Malawi Style Cob Curing.

[Mick]

Hey Tang, just had a rave with a mate about cobbing and he told me that years ago he was lucky enough to score a couple of African cobs in New Zealand. He was told that they wrapped the top head in banana leaf while it was still alive and harvested the rest of the plant as normal, while leaving the top head on the living plant to ferment. He said it was strong, trippy with no anxiety. This was awhile ago and he's smoked a ton of weed since, so don't know how accurate his memory is.

 

[Tangwena]

Hey Tang, just had a rave with a mate about cobbing and he told me that years ago he was lucky enough to score a couple of African cobs in New Zealand. He was told that they wrapped the top head in banana leaf while it was still alive and harvested the rest of the plant as normal, while leaving the top head on the living plant to ferment. He said it was strong, trippy with no anxiety. This was awhile ago and he's smoked a ton of weed since, so don't know how accurate his memory is.

Yes theres heaps of different cures over there just about every village in Malawi has its signature method and strain of grass.
We hardly ever came across the same cobs once we left a chiefs area.

 

[Tangwena]

Hehe! I'm like a little girl at Christmas. Lol!

I learned a lot from your reply to Neiko. I don't doubt he'll nail it the first try too. I'll remember the part about the delicate bud structure. Malawi is one such chemovar. Next Malawi cob I'll do the sweat for 12 hours.

So that I'm clear, ferment them for a week, and let the one I'm going to reseal dry to the touch like I did this time, and then let the other surface dry before resealing it without a cob for the cure itself.

I'll be curing them both a full three months, taking samples along the way, of course.

I'm considering only curing half of one at this time and sending the second half of that cob back into another 2 weeks of fermenting, so I have some at all three weeks. I just jarred up 20 grams that hung to dry. With a three-month cure I'll have a plethora of comparisons to make when it's all done. Haha!

I'm experimenting with rehydrating some buds that were stable at 62% RH, in an attempt to see if mold would occur from such an attempt. I'm using a slice of fresh bread suspended in the jar with the buds. If they'll absorb up to 68% I'll cob them up and see what happens.

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Hi Sue from the pics your cobs are nearly ready to age. The temps/method you used seems to have accelerated the cure.

That dark look I usually see on the second week of curing after the sweat.

Its no big deal but you will need to move up the drying and aging step to take into account the advanced cure stage.
If you dont they may go too far along the road and you will loose the terps.

I have several cobs I let go to long. They dont smell very sweet like the well cured cobs.
BUT they are super strong taste like shit but I am scared to take them very often, a bit of like having 3 personalities at the same time all hallucinating in different ways.

I usually aim for this type of change after the sweat and they get darker during the post sweat cure, they will keep getting darker and end up almost black if you let them.

 

[repuk]

repuk, thank you for your patient tutorials on posting pictures.

Seeing those beautiful shots in your posts is the best reward.

Your cobs look mean and dangerous!

 

[HaHaHashish]

Tangwena - did you ever see surface mold on cobs you bought in Africa?

 

[repuk]

Argh... reached for the curing cob to unseal and sniff and found it had lost vacuum!

Good news is there's no mold at all.

It hasn't dried too much, it feels moist on the inside, cob is pliable and soft. Hope enough for the curing to keep going.

Just after the initial sweat stage:

Today after 9 days curing

Macros:

I feel the fermenting kind of slowed down maybe too much, temps here are between 10-16C, I sealed it again using a new vacuum bag (my fault!!!), Tangwena, do you think placing it again on a 25-30C spot (behind a TV which is turned on almost all day long) will help the fermentation further?

I took all required measures to ensure color rendition. Sadly there's little to do with icmag's maximum picture file size, even having them 1024x1024 @110k isn't enough for a good macro, my images get resized and sharpness killed.

 

[Neiko]

Hi Neiko great to see you taking the plunge. Sativas really shine with this cure I personally dont have much use for Indicas I need all the energy I can get ha ha.

I go by experience but following this basic recipe on the flow chart Repuk drew up takes you to the ball park.

Sativas that are light and airy dry quicker and require less of everything. 12 to 24 hrs sweating is more than enough to start them off the more delicate the bud structure the less time 12hrs being the minimum.

You will be looking for a good wet effect after sweating the color needs to have just started to fade and you should detect a sweeter aroma from the bound cobs.
This is where the canary buds are good it lets you see easily if they are changing.

I keep the maize wrapper on at this stage so that when drying which happens quite fast as most of the moisture will have been sweated out already.

The wrapper lets you easily feel when its dry to the touch and the inside will still be moist because the wrapper slows the drying of the inside.

After re sealing the cob and canary buds you let them cure/ferment sealed for a week. When you open the bag after a week if all has gone well you can smell it.

Depending on the temps that you had them stored at this can happen in one week or two or three.
If you have multiple cobs take them at varying times to see which you prefer they will all be different 1,2 or 3 week cured.

