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Also known as ‘Chief’ or ‘Dust’, Kief refers to the mass of cannabis trichomes that is collected every time you grind up herb. Over time (with good quality green) you’ll likely amount enough of these potent crystals to enjoy in a variety of ways. In this blog we’ll take a look at some of these, as well as answering the questions “what is kief” and how it differs from flower as a whole.
What is Kief?
Trichomes are the main magic part of your favourite plant, where the vast majority of cannabinoids and terpenes can be found. This is what kief is – the accumulated trichomes that fall off the bud during the grinding process.
Kief is what’s used to make hash, traditionally through a process of rubbing the whole plant back and forth between your hands until the trichomes start to form a stick residue that just keeps building. Hemp Elf has their own line of CBD hash made using high quality kief.
Due to its concentrated nature and less actual plant matter, kief tends to be considerably more potent than flower. In plants containing THC, the levels of THC can reach up to 80% in kief, as opposed to up to around 30% in bud. In hemp flower, which is naturally free from (or extremely low in) THC, other cannabinoids such as CBD and CBG (when heated) are higher, as well as the terpene content.
How is kief collected?
You don’t need to do anything special to amass your own personal stash of kief – if you have a grinder equipped with a mesh chamber (like this one sold by Hemp Elf) this nifty tool will do the job for you, catching all the trichomes as they fall. Alternatively, flower can shaken around on a silkscreen, put through a process of ice extraction or solvent extraction to separate the sticky dust from the plant. With the right equipment you can also use heat and pressure to produce CBD rosin.
How to use kief
Now we’ve answered the question “what is kief”, you’re probably wondering how to use it. Here are some ways you can get creative with kief and enjoy its unique profile, taste and experience:
Bake with kief
Kief is great material to work with if you fancy trying your hand at baking with green, because it’s more potent but often with a milder flavour than using whole plant. For the best results, it’s a good idea to decarboxylate your kief before adding it to your cooking ingredients (try classic brownies or cookies!) to ensure it’s fully activated. Do this by sprinkling the kief onto a pan, placing in the oven (preheated to 120 degrees C) and baking for around 20 minutes. Once this is done simply stir it into your baking batter, bake as usual and eat!
Crown a bowl
Crowning a bowl is when you add a little kief on top of your flower before vaping or smoking it. When kief contains THC, this can produce a considerably stronger high. With CBD flower, it will increase levels of other cannabinoids and terpenes in the smoke or vapour.
Make kief coffee
CBD infused coffee and CBD tea have become increasingly popular, for their ability to deliver cannabinoids quickly and efficiently into the bloodstream – faster and with higher bioavailability than edibles such as CBD gummies. However, as kief (and cannabinoids) are not water soluble, and boiling water doesn’t decarboxylate, you’ll need to go through a few steps to make your own CBD coffee.
First, decarb your kief (follow the steps above), then stir it into something fatty to aid absorption, like cream, milk or butter. You could try evaporated or condensed milk for an indulgent and unhealthy treat! Add that to your coffee and voila! Kief coffee.
Try kief tea
As mentioned above, unless you decarb first putting kief in hot water won’t turn cannabidiolic acids (found in the raw plant material) into cannabinoids. However, cannabidiolic acids are just as worthwhile, so this may be a great way to get some of those into your diet! Steep your kief in hot water and then strain to get your dose of CBDA – the precursor to CBD which studies have found inhibits the COX-2 enzyme – something expressed by inflammatory cells, usually after an infection or injury. NSAIDS are also COX-s inhibitors.
What are the benefits of kief?
Less is more – literally: You can use less kief than whole plant to reap more potent effects. Storing and then using your kief is a great way to get the highest value from the flower you buy from Hemp Elf.
It’s easily dispersible: Kief is so versatile in its uses because of how easily it can be dispersed. Even when you grind up bud as fine as possible, it’s never going to be as fine as kief.
Precise dosage control: Many people find they can be more precise with achieving the effects they’re after when using kief, because you’re dealing purely with the main active components with no added ‘bumf’.
Enhanced effects: As Kief provides a concentrated form of cannabinoids and terpenes, it will produce enhanced effects, whether you’re using it on its own, or adding it to whole plant for a little boost.
