Malawi Style Cob Curing.

[Tangwena]

Looks super good the only thing I would suggest is a few more bindings (turns around the cob and tighter) next time but it will not effect the result, it should work well. Enjoy you should be getting some real deal African highs really soon, nice one mate well done.
Tangwena

 

[SpaceJunkOG]

sweet, i'll just wrap it tighter on the inspection in a few days and it'll be nice and compressed for the 2nd round. stoked.

 

[antheis]

i wonder if you could use this technique to cure hash. have you ever tried that, tangwena?

 

[Tangwena]

antheis hi i have never thought about it, but as it has no leaf material to cure I dont think it would sweat. But i have never tried it so I cant help with Hash, I only know it works on buds
Tangwena

 

[antheis]

no worries, it was just a random thought i had while reading the thread and thought i'd ask.
if it would work at all, i'd imagine it would require 50g+ of hash to work.

 

[SpaceJunkOG]

update on my first cob curing adventure:

I took it out and inspected it after 3 days, as I was nervous because the cobs were a bit moist when i started. It had indeed started changing color, becoming very dark. I re-wrapped it in overnight-dried husks, tighter, with better string, and vac-sealed again for another 5 days, this is what it looked like:



today I decided it had been long enough, and took it out to inspect it again, and I determined it was definitely finished. . . .



as you can see the color changed drastically to deep deep brown, almost black in places, and the pistils are now a neon bright red.

here's a before and after


before (left) & after (right)

and just like Tangwena said - it has the consistency of hash. it smells sweet - a bit wet (because it is), and essentially the same as it did going in, just with a bit of a twist on it.

Now, I don't want to get too excited, and I'm doing the 5-day dry in a cool dark place, but I just cut off a few chunks and am quick-drying them in my veg room to try in a joint. This stuff looks too crazy to not try now, . . . .


(especially under an LED, lol)

wish me luck . . . .

i shall be back, someday, with a smoke report.

 

[Dirk907]

Spacejunk, that some day better be tomorrow

Oh man I have to try this

 

[Tangwena]

Hi Spacey you have aced it first try mate, thats the best first up cob cure I have seen, nice one mate, enjoy. You followed instructions to a tee and you have a feel for it, it will only get better from here.
Tangwena

 

[SpaceJunkOG]

fuck. it's really good. not even what i expected at all, completely different but still, very unique high, very clear actually. i'm tempted to keep going but,

i feel like i owe it a proper drying period before i give the full, detailed, smoke report, . . . . . quick-dried smoke never really gives the most accurate picture of what potential really is there, it will change as it dries and cures further. . . . so gimme another 4+ days of this thing drying and i'll be back..... again.

 

[SpaceJunkOG]

Hi Spacey you have aced it first try mate, thats the best first up cob cure I have seen, nice one mate, enjoy. You followed instructions to a tee and you have a feel for it, it will only get better from here.
Tangwena

hell yeah, thanks man! I actually went through and read the entire thread again just to make sure i got every aspect of it right. Glad to hear from you that I seem to have nailed it.

 

[jimmyweedy]

This is gonna sound both funny and a bit retarded maybe (specially for a 1st post), but I just went and bought some corn to store the leafs in the freezer

I'm planning to start my first ever grow in a few weeks and I won't have any corn around come harvest time (if all goes well, that is).

Thank you for sharing, Tangwena!

Signed: an overly excited future first time grower

 

[Betterhaff]

I wonder if you could use rehydrated corn tamale wrappers.

 

[HerBnGorE(illa)]

Tangwena have u ever tried this cob method with indica strains? If so, how did that turn out?

 

[Tangwena]

Hi Herbi no I dont grow indicas but I have grown some hybrids and it works just the same, so i see no reason why wouldn't work just as well.
I would be interested to see how it changed the high/stone though.
I find with sativas and crosses it makes it more trippy and high rather than stoned. So what it would do to an indica would be very interesting.
Give it a go and lets find out.
Tangwena

 

[cimry1]

That this method makes the Sativa effect even more "high" and "active" sounds fantastic! I have been reading the whole thread, but I am a little unsure WHEN to put the product into the cobs?
Usually I would dry it 7 to 10 days, before trimming, so that it will feel dry on the outside but still be moist on the inside and then trim it and start the curing process in jars.
Is this the same time when instead of curing in jars I could wrap it tightly inside the cobs and vacuum them for 7 to 14 days?

And what about the chances of mold? Curing already took me quite some time and experiments to find out what moisture level the product should have before curing. In the beginning I had a lot of problems with mold! Is the cob-method also very sensitive or maybe even more sensitive than curing in jars? What I mean is finding the right time to start "cobbing" is difficult, so that when it is too dry it will not do anything at all, and when it is too wet it will start to mold quickly?

It looks very interesting and like a perfect method also for very airy tigh weed!

 

[idiit]

i'm going to put some buds in cobs the way he says to in his first two posts. very soon.
the cob cure puts the emphasis on the cure technique; soa mandingo Malawi Gold cut and others.

everyone has been looking at genetics for the "trip weed".

the bam ( "Black African Magic" ) might refer to proper old skool African cure techniques done on really good trippy potential bud product.

love the thread.

 

[Tangwena]

Hi cimry1 the time to cob the buds is when it dry enough to just be smokeable. The way you describe dry on the outside and slightly moist inside is perfect. You should play around with the degree of drying as it all effects the end product, it will all work except when it is totally dry, then it does nothing.
I have never got mold in the vacuum bag process.
The drier the buds going in the less hard the end product. It does not have to be hard at the end i also like cobs a bit softer, this is achieved by drier buds going in, try both and see which you prefer.
I scored both kinds while in Malawi and both were dynamite.
It will not make average weed good it just improves the taste and high. The better it is going in the better it is coming out, I only cob up primo buds and the strongest weed.
The pop corn ect I make oil or butter with.
Idiit the best weed in Africa can come from anywhere its how and where it is grown that makes it good as i am sure you know.
I had some cobs from Tete region on the border with Mozambique that looked and smelled nothing like Malawi but was so strong I wish i had the seeds now.
The last time I was in Malawi I found so much average it was almost impossible to get what i was looking for.
I finaly found my old merchant a week before I left and even he said it was hard to get the good stuff like in the old days now (but he did) just before i flew out bless him.
But when I grew it out in Australia at sea level it was just good weed no magic.
Best of luck with your cob making guys post some pics and a taste smoke report if you can I would love to hear your thoughts.
Tangwena

 

[idiit]

^ cool. i'm going to post smoke reports.

i'm with you on the potential of many african strains.

this thread is long time overdue and much respect to you Tangwena.

 

[cimry1]

Thank you so much for your fast and detailed answer, Tagwena!!!

 

[cimry1]

@Tagwena, I forgot to also ask another thing. I will probably experiment with the different moisture levels with my next harvest, but think a good time is probably comparable to when I would normally start to cure it in jars.

Since the cobs are vacuum sealed, not much of the moisture can escape and you write that after 7-14 days you air-dry them.
Have you ever experimented with instead of air-drying them to cure them in jars including burping the glasses, a procedure similar to when curing the harvest directly?