The smell at each weeks stage will deepen and change you can only tell which stage you prefer the result of from experience after the second drying and aging stages are complete.
The cobs skin will be wet again as the moisture spreads from the core and will need to be dried again before resealing to age for a minimum of 1 month 3 months being optimum.
Every strain needs to be treated differently to get the best results.

Use your nose its the best tool you have as long as they smell sweet like good hashish from Pakistan or Afghanistan they are right.

When the smell is so sexy to your nose you have reached the sweet spot and the cure needs to end.
The look of the cob is secondary to the smell once you cant take it any more and believe me when its right you WILL know stop the cure.

Take the maize wrapper off and slow dry the core until the outer skin of the cob feels dry the inside should still be slightly damp.
It is now ready to re seal and age.

At every stage the smells and textures change commit these changes to your memory as reference for future cures.
Open the bags and test take samples dry them and try them at varias stages of the aging drying the cobs further if they are too damp.

You want the outer skin of the buds to feel dry but the inner core to be moist during the aging process.

The smells lessen as the aging happens at any stage you can fully dry the cobs if you want to lock in that stage as far as texture/aroma when this happens is up to your taste and can only come from experience.

You can see its not a mechanical type of process but the basic cure using the flow chart will get the job done to an acceptable level.
Once you have a little experience you will know instinctively when to do what and its a very simple easy cure.
Most good growers take to this like a duck to water its just an extension of the growing experience and is easy if you know your plants.
Also make sure you keep some of the cobs to age its easy to smoke them too soon once you get them right. The aged sativa cobs are the best high out and worth the wait.
The younger age cobs may taste and smell great but the effects are so much more profound once aged.
Good luck my friend if you get this right you will experience best a plant can get and want nothing else I promise.

Thank you for taking the time to put all this great info out. I am ready to dive in. When you say you don't like indicas, is that a personal preference or cobbing them doesn't improve them? I'd like to try a 65% sativa dominate hybrid that already has an impressive citrus terpene profile. I'll try it just to see but if you know it would be a waste of time with hybrids or indicas then I won't bother.

Thanks again for your guidance.

 

[led05]

Some very insightful thoughts led05. I'll keep this in mind for my next cob. I know mine worked because you could feel the heat coming off them when I took them out of the bags after the sweat, but I'll pay more attention to being too aggressive. These were wrapped pretty tight. I've a strong core. Lol!

I'm certain you wrapped too lose btw.... I'd love to share pics but I live where, to me, it doesn't make sense to do so

has anyone here brewed or made beer, cider or wine? that understanding helps, a great deal

 

[led05]

The black

The black

does anyone else think the black mainly comes from sugar leaves....? I love the fact you can only trim the FANS and then let the rest turn from Carby to sugary and pleasant - 8-10 plants turn into a couple hours vs days, smile

Tang, My rep is tired out or else I'd pass along, again

 

[led05]

Argh... reached for the curing cob to unseal and sniff and found it had lost vacuum!

Good news is there's no mold at all.

It hasn't dried too much, it feels moist on the inside, cob is pliable and soft. Hope enough for the curing to keep going.

Just after the initial sweat stage:
View Image

Today after 9 days curing
View Image

Macros:

View Image

View Image

I feel the fermenting kind of slowed down maybe too much, temps here are between 10-16C, I sealed it again using a new vacuum bag (my fault!!!), Tangwena, do you think placing it again on a 25-30C spot (behind a TV which is turned on almost all day long) will help the fermentation further?

I took all required measures to ensure color rendition. Sadly there's little to do with icmag's maximum picture file size, even having them 1024x1024 @110k isn't enough for a good macro, my images get resized and sharpness killed.

I wonder why you're loosing vacuum, never happened to me, with a Food saver or even, much better a Weston you're good to go?
?
Even a boiling pot of water works perfectly, what's happening?

The vacuum is the most important part but as you said, even without it can work

 

[ReikoX]

Are you sure you lost vacuum, fermentation produces CO2 it may be from that.

 

[SweetSue]

Mick, I've used the dehydrator many times to quick dry a harvest, and the end result has been just as potent as line dried. Only low and slo in the fridge beats it out. I hang dry because it's in my hallway to the kitchen and I love walking by a drying plant.

repuk...... Awwww...... The universe has its reasons. Thank goodness this is a forgiving process.

led05, I gotta tell ya, I impressed myself in how tightly compressed those cobs were, but you speak from experience where I'm coming straight from the adrenaline of passion. I'll be interested to see the inside when fermentation is complete. Experience is the best teacher, and there's nothing lost. I'll make use of every microgram. Lol!

Thanks for the heads up Tangwena. I'll be certain to check them after three days. So I sent them into fermentation during the sweat? Lol! Duly noted. That means they already had around 12 hours of that fermentation stage at 104 F, given the floral structure.

Let me see if I have this correct:

* Fluffier flowers mean a shorter sweat - 12 hours may be adequate - and watch the cob carefully because it may ferment faster in the next step.

* Alternatively, dense buds will benefit from a longer sweat - between 1-3 days, depending on density - and may be more pronounced in effect if left to ferment longer.

