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Malawi Style Cob Curing.

Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
A day in the life of a Purple Honduras x Panama

A day in the life of a Purple Honduras x Panama

15 mins work.
I will be back in the morning with the results of 6 hrs sweating.


Steps one to five.


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Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
Purple Honduras x Panama 6 hrs sweating

Purple Honduras x Panama 6 hrs sweating

You can see the perspiration in the bags and the calyx have changed to a tan color.
These will now be opened and dried with paper towels before being resealed in a dried bag to carry on the process.
In 5 to 7 days they will be opened again and dried gently until they feel dry to the touch on the outside skin but still moist inside.
Then resealed and this process repeated weekly for 3 to 4 weeks.


Around the 3rd or 4th week depending on the smell they will be sealed and left for a month after drying to start the aging process.


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Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
So freakin awesome i gotta try this.
Follow the steps above after hanging to dry for 2 to 3 days and you will be happy I am sure.
Some friends and I have got this down pretty much pat now.
The follow up treatment is very important, the weekly drying and resealing ect will more or less guarantees a good result.
Once you get it right consistently you will want nothing else.
Its all about the high.
 

Bleiweis

Active member
Veteran
Hey Tangwena,

would you mind commenting on my two questions?

1. can you recommend the %RH at which should i start the cobbing? Should the weed be at about 55-65% or more? Can you give a number if you have it please? :)

2. if i want to create a product more similar to hash/charas in terms of structure...would slicing up the weed into small pieces help? Did you try that maybe? I would like to get a very uniform looking product at the end.

Hope i'm not asking too much! Thanks in advance.
 

Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
Hey Tangwena,

would you mind commenting on my two questions?

1. can you recommend the %RH at which should i start the cobbing? Should the weed be at about 55-65% or more? Can you give a number if you have it please? :)

2. if i want to create a product more similar to hash/charas in terms of structure...would slicing up the weed into small pieces help? Did you try that maybe? I would like to get a very uniform looking product at the end.

Hope i'm not asking too much! Thanks in advance.
It would help if I could measure %RH that is for sure but I dont have equipment to measure it unfortunately.
Variation in RH is one of the key factors in obtaining different results.
All I can say is it has to be at a stage that is still too moist to jar it.
To get hash type result is easy the secret lies in not loosing too much of its unique taste and smell.
The more moisture still in the flowers the better although not like fresh picked I always hang 2 to 3 days in an atmosphere thats around 50% RH to dry.


After sweating for 12 to 24hrs at 40c wait 48hrs then open the bag and dry with a paper towel all access surface moisture then reseal the buds leave them a week stored in a warm temp around 25 to 30c


Then weekly dry the surface using a dehydrator or just air dry them then reseal again.
Once you are greeted by a sickly sweet smell like fermented fruit seal up after drying the surface and allow to age at the same warm temp.


The longer you age them the darker they will get and the more congealed they become.
There is no exact time frame as all buds are different. 3 months at least.

Its a matter of opening and looking.


At any stage you can halt the changes by fully drying the cob.
When drying using a dehydrator use low settings if it smells too strong you are loosing terps slow and gentle is best.
Really the only way is slow and gentle.

Without me being there to show you personally you will have to experiment a bit.
The good thing is following the recipe its very hard to destroy the weed.
Worst case you loose the taste and smell but it will not stop it getting you high in fact the darker strangest tastes and smells can be the most trippy in my experience.
 

Dropped Cat

Six Gummi Bears and Some Scotch
Veteran
+1 for the dark, strange taste and smells.


Been a few months since I cobbed any bud, but I have much
good product from previous runs.


Such a great thread!
 

Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
+1 for the dark, strange taste and smells.


Been a few months since I cobbed any bud, but I have much
good product from previous runs.


Such a great thread!
Good on you my friend a bit of experimentation on future runs will reveal the great diversity of results you can obtain.

The more colorful and aromatic cures have personalities all of their own.
Great cures are very individual in their nature and can show the personalities of their creators much like a signature.
The best ones will be very sort after ha ha by me especially he he.
In Malawi as soon as a good batch hit town it sold out quickly.
 

Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
P Honduras x Panama 2 weeks since harvest

P Honduras x Panama 2 weeks since harvest

These 2 cobs are the same 2 one in maize leaf one naked.
The bottom cob has been drying for 5 hours the top one has just been unwrapped from its maize skin and is still moist.


I have been trying to keep the unreal fermented aromas that these cobs produce.
So far so good they both stink in the best possible fashion.


