Malawi Style Cob Curing.

[canna.ballistic]

Close-up of cobs after 5 days

The low temp cob (low 20s) was still wet when opened (although not as much as after 3 days). The tightness of the vac seal around the cob had once again been lost, which appears to have something to do with the fermentation process at low temps. The cob had a slightly sweet earthy hashy smell with a corn undertone. It still doesn't smell as nice as the moderate temp cob. I will be interested to see if the smell improves with the month-long slow ferment.

The moderate temp cob (mid 30s) was still moist inside, and relatively firm. It smelled very nice ... sweet molasses !!

In Posts 1178 and 1182, Seeded and Tang speak a bit about cold curing buds. Tang says it does work, but takes more time ... and Seeded said his cold cure made the bud very smooth, but with a loss of flavour (although neither mentioned what temps they had used for their cool temp cobs).

For me, the big test is obviously in the smoking and eating at the end of the process, but at the moment I am a bit dubious about the cool ferment because of the strange smells. However, add a bit of temperature, and some magic definitely occurs within those cobs ... my next couple of batches will all be at higher temps (about 40C in the yogurt maker) as it appears relatively fail-safe and fool-proof !! After I have sampled my cool temp cobs in about 3 months time, I will re-evaluate whether to try making some more of them again.

Low temp cob (low 20s)

Moderate temp cob (mid 30s)

 

[Tangwena]

Close-up of cobs after 5 days

The low temp cob (low 20s) was still wet when opened (although not as much as after 3 days). The tightness of the vac seal around the cob had once again been lost, which appears to have something to do with the fermentation process at low temps. The cob had a slightly sweet earthy hashy smell with a corn undertone. It still doesn't smell as nice as the moderate temp cob. I will be interested to see if the smell improves with the month-long slow ferment.

The moderate temp cob (mid 30s) was still moist inside, and relatively firm. It smelled very nice ... sweet molasses !!

In Posts 1178 and 1182, Seeded and Tang speak a bit about cold curing buds. Tang says it does work, but takes more time ... and Seeded said his cold cure made the bud very smooth, but with a loss of flavour (although neither mentioned what temps they had used for their cool temp cobs).

For me, the big test is obviously in the smoking and eating at the end of the process, but at the moment I am a bit dubious about the cool ferment because of the strange smells. However, add a bit of temperature, and some magic definitely occurs within those cobs ... my next couple of batches will all be at higher temps (about 40C in the yogurt maker) as it appears relatively fail-safe and fool-proof !! After I have sampled my cool temp cobs in about 3 months time, I will re-evaluate whether to try making some more of them again.

Low temp cob (low 20s)
View Image

Moderate temp cob (mid 30s)
View Image

Looking good so far the green tinges will fade with aging but that looks on the money.
When I say room temp that is usually between 25 and 35c in my neck of the woods 40+ speeds things up a lot and changes the resin color to amber and like brown sugar.
Of course this also changes the high as well. The cooler temps 25 to 35c tend to keep the resin a cloudy color and make the cobs very speedy and trippy.
The cobs should be wet after sweating, and the reason it looks like you lost the vacuum is water vapor, at 50c they blow up like a balloon but you still have a good seal and part drying and re sealing is needed to finish the cure properly.
With cobs the smell you are used to goes out the window some cures smell nice others not, in no way is the high related to a nice smell.
My shitest smelling cobs are some of my strongest, this is not about looks or smell although to me they look good and smell good.
Its about getting high as apposed to stoned its like drinking metho or fine brandy its that different and also smokes a hell of a lot smoother if done right.
Forget everything you thought you knew about how buds were supposed to look and smell this is radically different.

Tangwena

 

[canna.ballistic]

Hi Tangwena
The cob that lost it's seal (twice) was only in the low 20s (range of about 19C to 23C), not the 50s. I understand the water vapour effect you describe in the 50s. However, I believe the issue in the low 20s is something different ... but I'm not sure what. It almost seemed like a different break-down process was occurring compared to the higher temp cob in the mid 30s. And I don't know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing at this stage.
Although the low 20s may be fine for buds being aired in a burping jar, a higher minimum temperature (mid to upper 20s) may be required for effective fermentation in a vac bag ... e.g. a minimum temp is required to activate the right microbes or enzymes or chemical processes or whatever it is that occurs with the fermentation ?
I have since raised the temps for my month-long slow ferment from the low 20s to the high 20s, which is more in line with your natural ambient temps, as per your comments above.
What is the climate of Malawi ? Is it hot and dry, or warm and humid ?

