Hash Strains At Pure Sativa
November 12, 2021
What strains have hash potential for solventless extraction?
In today's fast-moving age of cannabis, new trends are constantly being born, and the general understanding of the cannabis plant's botany has never had the depth and breadth that it does now. Cannabis cultivators are consistently adapting and developing new behaviours to optimise a vast myriad of different factors. At one point in the evolution of cannabis production, the buds structure, aesthetics, and dry yield were the main things that mattered, and terp profiles often took a back seat. These factors tended to take precedence under the context of widespread illegality of cannabis across the world as growers were constrained both by lack of space the necessity of hiding their grows. However, as cannabis legalisation has swarmed over specific geographical locations, previously more alien practices such as large scale pheno hunts have become more common practice. These more extensive pheno hunts allow for unique terpene profiles to be isolated & stabilised as well for strains yielding specific trichome types.
Following the onslaught of legalisation, new forms of cannabis products started to make waves in the scene, such as extracts, also known as cannabis concentrates, oils, resins and rosins. This new production model has shifted from the yield of the overall flower to the extract yield. I'm sure I can hear some of your brains whirring trying to understand the difference here as it sounds similar; essentially, the variables growers frequently control when trying to maximise dry flower yield, such as specific nutrients, plant growth regulators etc. may not maximise the trichome yield or may even harm it. This is crucially important to control when we are looking at extracts.
So what is a trichome?
Female cannabis plants produce flowers that, when kept separate from the male plant's pollen, will grow dense, sticky resin glands. The resin glands consist of tiny hair-like structures that appear like little white hairs or crystals to the naked eye. However, when looked at closely under a microscope, it will seem like small glass mushrooms.
Trichomes are truly the key to cannabis, especially in its medicinal and recreational factors. The trichomes house the cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids that give each plant unique effects, aromas and flavours. Hash production separates these trichome glands from the flower and trim produced from cannabis cultivation & concentrates them into potent extracts.
There are many different types of extract available in the market in contemporary times, created in various forms. However, for the sake of this article, we will be focussing on solventless extraction for Bubble hash, (AKA ice water extraction, full melt and Ice Water Hash/ Ice-O-Lator Hash) and hash rosin. Bubble Hash is frequently turned into hash rosin in modern times using live plants, differentiating hash rosin ran from cured flower as opposed to live flower is done by connoting that it is 'live hash' / 'live rosin'. Fresh Frozen cannabis is the ideal material to run for quality bubble hash or live rosin, this is because it preserves the trichome glands, the terpenes and cannabinoids stored inside. The cannabis in the water will begin to detach the trichomes so it can be collected as bubble hash.
The process of heating and pressing bubble hash to turn it into rosin by bursting the trichome heads occurs because an incredibly high-quality bubble hash capable of full melt is difficult to achieve without completely controlling the environment and genetics. Live plants mean that once the crop is harvested, the material isn't hung and dried and then cured. Instead, it is immediately frozen to preserve the trichomes before it is run as bubble hash. Different genetics & even different phenotypes (expressions of the same genetics) will have varying characteristics that lead to a different expression in bubble hash; the yields, flavour profile and aromas will vary massively across phenos & different genetics (think about how siblings differ from each other).
The art of ice water solventless extraction is all about isolating, collecting, preserving and extracting the trichomes. There are 3 different types of trichomes. Those that yield the best for washing hash will consist of mainly capitate-stalked trichomes, which can be seen by the naked eye and are made of a stalk rounded, bulbous head. Strains that wash poorly will often dissolve and release the oils in the trichome head prematurely in the water and ice bucket. As such, they won't be collected and isolated in the extraction process and won't be good hash strains. In addition, some strains won't qualify for bubble hash making due to a lowish trichome coverage or having the wrong kind of trichome head that isn't suited to washing. The perfect trichome head is a capitate-stalked trichome that has a weakish connection between the stalk and head, and if the connection is too strong, then the trichome head won't be adequately isolated and collected. In fact, even if all of these boxes are ticked, if the terpene profile is undesirable or bland, it is unlikely to be a successful solventless hash candidate. This is why even with great genetics, phenotype hunting is crucial to producing fire solventless hash.
You should now understand that different genetics and phenotypes will have varying levels of success when processed using this solventless extraction methodology. That said, there is number of strains that are viwed as washers, such as GMO crosses, Papaya crosses, Gorilla Glue crosses, Chemdawg crosses, Cookie crosses & diesel crosses, including many more.
Weed Strains with hash potential
Fritter Licker - (Apple Fritter x Face Off OG)- Apple Fritter has been shown to have washing potential, OG generally doesn't but you could find OG terps that wash.
Sour Face - (Sour Diesel x Face Off OG) - Sour Diesel can have decent washing material, OG generally doesn't but you could find OG terps that wash.
Grape Nana- (Banana OG x Grape Pie BX) - both Grape Nana & Grape Pie Bx are known Washers
Dubble Grape- (Sour Dubble x Grape Pie) - both Sour Dubble x Grape Pie Bx are potentially decent washers as they are often ran for has.
