Malawi Style Cob Curing.

[dilettante]

Hallo everybody! I just packed my very first cobs. Whole plants dried for 5 days at 20°C. Small leafy shade grown clones. The cobs are between 6 and 12 g. The material is semi dry. Bendy stems, crisp leaves, spongy and sticky flowers. Compressed, vacuum sealed and now at 35 °C for the 24 h sweat. Fingers crossed. Is 35 °C enough?

 

[Tangwena]

Hallo everybody! I just packed my very first cobs. Whole plants dried for 5 days at 20°C. Small leafy shade grown clones. The cobs are between 6 and 12 g. The material is semi dry. Bendy stems, crisp leaves, spongy and sticky flowers. Compressed, vacuum sealed and now at 35 °C for the 24 h sweat. Fingers crossed. Is 35 °C enough?

Nice 35c is def enough leave it a week in a warm place before you open to check it to give it time for the magic to start doing its thing.
Pictures are needed though dont be shy ha ha.

 

[Hombre del mont]

Good morning to you all.

Here's a little update on a few cobs that were made earlier in the month.

This is the White Widow cob that was made on the 1st of October.

It's now almost 4 weeks old and smell's out of this world! Very sweet and it had me smelling the bag repeatedly!
It was very slightly moist on the surface but after just an hour sitting on top of my amplifier was nicely dry to the touch. It's now vacuumed again and it will stay on top of the amplifier for another week, by which time I think it will be done. It will then get a proper drying before being sealed up for aging.


Next up we have 2 Zacateca Tribute cobs that were made on the 10 of October, with weed that had been hung dried for 3 days in our hot and dry climate.

On the photo they look different colours, but in real life they are both the same colour. They also smell out of this world and eve sweeter than the WW. There's also more of a funky ferment smell to them. These were also dried until the surface was dry. They've now been re vacced and will stay on top of the amp for a couple more weeks at least.

And here we have another Zac Tribute. The only difference is that this one was made after 5 days of hang drying as opposed to 3.

This one also has a funky ferment smell but not so pronounced as the previous, (and therefore slightly wetter initially) two.

Here's a shot of them all together and you hopefully see see that there is a slight colour difference between the 3 and the 5 days initial drying.

From left to right.. 5 day dry ZT, 2x 3 day dry ZT and the WW.

 

[Tangwena]

Beautiful brother your working some canna magic there.
When you cant stop sniffing the bag your on a winner been there myself if someone just sold the smell I'd buy it just for a sniff and instant lift ha ha.
Its intoxicating and makes me believe in aroma therapy ha ha.

 

[Ur Humbl Nr8tor]

Those look great Hombre!! Definitely a lighter color on the dryer ZT. My C5 x KC was pretty moist during sweat and the color transformation is fairly pronounced. I’ve got the main buds in a jar around 65% RH. Probably should cob another, but I’m out for the evening and by tomorrow, it may be too late as I’m targeting 62% for the jar cure. The cob I made was around 82% At sweat.

 

[Ur Humbl Nr8tor]

I am finishing a plant from an old IC Mag friend (GKN). It is a Train Wreck x Tom Hill Haze. It’s just a floppy girl filled with tiny bong load sized foxtail type buds. I’ll take a photo in the next day or two. Looks to be a complete pain to trim and keep as regular smoke, so I will likely jar cure a small amount and cob the rest of the bb’s. That should be a very good way to process and enjoy.

 

[dilettante]

Nice 35c is def enough leave it a week in a warm place before you open to check it to give it time for the magic to start doing its thing.
Pictures are needed though dont be shy ha ha.

Hi Tangwena, I took some pictures yesterday and will upload them in the evening. I made four more cobs with fresher material this time.

So 1 week at 35 °C, then open, dry on the outside, reseal and back to 35 °C for a couple of weeks?

Thanks for all the mentoring.

Why or under what circumstances one would go for a shorter (12-48 h) sweat at higher temp (over 40 °C)?

I have a lot of very fluffy sativa this year. It feels good to compress them.

 

[Tangwena]

Why or under what circumstances one would go for a shorter (12-48 h) sweat at higher temp (over 40 °C)?

I like 6 to 12 hours myself I use it to push the boundary on certain buds like Mulanje or Aces Panama.
I like to watch the color change but you have to pick it right just before it turns to much.
Then cure it for 2 or 3 days inspect dry and re seal I like the sticky compacted cobs like hash for chewing.
The shorter sweats or even no sweat at all can produce electric effects if you get a nice warm cure.
You have to watch and sample regularly for each cure until you get a feel for it and then you can leave it longer.
Soon it will be like second nature and the buds themselves will dictate how they need to be approached during the cure.
Its a very exciting procedure and the rewards are magical and capable of making spectacular highs and effects.
Nothing else comes close.

