Malawi Style Cob Curing.

[Tangwena]

So, do you think that good curing can bring more to a mediocre bud, than it can to the best buds ?

Hi my friend of course I prefer to use only my best buds for obvious reasons, but your pop corn buds are good to experiment with until you are happy with the result.
I have had some stella results from popcorn buds as they are often more mature. This is a good reason to stagger your harvest, taking only the more mature buds and leaving the others to ripen. You will only get out what you put in, you cant polish a turd, but you can dress it up a bit ha ha.
Tangwena

 

[Tangwena]

Mine came out looking pretty much like that one, albeit even smaller so I won't bother taking pictures It works just the same if you do things right..

And if you don't, things can go wrong as Tangwena warned. Two out of five testers turned out to have mold on them, I must have wrapped them too wet and my cobs aren't 100% airtight. Placing them on the lamp worked alright.

I'm yet to test them. What is clear at this point is that this method can make fluffy outdoor buds look very smokable

Get yourself a vacuum sealer machine you will never get mold they are not expensive, but a good one is a good investment as its handy for other foods.
Tangwena

 

[Thule]

Get yourself a vacuum sealer machine you will never get mold they are not expensive, but a good one is a good investment as its handy for other foods.
Tangwena

Yeah I googled those up, much cheaper than I thought. I'll definitely be doing this again next season, older and wiser

 

[Tangwena]

Some pics of cobs one broken up so you can see the loose rolling tobacco look that I was going for. They are still wet and need drying but smell sweet and will smoke smooth and pure.
The high will be very stimulating after aging for a month or so once dried.

From the left Malawi gold, Mulanji gold and Mozambique.
Tangwena

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

No, wouldn't put it like that. But it will make fluffy sativa buds look much better.

Hi my friend of course I prefer to use only my best buds for obvious reasons, but your pop corn buds are good to experiment with until you are happy with the result.
I have had some stella results from popcorn buds as they are often more mature. This is a good reason to stagger your harvest, taking only the more mature buds and leaving the others to ripen. You will only get out what you put in, you cant polish a turd, but you can dress it up a bit ha ha.
Tangwena

So, Thule and Tangwena, you think that the fluffier popcorn stuff does improve, but more in aspect than smoke ?

Personally, more from observation than scientifically valid experiments, Indicas and Hybrids* just seem to loose a lot smell and taste, ,but do get smoother

NLD/Sativas, still investigating... I have a feeling (i.e. totally unsubstantiated guess) that the plant is not absolutely dead dead, and that the resin carries on maturing a bit, improving the smoke. Specifically, some fluffy schwag with transparent immature resin, seems to change to the golden/titanium resin colour of really mature flowers after some time

Top quality buds do not seem to magically transform, they get smoother, often a good thing, and they do benefit from a bit more time to "calm down" than regular type Indica/Hybrid WLD strains

*When correctly grown, flushed all leaf to a faded green

 

[Tangwena]

So, Thule and Tangwena, you think that the fluffier popcorn stuff does improve, but more in aspect than smoke ?

Personally, more from observation than scientifically valid experiments, Indicas and Hybrids* just seem to loose a lot smell and taste, ,but do get smoother

NLD/Sativas, still investigating... I have a feeling (i.e. totally unsubstantiated guess) that the plant is not absolutely dead dead, and that the resin carries on maturing a bit, improving the smoke. Specifically, some fluffy schwag with transparent immature resin, seems to change to the golden/titanium resin colour of really mature flowers after some time

Top quality buds do not seem to magically transform, they get smoother, often a good thing, and they do benefit from a bit more time to "calm down" than regular type Indica/Hybrid WLD strains

*When correctly grown, flushed all leaf to a faded green

Hi my friend I disagree, I have been curing like this for more than 35 years and all buds improve with this cure. I use it on my best buds all the time. It makes them very smooth and tasty to smoke after only 2 or 3 weeks. But they do improve from there with age.
The resins change completely from say cloudy/clear going in to amber and caramel colors under a microscope. The high in the first few days after drying can be very narcotic at first, but this decreases rapidly after aging a month or two and they become very clear and trippy.
As for the taste it is nothing like green dried buds and if you smoke for taste alone this will not suite you at all.
The taste is more herbal like rough hash. But the high is more refined and seems to change and lasts longer than the raw uncured dried green buds.
It takes a bit of practice to consistently produce a good product
but it is how it is cured in central Africa where I grew up. Without the vacuum sealer of course, the locals use other methods to cure/sweat the buds. Like burying them and sweating them in the thatch on the roof of their huts.
when done properly it is a very nice tasting and smoking product compared to simply drying and aging the buds in a jar.
But its up to your personal taste most everyone who tries my buds cured this way want nothing else afterwards so something must appeal to them.
Tangwena