Crockett Family Farms:
Strawberry Fields - (Strawanna x Tangie) - Strawnana is well known washer with great thrichome coverage.
Emerald Mountain Legacy-
Spice Cream (Forum GSC x Zkittlez x Kush)- Forum Girl Scout Cookies is a known washer so you could find Z or Kush terps that wash.
Frosted Onionz (Frosted Melon x 26mm) - Frosted Melon is a known washer that has been making waves in Barcelona
Frosted Madness (Frosted Melon x Pineapple Madness 16)- Frosted Melon is a known washer that has been making waves in Barcelona
Pineapple R2 (Pineapple Madness 17 x Pineapple Madness 16)- Pineapple Madness is a unique strain from Grateful Seeds that they've found to have great washing potential.
Zhead- (Zoz x 26mm) - 26mm is a great washer so there's potential for real Z terps that wash.
Hella Seeds-
Gak DOE - (Gak x Dosidos) - Gak and Dosidos are 2 strains with washing potential, especially the Dosidos.
Strawberry Dawg Pound (Strawberry Stardawg x London Poundcake x Kush Mints)- All 3 strains in this cross have decent washing potential especially the Kush Mints.
Rawkus Runtz (Runtz x GG4 x Strawberry Stardawg)- All 3 strains in this cross have decent washing potential especially the GG4
Fizzy Peach (Strawberry Stardawg x Mandarin Cookie Chem D) - Strawberry Stardawg has decent washing potential as does the Cookie genetics in Mandarin Cookie and the Chem Dawg genetics
Barbara Bud (Shiskaberry x GG#1) - Has decent washing potential and the peach pheno in Spain is frequently ran as hash.
Sticky Barb (Barbara Bud x GG#4) - Both strains in this lineage have decent washing potential and are frequently ran for hash.
Sour Rado (KG Sour Bx3 x KarmaRado OG)- Karma's Sour D has decent washing potential.
Double Funk (Sour Dosidos x Headbanger)- Sour Dubb and Dosidos make up the Sour Dosidos and both have decent washing potential.
The New Thin Mint Cookie Crosses- Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies has great washing potential.
Tangerine Sorbet (Wappa x Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies)
Chocolat Wafflez (L.A. Amnesia x Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies)
Apricot Candy (Dutch Dragon x Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies)
Capri Zun (Sunset Sherbert bx1 x Peach Ozz) Peach Ozz has great washing potential, so you could find a Sunset Sherbet terp that washes.
Lime Ozz (Lime Pop Kush x Peach Ozz) - Lime & OG terps that have washing potential thanks to the Peach Ozz
Bingsu- Ice Cream Bean x Jet A - Gelato and Blue Sherb terps that have washing potential.
Sowahh Sherbert (Sherbert S1 x Karma Sour D BX2) - Karma's Sour D BX2 has great washing potential so you could find a sherbert terp that washes.
Rainbow Cake (Rainbow Beltz x Wedding Cake) - Wedding Cake has great washing potential so you could find some real z terps that wash.
Cake Bomb (Dosidos x Wifi 3)- Dosidos has decent washing potential so you have potential to find a gassy Wifi terp profile that washes.
Flo OG - (Colorado Flo Cut x OG)- Flo OG is an OG strain that has made waves with its unique terp profile & is often washed in Colorado.
Sour Diesel (91 Chemdawg x Mass Super Skunk/ NL) - Sour Diesel has great washing potential.
Tiramisu (Wedding Cake x Gelato 45) - Wedding Cake has great washing potential, whilst Gelato 45 doesn't so you have the potential to find Gelato terps that wash.
Spumoni- (Do-Si-Do x Sunset Sherbert) Do-Si-Dos has great washing potential, whilst Sunset Sherbert doesn't so you have the potential to find sherb terps that wash.
Banana Loaf- (Banana OG x El Chapo) - Banana OG has great washing potential and so does the Sour Diesel in El Chapo whilst the Biker Kush in El chapo doesn't so you could find OG terps that wash.
Gelato Cake- (Gelato 33 x Birthday Cake) - Birthday Cake has decent washing potential so you could find Gelato terps that wash.
Stracciatella (Dosidos x Strawbanana Cream) - Dosidos has good washing potential, as does the Strawnana lineage in the Strawbanna Cream
Layer Cake (Birthday Cake x Zkittlez x Birthday Cake x Strawbanana) - Birthday Cake and Strawbanana have decent washing potential, whilst Zkittlez doesn't, so you could find Zkittlez terps that wash.
Crimson Cookie (Black Scout x ChemValley Cooks) - Black Scout is Forum Girl Scout Cookies S1. Forum Girl Scout Cookies have great washing potential as does the Chem and Cookie genetics in the ChemValley Cooks.
Cookie Fever (SSSDH x GSC) x ChemValley Cooks- SSSDH is Sour Diesel X Super Silver Haze crossed with ChemValley Cooks. Both the Sour Diesel in the SSSDH & the Girl Scout Cookies & ChemD genetics in the ChemValley Cooks have great washing potential so you could find some unique haze hybrids that wash.
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