 

[Sforza]

Tang always encourages experimentation, so I thought I would try to make a huskless COB. Instead of using the husk to compress the bud, I built a wooden form to hold the bud and then used C-clamps to compress the bud.

One oz of fresh, semi-moist buds

This is the form that I made from two sections of thick wood. I painted it on the outside and coated the inner surfaces with urethane to seal it.

This is what the form looks like when it is opened up.

Side view of the open form

This shows that the vac bag I will be using should be wide enough to hold the compressed bud once I remove it from the press

 

[Sforza]

Huskless COB Part 2

The buds overfill the space for pressing

Using my hand, I packed the buds level with the surface of the form.

Using C-clamps, I put pressure on the buds, hopefully forming a flat rectangle that will fit in the vac bag for sweating.

Picture from the side showing the extent of the compression.

After letting the pressure compress the buds overnight, I will take out the compressed bud and put it into a vacuum bag and sweat the bud using a seed tray heating mat for a couple of days. I am not sure if I will leave the bag open or vacuum and seal it while sweating the bud. Probably will vacuum and seal the bag while sweating.

 

[cravin morehead]

sforza- interesting. way to go on trying new ideas out. I would vaccum seal the bag for sweat and every other step, just to help insure no mold grows.
I myself have just sweat 42*c/26 hrs., then mostly dried, and re-vacced a couple of 1/4 Oz cobs in corn husks. smells very exotic right now. I'm excited and can't wait to sample it.
keep us updated here on how it works out for you bro,

cm

 

[Tangwena]

Huskless COB Part 2

View Image
The buds overfill the space for pressing

View Image
Using my hand, I packed the buds level with the surface of the form.

View Image
Using C-clamps, I put pressure on the buds, hopefully forming a flat rectangle that will fit in the vac bag for sweating.

View Image
Picture from the side showing the extent of the compression.

After letting the pressure compress the buds overnight, I will take out the compressed bud and put it into a vacuum bag and sweat the bud using a seed tray heating mat for a couple of days. I am not sure if I will leave the bag open or vacuum and seal it while sweating the bud. Probably will vacuum and seal the bag while sweating.

Nice work my friend I hope you end up with a nice block like Seeded produced, I would vacuum it to sweat after the pressing, but thats just me.
looking forward to seeing the colors after sweating it should work very well and make some lovely colors.
Tangwena

 

[Tangwena]

sforza- interesting. way to go on trying new ideas out. I would vaccum seal the bag for sweat and every other step, just to help insure no mold grows.
I myself have just sweat 42*c/26 hrs., then mostly dried, and re-vacced a couple of 1/4 Oz cobs in corn husks. smells very exotic right now. I'm excited and can't wait to sample it.
keep us updated here on how it works out for you bro,

cm

Nice job also going by your description so far it sounds spot on and you will have some nicely cured pot after the aging, good on you brother.
Please post pics if you can.
Tangwena

 

[Swamp Thang]

Brilliant idea for a press, Sforza. That device will accomplish a more powerful compression force than could be possible with the current hand rolling technique used to compress cobs, suggesting that this refinement of technique may produce a superior result.

In the spirit of one-upmanship, this wooden press fixture got me thinking about how much tighter of a compaction could be achieved using a custom-designed hydraulic press, similar in function to a trash compactor, but scaled way down to the size of a normal cob.

I won't be surprised if such a scaled-down, purpose-built hydraulic cob press is invented in the near future, as the Tang Cob Concept ripples out across the weed world from this website.

Just did a web search, and indeed the device I have in mind already exists

https://www.webhydroponics.com/brand/jack-puck/

 

[Snook]

I thought that the initial sweat was accomplished at whatever desired temps and time but were 'rolled' in the corn husk, loosely vac sealed and after sweating was opened, dried and then rolled tightly and vac sealed again for 'cold sweating.? One day I'll have to reread and interpret when I'm not sitting here wasted.

 

[Tangwena]

I thought that the initial sweat was accomplished at whatever desired temps and time but were 'rolled' in the corn husk, loosely vac sealed and after sweating was opened, dried and then rolled tightly and vac sealed again for 'cold sweating.? One day I'll have to reread and interpret when I'm not sitting here wasted.