* In all cases, be attentive and thoughtful. Test at different points in the fermenting stage to learn your preferences. Trust the olfactory system to clue you to that point when it's ready for you.

* Keep notes. Telling yourself you'll be able to track the progress in a thread is madness. Lol!

I'm doing my best to catch on. I'll open the cobs on Monday and take some pictures for you. This is great fun guys. Hehe!

 

[SweetSue]

Aha! I may now edit my posts. WooHoo!

Oops! Tried to post too fast. Lol!

 

[repuk]

ReikoX I also thought maybe it was off-gassing... but compressed the bag and perceived how air escaped slooowly from the inside.

It was my fault for being such a cheapskate... I reused the same bag too many times I'm afraid

 

[SweetSue]

ReikoX I also thought maybe it was off-gassing... but compressed the bag and perceived how air escaped slooowly from the inside.

It was my fault for being such a cheapstake... I reused the same bag too many times I'm afraid

Ahhh.... frugality got in the way. I figured out with the first attempt at resealing that I wanted to use new every time. You've reinforced that inclination.

 

[clearheaded]

anyone able to source organic non sprayed corn husks?? or is idea just not to use corn husk at all now?

 

[Tangwena]

Argh... reached for the curing cob to unseal and sniff and found it had lost vacuum!

Good news is there's no mold at all.

It hasn't dried too much, it feels moist on the inside, cob is pliable and soft. Hope enough for the curing to keep going.

Just after the initial sweat stage:
View Image

Today after 9 days curing
View Image

Macros:

View Image

View Image

I feel the fermenting kind of slowed down maybe too much, temps here are between 10-16C, I sealed it again using a new vacuum bag (my fault!!!), Tangwena, do you think placing it again on a 25-30C spot (behind a TV which is turned on almost all day long) will help the fermentation further?

I took all required measures to ensure color rendition. Sadly there's little to do with icmag's maximum picture file size, even having them 1024x1024 @110k isn't enough for a good macro, my images get resized and sharpness killed.

Looks good to me my friend. I see no green so it has been working.
If you use higher temps in the sweat the bags swell up with gas or vapor the vacuum is usually still ok.
McKush uses 60c to 65c and the bags blow up like a balloon then shrink back to a loose fit on cooling.
The seal is still good remember when the buds sweat they shrink also as they loose water.
The color of the buds/cobs also depends a lot on the strain of cannabis Indica types giving darker colors from their wider sugar leaves in my experience.
You dont need the vacuum but its insurance against mold so if theres no mold your still good to go.

 

[Tangwena]

Thank you for taking the time to put all this great info out. I am ready to dive in. When you say you don't like indicas, is that a personal preference or cobbing them doesn't improve them? I'd like to try a 65% sativa dominate hybrid that already has an impressive citrus terpene profile. I'll try it just to see but if you know it would be a waste of time with hybrids or indicas then I won't bother.

Thanks again for your guidance.

I have on line friends who get great results across the board with all types from Indicas to sativas.
Its just a personal thing I dont like being couch locked.

I am getting a bit long in the tooth so I love stimulating weed.
Plus I was brought up on very speedy trippy grass in Africa and only experienced the Indica type high when I went to Europe and discovered hashish for the first time.

Its just my personal taste in pot, its whatever floats your boat friends who use potent Indicas report it changes the high on those to, its just whether its to your taste or not.

I recently grew an Indica dom plant and while the high was pleasant enough at first it died a quick death and I was then left with a long tranquilised boring day and haven't touched it since ha ha.

 

[Tangwena]

Tangwena - did you ever see surface mold on cobs you bought in Africa?

I did get a few in the rainy season probably caused by bad storage on the dealers part.
We smoked them anyway once dried it all but disappeared plus we didn't know it was supposed to be bad.
Most of the cobs sold were well aged and hard like wood.
Sometimes we scored new seasons cobs and they were still sweet and pliable.

I never had a clue what the buds looked like uncobbed until we left Africa. I had no need to grow it myself it was too easy to get the cobs already cured by professionals.

You can imagine my shock when I was introduced to green uncured dry flowers. They were def weed but tasted harsh and the high felt uncivilized and raw compared to the smooth smoking cobs we had had in Malawi. I was heart broken and thought my world had come to an end.

It was my wife who suggested we try and make our own cobs but it took years of trial and error to get even close to the originals.
But as soon as I joined a couple of online forums clues from other members interested in the process sparked a new era in this cure and now we have managed to nail it.

What would have taken me 10 years of trial and error was condensed into a couple of years of frantic experimentation and resulted in what we have today.

Still heaps to do to perfect the varies different cures possible but so much easier when everyone pitches in, the essence floats to the top and is creamed off.

All I have is the mental pictures of every good cob I ever scored and the smells OH! the smells I live for those smells.

 

[Tangwena]

anyone able to source organic non sprayed corn husks?? or is idea just not to use corn husk at all now?

If you cant source clean husks just do it without them you dont need to use them check out these fine examples of fermented weed by a very cool cat in the UK.