 

[Tangwena]

4 day cure at 40c

4 day cure at 40c

Here are some green pop corn buds from my Swazi grow.
I have been observing the change in color and smell every 24hrs.
Before re sealing them in a vacuum bag and putting them into a yogurt maker at 40c.

The first 2 pics are at 4 days and the last 3 at 5 days. The smell is sweet like dark berry's. the change is more gradual at 40c than say 50 or 60c which happens a lot faster. I will leave them another 5 days and compare the results.
Tangwena

 

[Tangwena]

5 day cure at 40c

5 day cure at 40c

Hear are pics of the balls above broken open to dry after 5 days in a vacuum at 40c. They have the consistency of rolling tobacco.
I feel they are def cured as they were green going in 5 days ago.
I will have to try them to see if they are cured properly once they dry.
I think that i would prefer to cure at higher temps say 45 to 50c it produces a more radical change, but this is still worth while doing as the smoking will be very smooth. I will report back on the high as the green buds had a very mild effect, any change will be noticeable.

Tangwena

 

[Holeshot]

Definatly looks like good shit to me !!! Hey Tang , hope all is good.how much moisture did the buds have going in ?Looks like a good idea.!!! No chlorophyll left at all???.

 

[ReikoX]

Juanita la Lagrimosa (THC phenotype) sweat for two days, then cobbed for ten days.

I planned to test the jar cured buds. I hope to take a sample of this for testing too. I think it will be interesting to see the difference in terpene and cannabanoid profiles. If I can afford it, I'll post the results here. I am also interested to see if the THCA has converted to THC. I think it is because it seems to be active when chewed and swallowed (my bio assay will happen soon).

@Tangwena, thanks for sharing this method!

 

[Riddleme]

My second cobb

used more heat this time (left on light hood longer)

it's drying, smoke report later

 

[LostInEthereal]

I have contacted Max at the Trichome Institute in Denver. They are the only lab that I'm aware of to test cannabis for cannabis related pests and disease (PM, botrytis, etc) in addition to cannabinoid and terpene profiles.

I have asked them if they would accept a sample of both cob style and traditional cure. I'll post when I hear from them.

 

[Tangwena]

View Image
Juanita la Lagrimosa (THC phenotype) sweat for two days, then cobbed for ten days.

I planned to test the jar cured buds. I hope to take a sample of this for testing too. I think it will be interesting to see the difference in terpene and cannabanoid profiles. If I can afford it, I'll post the results here. I am also interested to see if the THCA has converted to THC. I think it is because it seems to be active when chewed and swallowed (my bio assay will happen soon).

@Tangwena, thanks for sharing this method!

Looks good my friend Madjag is also getting some cobs he made tested, just make sure you have dried the samples before sending them in or they could get mold in transit. Very interested in the terps and thc changes compared to the dried buds ect. please post results although they will depend a lot on how well you cured the cob it will still be interesting.
Tangwena

 

[Tangwena]

My second cobb

used more heat this time (left on light hood longer)

it's drying, smoke report later

Hi my friend the cross section cuts look the goods, seems like you got a good cure there. Just be aware that the freshly dried cobs are usually quite stony/narcotic but get a lot less stoney as they age after the cure. After about 2 or 3 months the stone just about disappears altogether and a very clear trippy effect results.
Chewing about 0.25g into dust in your mouth for 5 to 10 minutes then swallowing the dust should be very effective after it has dried. It will be even more pleasant chewed after it has aged a very special high IMO.
Let me know what you think of both smoking and chewing ect.
Respect my friend for trying this.
Tangwena

 

[Tangwena]

I have contacted Max at the Trichome Institute in Denver. They are the only lab that I'm aware of to test cannabis for cannabis related pests and disease (PM, botrytis, etc) in addition to cannabinoid and terpene profiles.