Hi Snook you have it right thats the best way but there are many different ways to get to the same result or similar results.
If you do the method you just described you will get an outstanding result.
But there is more than one way to skin a cat as they say.
As long as you get fermentation to happen the only other thing is the aging and temp of aging that can effect the end result.
But thats for experienced cobbers once you get basic brick laying you can start to get creative theres heaps of scope to be creative and fine tune your results to your own personal taste.
It just takes a bit of experience and theres only one way to get that. Keep practicing we are only talking about degrees of perfection here. Once you have the basic cure you start to understand by observation, sampling and tasting what can be achieved.
Theres no quick course it like learning to be a master brewer once you know the basics you can get creative.
Tangwena

 

[Sforza]

Nice work my friend I hope you end up with a nice block like Seeded produced, I would vacuum it to sweat after the pressing, but thats just me.
looking forward to seeing the colors after sweating it should work very well and make some lovely colors.
Tangwena

Part 3

Tang, I did put it in a vacuum bag and vacuum it before sweating.

This is what the slab looked like when I removed it from the press:

This is how it fit into the vac bag:

This is how it looked once it was put under vacuum and sealed:

 

[Sforza]

COB Part 4

OK, I put the sealed bag between a seed heat mat and a section of aluminum-faced insulation panel. I also had a section of aluminum-faced insulation panel under the seat mat. Then I used a jar of fertilizer that was about 4 pounds to sit on top of the stack to make sure that everything was in close contact for good heat flow.

Using an infrared temperature gun, I found the COB was at 106 F and the heat mat where it had been in contact with the COB was 147 F. When I switched the IR temperature gun over to C, it read 40 C and then 39 C, but I think it had cooled a bit by the time I got it changed over to C, since I had the stack apart for a couple of minutes by that time.

The vac part didn't help, since the COB had outgassed so much that the bag was puffed out. So I plant on putting a pinhole in the bag to let the water vapor out of the bag so it can lay flat.

The COB was under heat all night and I checked it this morning. I plan to let it keep working under heat until this evening when it will have been under heat for 24 hours, and then putting it into a new vac bag under vacuum. Depending on how moist it is this evening, I may let it dry out overnight in a cool dry atmosphere.

Photo of foam panels, seed heating mat, COB with gas expanded end showing, and jar on top of stack for pressure.

The expanded bag on bench.

Close up of the "sweat" inside sealed vacuum bag.

After putting a small hole in bag and pressing out excess air. The air that came out smelled sickly sweet, just as Tang has mentioned many times.

Close up of the COB after removing excess air from bag. Taken in natural sunlight.

Now back to the heat for another 12 hours.

 

[ThaiBliss]

Greetings,

It seems we are moving our way towards the kilo brick maker that I have seen pictures of from Mexico, and video of from Colombia. It is a car jack that uses a plate to push bud into a metal form. The bud is compressed into an over sized brick shape, which then gets wrapped in plastic.

What is old is new again...

Tobacco used to be tightly bundled into bales and stacked in a hull of a ship for transport back to England. Curing takes place en route.

If I ever come across a video of cob making in Malawi, I'll post it here. The guy was really wrapping that cob tight! All this bricking and wrapping gets the air between the buds out.

ThaiBliss

 

[seeded]

COB Part 4

OK, I put the sealed bag between a seed heat mat and a section of aluminum-faced insulation panel. I also had a section of aluminum-faced insulation panel under the seat mat. Then I used a jar of fertilizer that was about 4 pounds to sit on top of the stack to make sure that everything was in close contact for good heat flow.

Using an infrared temperature gun, I found the COB was at 106 F and the heat mat where it had been in contact with the COB was 147 F. When I switched the IR temperature gun over to C, it read 40 C and then 39 C, but I think it had cooled a bit by the time I got it changed over to C, since I had the stack apart for a couple of minutes by that time.

The vac part didn't help, since the COB had outgassed so much that the bag was puffed out. So I plant on putting a pinhole in the bag to let the water vapor out of the bag so it can lay flat.

The COB was under heat all night and I checked it this morning. I plan to let it keep working under heat until this evening when it will have been under heat for 24 hours, and then putting it into a new vac bag under vacuum. Depending on how moist it is this evening, I may let it dry out overnight in a cool dry atmosphere.

Photo of foam panels, seed heating mat, COB with gas expanded end showing, and jar on top of stack for pressure.
View Image

The expanded bag on bench.
View Image

Close up of the "sweat" inside sealed vacuum bag.
View Image

After putting a small hole in bag and pressing out excess air. The air that came out smelled sickly sweet, just as Tang has mentioned many times.
View Image

Close up of the COB after removing excess air from bag. Taken in natural sunlight.
View Image

Now back to the heat for another 12 hours.