I gave some of the drier cob to some friends to try the smokes smell was incredible just as sweet as the aroma of the cobs.
I have never smelt such sweet terpy smoke except from pure hashish in a hash pipe.
The smell was like the best hash incense really incredible to smell.


The pics are freshly rolled.
Then the last 2 two weeks later





The top cob in the pic is the freshly unwrapped maize skin cob the bottom the drier skinless cob both smell incredible at this stage and the drier one would be an excellent smoke already if I still smoked ha ha.
But another month of aging sealed up after drying will make it the most incredibly terpy chewing cob.
The high I am sure will be just as incredible but I will have to wait.


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Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
Purple Honduras x Panama

Purple Honduras x Panama

This is a test slice of the maize skin wrapped cob.
It smells like Nepalese Hash and the sweet aroma carries over fully into the smell of the smoke its amazing.


The high is only just emerging with 2 weeks aging but is crazy laughing grass with a trippy edge chewed.
Things flash and move all the time you just have to accept it as its all so funny.


This will clear as it ages I am drying the cob before aging so as to stop fermentation at this level.
I want this high to mature as it is once it clears up its going to be a very psychedelic all encompassing type high where you have little or no control over what you feel and do.


Real day morphing cob like a trip into another world Ace hit the nail on the head with this one.
The second pheno is still curing but initial 1 week tests were even more loony tunes than this pheno.
I want to baby sit the cure and aging so far everything is going to plan big time.


With this plant and the Malawi Ethiopia cobs I can trip to the extreme any time I want I need not look any further.
The next grow will be to get some more Malawi Ethiopian cobs I didn't explore them far enough outstanding weed both strains.


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Farma

Member
I'm trying to make my way through the ENTIRE thread.
But out of curiosity, after fermenting in the corn husk, do you seal and cure in the husk also or are you curing in vaccume seal with the husk taken off?
Thanks.
 

Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
I'm trying to make my way through the ENTIRE thread.
But out of curiosity, after fermenting in the corn husk, do you seal and cure in the husk also or are you curing in vaccume seal with the husk taken off?
Thanks.
Hi my friend the thread does seem to ramble but thats the nature of us stoners isn't it ha ha.


I have removed the maize wrapper and discarded it.
I could have left it on and dried it with the wrapper on but it slows the dry down.


This can be an advantage if you want a slow dry but I want this stopped in its tracks.
If I do a slow dry I will loose the terps and texture I have now.
I want to freeze this moment in time and then let it age.


It will fade further color wise and be lighter in color compared to the cobs I have not opened (4) they will continue to darken and the high will be substantially different.


I will get both ends of the spectrum. I could have taken 2 and dried them at an intermediate stage but I cant get at the remaining 4 as they are 800kms away at another place.
I am not worried as I like both short and long ferments for their different effects.


The short ferments are more for nose and taste appeal.

They would be easy to sell as the smell is overpoweringly good.
The darker ferments have less appeal to Joe Public and are an acquired taste.


But the highs are more refined and deeper in effect its like 5 year old whisky compared to 15 year old not everyone likes the longer aging.


There is a lot of variation in taste, smell and high that can be obtained by playing around with fermentation and sweating times.
Every strain has its best set of parameters depending on the bud structure, length of time drying, sweating and aging.


Not to mention what effect your after it is a life long study and people who stick to a handful of strains, dial in the growing, harvesting and curing can produce unique results produced only by themselves.


In Malawi not all cobs were equal and the old wise men who made the best cobs kept the recipe close.


Its great fun and a really cool adjunct to your love of growing. Taking it one step further and creating master pieces of cured ganja uniquely your own.
 

RandyCalifornia

Well endowed member
Veteran
Just like every grow is an adventure, so also every cure, especially long slow ones, like cobbing, are also an adventure. And it's all good just different.
Thank you Tangwena for sharing what you have learned in Africa with us.
In Malawi not all cobs were equal and the old wise men who made the best cobs kept the recipe close.
It would sure be nice to find some of those Old Wise Guy, curing tips and recipe's.
 

Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
Just like every grow is an adventure, so also every cure, especially long slow ones, like cobbing, are also an adventure. And it's all good just different.
Thank you Tangwena for sharing what you have learned in Africa with us.

It would sure be nice to find some of those Old Wise Guy, curing tips and recipe's.
So true I used to score every couple of weeks for the 10 years or so I lived there.
Every score was a new adventure in taste, smell and effects.


