure too fast and don't really get to experience the true flavors of their smoke.
As mentioned previously tobacco curing has some lessons we can learn. Mainly having it hang long enough with decent moisture to off gas all the chorophyll.
I like to hang complete branches right to the trunk. Hung for a month in a cool dark place with plenty of air flow. If it's really humid I may run a dehumidifier but no heat.
Having complete branches it dries slowly and evenly regardless of bud size. I also only deleaf by hand the larger leaves prior to drying. Anymore trimming I will do will be when I remove the buds from the stalks. I am also a believer in a light trim to keep bud handling and damage to a minimum. I don't care how the bud looks, it's for me. Bag appeal is for the mass market not conisseurs. When I roll I remove every leaf anyways so why damage the bud before hand.
Dried this way it's straight to the jar, no need for sweat. Once in the jar a month for the flavors to really start turning on and 6 months it is in it's prime. Stored in a jar in a cool dark place and even my 2, 3 year old weed tastes decently fresh as long as you store at the right moisture content and not too dry.

 

[MAHA KALA]

curing improve haze for sure. I smoked two year cured titans haze, and it tastes less greeny curry, more like piney chocolate and it is more incense. also it is not light green, but turn to brown shades.. definitely better than let say 6 months cured titans, although bud looks worse. I got cut of simple irresistible from elanius, and I started to like it after 7 months of curing, till that it was just spicy lemony butter smoke, after 7 months it started to be very incense.. commercial growers dont have time for this, chop, dry and sell.. I noticed that some og kushes from seed, get worse by curing, taste is more bland, and effect more dull and less interesting, better to smoke ogk within 3 months.. I like young wines, avoid old wines.. but haze I like OLD cheers.

 

['Boogieman']

I found my buds easier on the throat after a good cure but haven't found a strain that improved in strength.

Also my experience.

 

[clearheaded]

2 things. yes, fresh u are going to have highest amount of terps and flavor. time lowers % undeniable. true curing lowers chlorophyll aswell as decreases alot of the harsher lighter monoterpenes making it a smoother smoke and easier to take larger rips burn hotter as there is less sugars black ash is from sugars left in plant not salts(not to say chealators and residues do not leave a flavor in buds when not metabolized by the plant, the smell/taste of hydro itself). However also some changes do occur that change cannabinoids thc to cbn some decarbing which depending on smoking method can make it hit different or stronger because of higher % of activated form pre smoking as not 100% conversion in some smoking methods. ie blade hoots or bong hits vs a joint with same amount of material and even same size hits. or vaporization seems to not hit as fast but end up just as high, wether thats acid forms taking time to absorb or effects come on from acid forms processed by liver before effects kick in i dont know.

anyway several things at play. some people like smoother less terpy harsh smoke. but majority of loud herbs folks in modern times LOVE are not truelly cured to keep most terps and simply flushed to use up alot of sugars to have the white ash with a small amount of chlorphyll lost (still looks VERY green) in an extended (couple weeks) drying time. but again what market wants for most part is uncured bud. Also with testing, real curing ie weed turning brownish from loss of chloro probably would have a tuffer time not testing for elevated microbials.

 

[@hempy]

You harvest a plant hang it to dry and then you start to cure so what happens is the flowers still have a lot of moisture to expel and why your dry flowers start to sweat or become moist again.

You need to air dry the flowers and repeat this until it stops from point of harvest till that process is complete your flowers shrink some what.That is why the smoke becomes stronger and the taste becomes better your removing all the moisture.

Storage comes next and again you see changes in both taste look and even the affect but store to long it can also degrade the quality.

 

[St. Phatty]

hard to feel High when your throat feels like a Chimney.

the cure just makes the produce smoke-able.


though on some strains, they are so ready for a smoke-test after zero curing.

i have found Fed Romulan to be the best that way.

 

[Dropped Cat]

Many takes on the influence of a long jar cure.

I have some cobs that are three years in storage
that have very good effects, buds in storage after
two year, are different, but still on point.

And growing conditions with the benefit of measured drop in nutes as the plant matures.

A good dry/sweat regiment is as critical as a good grow.

All plants lose terps as they dry/sweat, knowing certain terps drop
at particular dryness is a thing.

Burp them jars.

 

[yesum]

My experience was that leaving buds in a jar for months or years at room temp, just reduced potency. I had a Panama Red/speedy from ACE that was sleepy time weed after a couple years in the cupboard. I now want to freeze anything that is great really soon after it is ready to smoke. Even in the fridge there seems to be a drop off in intensity of effect after a year or more.

I also hang my plants till they are completely dry with no need for sweating, fan leaves and all. This I think does some of the work of curing. I am not doubting those who have had other experiences.