 

[Onboard]

Those look great Hombre!! Definitely a lighter color on the dryer ZT. My C5 x KC was pretty moist during sweat and the color transformation is fairly pronounced. I’ve got the main buds in a jar around 65% RH. Probably should cob another, but I’m out for the evening and by tomorrow, it may be too late as I’m targeting 62% for the jar cure. The cob I made was around 82% At sweat.

Hi @Ur Humbl Nr8tor!
I say GO FOR IT!
IMO, 65% RH (or even 62) in the jar is enough to get the fermentation going! It will probably not sweat droplets, but still ferment just fine.

This summer, I cobbed a bunch of jars with around that level of dryness, and it worked like a charm. (Even a couple of cobs from jars at 58% RH)

 

[revegeta666]

Time has come for me

LET'S GOOOOO

 

[tobedetermined]

Here is a cob that I forgot I had. I made it with some Malawi more than two years ago – May 2020 - but I overcooked it a bit, so the taste and smell weren’t great. Not burnt but just kind of yuck. I sampled it and stored it in a plastic container and it has been in my drawer ever since. Since it wasn’t in an airtight jar, the cobs are pretty hard now but it still gives you a very nice rosy glow when smoked – even if it tastes like the butt of a joint. It’s pretty chewy too . . .

 

[Tangwena]

Here is a cob that I forgot I had. I made it with some Malawi more than two years ago – May 2020 - but I overcooked it a bit, so the taste and smell weren’t great. Not burnt but just kind of yuck. I sampled it and stored it in a plastic container and it has been in my drawer ever since. Since it wasn’t in an airtight jar, the cobs are pretty hard now but it still gives you a very nice rosy glow when smoked – even if it tastes like the butt of a joint. It’s pretty chewy too . . .

View attachment 18775019

Still looks cool to me brother I have some hard like wood tastes of not much after 6 years and the high has weakened but its still there ha ha.

 

[revegeta666]

So I made my first couple of cobs this afternoon.

The weed I used is from Monday's sativa harvest (zamal fil rouge x Jamaica blue mountain). I hanged the plants whole and they dried for 2 days at 60%RH, then 3 days at 70%.

I pressed the first one as hard as I could, using a piece of 40mm gardening tube like HdM. I was shocked to see it weighed 45g. It's not that big, so I really pressed it hard apparently lol

I am calling them masclets, as they look so similar in size to a type of fireworks that is very popular where I used to live.

I decided to make the second one applying a more normal amount of force, and got only a 35g masclet, but the same size as the other one. Which one will cure best? I'm actually curious to find out. Left one is 35g, right one is 45g. Vacuum sealed.

This is my shitty cobbing machine, just a Tupperware with a heating mat wrapped around it. Also some cardboard inside to prevent the cobs to stay in contact with the hot plastic. I have been trying it out for 3 days and getting consistent 35-40°C temps inside. Not pretty but it will do the job I think.

Will be opening my masclets tomorrow after 24h. Any suggestions?? Exciting times

 

[Hombre del mont]

Looking good brother.

My village loves a good mascletà!

 

[revegeta666]

Looking good brother.

My village loves a good mascletà!

Thanks mate, do you think there will be much difference between the hard press and the really hard press? 24h sound ok to you?

 

[Hombre del mont]

No, I don't think that the difference in compression will make any noticeable difference; But I may be wrong

24hrs will be plenty to start the process off.

Exciting times!

 

[Tangwena]

Perfect grass to be cobbing man, boy I wish I could try some when its done.
Please post pics of the two when you next open them this is a very interesting comparison.
I'm betting there will be a subtle difference and greater after curing.

 

[revegeta666]

I just opened the sealed cobs after 24h at around 37°

They were a little moist, barely though. There is a subtle but noticeable change in color towards gold, colors smeared together a little bit. Pic from yesterday for comparison:

The smell of them is as addictive as folks were saying, they smell like a sweeter version of the buds that are still drying on the rack. Very very addictive. @Tangwena when you said to look for that sweet smell I am sure you were referring to this. Is the smell is going to get even sweeter after the cure? I am sure Mtoko would approve of this smell lol

They will be drying for a couple of hours on the paper, then I will reseal them and keep them at30°C for a week.

 

[Hombre del mont]

Looking good brother. The smell will improve further as they cure.

 

[revegeta666]

Looking good brother. The smell will improve further as they cure.

Is a week at 30ºC a good plan?
Sorry for asking every step of the way lol, it is a little bit scary the first time.