The problem was the cobs sold locally came from all over central Africa and most dealers only knew vaguely where they had come from most didn't care.
Being very illegal in those days nobody talked much about origin and curing ect.


Even today to trace a great cob back to its source would be some great forensic detective work and something I would enjoy greatly if I had the time and money.


I can only dream of such things it would be one the greatest adventures I could imagine.

Like a safari for knowledge in one of the most exciting and dangerous continents in the world.
One of the last true adventures left in this modern world.
 

Dropped Cat

Six Gummi Bears and Some Scotch
Veteran
Cob method is a fantastic addition to anyone's stash collection, except for Sam, lol

To each his own.

If your cobs are in cold storage, then cut off your portion and bring
that up to room temp before consumption, tastes real good.

Such a good thread, love cobs, love them!
 

Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
Purple Honduras x Panama #2 cob at 2 weeks curing

Purple Honduras x Panama #2 cob at 2 weeks curing

I have broken this small cob open its still very slightly moist in the center.

After leaving it to adjust for a couple of hours.
Sniffing you get fermented sweet fruit with a chemical type hit you only get from real mind fucking weed ha ha.
I cant believe how strong this is at only 2 weeks cure. If it had gone full term it scares me to think about what the trip would be like ha ha.
But I intend to find out one day, its on my bucket list now ha ha.
This is the second time this has freaked me out love this stuff.




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Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
Purple Honduras x Panama fem

Purple Honduras x Panama fem

These are 4 cobs that were left for 4 weeks sealed up after sweating.
They have been dried slowly and will now be resealed to age.
I have tried the red one its a very euphoric rushing type of trippy high no paranoia even though I'm off my face.
I still feel like talking to people especially beautiful female people he he.
This is an awesome high and its only just starting,one hour in is just the beginning they dont usually peak until the 4 hour mark yeah Baby!
The smell and taste are sweet fermented fruit and spices just awesome tasting.


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wutwut

Well-known member
Veteran
winner@420giveaway
here is my first cob ever, but i think it failed little bit. stuff was more than 2 weeks old because i had to wait that vacuum sealing machine. moisture was 70% when i rolled that weed in to tight packet (forgot to break the buds with my hands pressure..)

i put that vac sealed roll over a heat mat (40-50 celcius degrees) for 36 hours. then opened that packet but there was not water at all so this is where it failed think so. actually moisture still was somewhere at 62-68%. next i vac sealed it again and let sit 7 days in 30 celcius degrees. now today i finally opened it but smell wasn't that what i expected. hay i say.

moisture was only 45%, so curing have ended? it was so dry i added boveda rh/62% for it and now i wait overnight after i will vac seal it again for longer time 1-2 months.

smoke is medium soft with very little cough but not what i waited for. i know it failed because it's not super smooth to taste. effect is strong as nicely good cured buds but not super. next time i wan't the best from fresh.

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Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
here is my first cob ever, but i think it failed little bit. stuff was more than 2 weeks old because i had to wait that vacuum sealing machine. moisture was 70% when i rolled that weed in to tight packet (forgot to break the buds with my hands pressure..)

i put that vac sealed roll over a heat mat (40-50 celcius degrees) for 36 hours. then opened that packet but there was not water at all so this is where it failed think so. actually moisture still was somewhere at 62-68%. next i vac sealed it again and let sit 7 days in 30 celcius degrees. now today i finally opened it but smell wasn't that what i expected. hay i say.

moisture was only 45%, so curing have ended? it was so dry i added boveda rh/62% for it and now i wait overnight after i will vac seal it again for longer time 1-2 months.

smoke is medium soft with very little cough but not what i waited for. i know it failed because it's not super smooth to taste. effect is strong as nicely good cured buds but not super. next time i wan't the best from fresh.

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Hi my friend I can tell by the color you got a cure alright I wouldn't say it was a failure.
If the buds are a little dry at the start the cure takes longer and will taste and look a bit different.


This cure does not increase potency it just changes the effects to a more clearer longer lasting high.


Give it a month or more of aging sealed up and then compare it again.


Many people do not recognize the high as they are so used to getting stoned not high.
When you try it do not mix anything else or smoke anything else that day so you can feel the full effects without other buds confusing the high.


Also what strain was it? Some strains do not get much benefit from the changes this cure makes to the effect.
Generally the changes made make it a more head high not stony.


Without being able to smell and taste it I cant say but next time try a moister bud to start with.
This process is easy once you get the feel for it.

Still not a bad effort for a first time practice makes perfect as with anything in life.
 
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