Absolutely glorious

 

[Swamp Thang]

Greetings,

It seems we are moving our way towards the kilo brick maker that I have seen pictures of from Mexico, and video of from Colombia. It is a car jack that uses a plate to push bud into a metal form. The bud is compressed into an over sized brick shape, which then gets wrapped in plastic.

What is old is new again...

Tobacco used to be tightly bundled into bales and stacked in a hull of a ship for transport back to England. Curing takes place en route.

If I ever come across a video of cob making in Malawi, I'll post it here. The guy was really wrapping that cob tight! All this bricking and wrapping gets the air between the buds out.

ThaiBliss

ThaiBliss here is a commercially sold adaptation of the car jack system you described here, but this is for making smaller "pucks" of compressed bud, and it goes by the trade name "Jack Puck".

"Sforza that flat brick is very polished looking, and I note you made the press so that the bricks produced will be a precise fit for the vacuum seal bags. Very neat job, that, and the color change is looking real good, reminiscent of the "Lumbo Gold" we dinosaurs recall from back in the stone age. Very tasty result you got there for sure.

 

[brown_thumb]

Earlier, I posted a concern about bacterial growth. I posted the same question on Skunk Pharm and received a response. The responder has the same concern as I. As long as the temperature remains above the bacteria growth range, it's a safe curing method but if it falls into the range of bacterial growth the consequences regarding health could be dire. I personally would keep the temp no lower than 145F and up to 170F. I suppose if I had a way to keep the temperature constant I'd set the control to 150F.

Link below... scroll down to the comments section and search for "malawi". I'm only trying to help ensure all my icmag friends are safe.

https://skunkpharmresearch.com/salvaging-moldy-material-2/comment-page-1/#comment-115037

 

[cravin morehead]

heres a little video i found on making cobs and other types in Malawi. hope you guys enjoy it. cobbing begins at around 2:00 mark

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FgQ0kTvU5-s

Tang- I will definitely post some pics. I just thought it would be better to show it all in one post rather than pics spanning quite some time little by little

cm

 

[Tangwena]

COB Part 4

OK, I put the sealed bag between a seed heat mat and a section of aluminum-faced insulation panel. I also had a section of aluminum-faced insulation panel under the seat mat. Then I used a jar of fertilizer that was about 4 pounds to sit on top of the stack to make sure that everything was in close contact for good heat flow.

Using an infrared temperature gun, I found the COB was at 106 F and the heat mat where it had been in contact with the COB was 147 F. When I switched the IR temperature gun over to C, it read 40 C and then 39 C, but I think it had cooled a bit by the time I got it changed over to C, since I had the stack apart for a couple of minutes by that time.

The vac part didn't help, since the COB had outgassed so much that the bag was puffed out. So I plant on putting a pinhole in the bag to let the water vapor out of the bag so it can lay flat.

The COB was under heat all night and I checked it this morning. I plan to let it keep working under heat until this evening when it will have been under heat for 24 hours, and then putting it into a new vac bag under vacuum. Depending on how moist it is this evening, I may let it dry out overnight in a cool dry atmosphere.

Photo of foam panels, seed heating mat, COB with gas expanded end showing, and jar on top of stack for pressure.
View Image

The expanded bag on bench.
View Image

Close up of the "sweat" inside sealed vacuum bag.
View Image

After putting a small hole in bag and pressing out excess air. The air that came out smelled sickly sweet, just as Tang has mentioned many times.
View Image

Close up of the COB after removing excess air from bag. Taken in natural sunlight.
View Image

Now back to the heat for another 12 hours.

Looking good Sforza you have to be happy with that color, I personally would stop fermenting semi dry it and reseal it to age, that way you will keep the golden look.
Sweating another 12 hours will darken the brick but also make the effects a lot deeper more inside your head. Both types of high will be awesome depending on the type of bud you used in the first place of course. But on color change alone you have a winner in my book.
Nice job my friend I love gold and orange cures the best and that looks like gold to me.
Tangwena

 

[Sforza]

As long as the temperature remains above the bacteria growth range, it's a safe curing method but if it falls into the range of bacterial growth the consequences regarding health could be dire.

Thanks for the heads up. I will have my buddy test it out and make sure that it is safe before I try it.