I have asked them if they would accept a sample of both cob style and traditional cure. I'll post when I hear from them.

As I stated above Madjag is also going down this route and getting his cobs tested for the same things. Just make sure the cob is well dried or you could get mold develop while it is in transit or at the lab waiting. As much as I respect your ability to produce good cobs it does take a bit of practice to get good results. But at least it should put some minds at rest about the mold issue that so many people are worried about. cant wait for the results they should be very interesting.
Tangwena

 

[Tangwena]

Definatly looks like good shit to me !!! Hey Tang , hope all is good.how much moisture did the buds have going in ?Looks like a good idea.!!! No chlorophyll left at all???.

Hi my friend def no green shit left and the smoke is very smooth. The Mulanji cob chewed is so strong it warps your mind man. I had about 0.4g and was tripped out for a good 8hrs and high for 12hrs. I went to sleep after and slept like a baby, but was still stoned when I woke up the next day ha ha It took 3 cups of coffee before I was able to wake up properly. Awesome high it just kept coming in waves each one stronger than the last. A couple of times I lost control and just lay on the floor in ecstacy my mind going walk about in my head. My body just evaporated away, I have not had stronger grass out side of Africa awesome high.
But I think 0.25g is more than enough next time I had no control over what was happening, a real tripping experience totally awesome.
The moisture I am not sure about going in but it was only dried for 3 days so it must have been still too moist to smoke.
Tangwena

 

[LostInEthereal]

As I stated above Madjag is also going down this route and getting his cobs tested for the same things. Just make sure the cob is well dried or you could get mold develop while it is in transit or at the lab waiting. As much as I respect your ability to produce good cobs it does take a bit of practice to get good results. But at least it should put some minds at rest about the mold issue that so many people are worried about. cant wait for the results they should be very interesting.
Tangwena

Thanks bud, though I have yet to make a cob. I wish I would have on some early harvest nirvana Swiss Cheese from last year that was pretty mediocre smoke otherwise.

Planning on trying it in a month or so when these gals are harvested and at proper moisture levels.

 

[Tangwena]

Thanks bud, though I have yet to make a cob. I wish I would have on some early harvest nirvana Swiss Cheese from last year that was pretty mediocre smoke otherwise.

Planning on trying it in a month or so when these gals are harvested and at proper moisture levels.

It is hard to commit your best buds first time I know, but if its not strong going in you cant magically produce a good result from average grass. It improves the smoking and changes the high to something better IMO but cant make weak pot strong.
you will still need good quality pot to make good quality cobs. I dont think it makes pot stronger it just improves what you have there in the first place. The high is more refined and longer lasting, after aging its very clear and a lot different to the unprocessed high you get from dried buds. i speculate it changes the resin and others have noticed this too. Under a scope the resin appears matured amber and golden colors. But strangely not couch lock as you would expect from amber resin, well at first it is quite stony just after the cure, but as it ages it becomes crystal clear sort of high, very pleasant and very addictive IMO.
Tangwena

 

[LostInEthereal]

It is hard to commit your best buds first time I know, but if its not strong going in you cant magically produce a good result from average grass. It improves the smoking and changes the high to something better IMO but cant make weak pot strong.
you will still need good quality pot to make good quality cobs. I dont think it makes pot stronger it just improves what you have there in the first place. The high is more refined and longer lasting, after aging its very clear and a lot different to the unprocessed high you get from dried buds. i speculate it changes the resin and others have noticed this too. Under a scope the resin appears matured amber and golden colors. But strangely not couch lock as you would expect from amber resin, well at first it is quite stony just after the cure, but as it ages it becomes crystal clear sort of high, very pleasant and very addictive IMO.
Tangwena

I should have ample harvest to cob/traditional cure the top buds, and fresh frozen to ice water extracted hash turned rosin to lower stuff I can't wait, I'm so anxious, lol.

 

[Tangwena]

I should have ample harvest to cob/traditional cure the top buds, and fresh frozen to ice water extracted hash turned rosin to lower stuff I can't wait, I'm so anxious, lol.

If you are going to hash the rest, try sweating the buds first in a vac bag to mature the resin, it is way better than green immature resin. I do this before making oil with iso the high is spectacular to say the least, I also make dry sift from sweated and then dried buds, again totally different from immature resin from a green dried plant.
Tangwena