Welcome to the wonderful world of solventless cannabis concentrates! These products are what true canna-conniseurs (canniseurs??) are smoking on these days. Solventless products include bubble hash, hashish, hash rosin, & dry sift. In this article we will be discussing bubble hash and dry sift. We’ll touch on their differences and similarities as well as how they both relate to hash rosin production. Wondering how to make dry sift or bubble hash? Wondering which is better to smoke? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s dive right in!
Dry Sift (left) and Bubble Hash (right)
Similarities: Dry Sift & Bubble Hash
It’s All About the Trichomes
Both dry sift and bubble hash focus on separating trichomes from the cannabis flower. Trichomes are the crystally bits you can see covering quality cannabis flower. They contain all the flavor (terpenes) and cannabinoids that make cannabis products tick. Solventless cannabis concentrates are made up of trichomes that have been separated then collected for you to enjoy. Now, you may wonder how the trichomes are separated. We will get to that later on in the Differences, Process section below.
Solventless or Bust!
Both dry sift and bubble hash are solventless cannabis concentrates. That means they are made without the use of any solvents like butane, propane, or CO2. They are made using physical separation like – mechanical agitation, sieving, and filtering. Many popular cannabis concentrates like shatter or crumble are made with these solvents. Solventless products are considered to be of higher purity and quality than their solvent-based counterparts.
End Product
If you take a look at the pictures above, you can see that both dry sift and bubble hash have a sandy consistency. The highest quality have a light color due to them containing very little plant matter or other impurities. At their best, dry sift and bubble hash are made up of only terpenes and cannabinoids.
Potency
Relative to cannabis flower, both dry sift and bubble hash have a much higher potency. They are a collection of separated trichomes so it’s all the good flavor and high without any (or very little) of the plant matter found in cannabis flower. The potency of high grade dry sift and bubble hash can be upwards of 60% THC.
Differences: Dry Sift & Bubble Hash
Dry Sift and Bubble Hash Processing
Dry Sift:
Dry Sift is made with dried cannabis flower. The flower is carefully rubbed against a fine mesh screen to separate the trichomes from the flower. The process does not involve water or ice like the bubble hash process does. This is pretty much the same as the kief that collects under the screen in a cannabis grinder.
Dry Sifting with Washed Up Jellyfish
Bubble Hash:
Bubble hash is made with the use of ice and water. Fresh cannabis flower is placed into a bucket with ice and water. The cold temperatures free the trichomes to make them easier to break off. The bucket with ice, water, and flower is mixed to separate the trichomes. The trichome-filled water is then filtered through fine mesh bags called bubble hash bags. Once filtered, the wet bubble hash needs to be carefully dried before it can be smoked or processed into hash rosin.
Washing Bubble Hash with Holi Extracts
Which is Better for Rosin: Dry Sift or Bubble Hash
Bubble hash is what almost all commercially available hash rosin is made from. Dry sift hash rosin is much more rare to come by. Both are made by placing the dry sift or bubble hash into rosin bags then pressing them with a rosin press. The heat and pressure from the rosin press pushes the hash rosin through the fine nylon mesh rosin bags.
Which is Better to Smoke: Dry Sift or Bubble Hash
Generally, high quality bubble hash will be easier to find than high quality dry sift. But, if you can find both options, many still consider bubble hash to be the better smoke in terms of flavor and smoothness.
Dry Sift and Bubble Hash are both solventless cannabis concentrates. They are produced by separating trichomes from the cannabis flower. Neither uses any solvents to produce. This is why they are called “solventless”.
Dry Sift is made by physically rubbing dried cannabis flower against fine mesh screens to separate the trichomes. Bubble hash is made by mixing ice, water, and fresh cannabis flower in a bucket to knock the trichomes loose. The trichome-water is then filtered through fine mesh bags and then dried.
Both Dry Sift and Bubble Hash have a much higher potency than cannabis flower. They can contain upwards of 60% THC. Appearance-wise, they will both look a bit sandy and have a light color to them.
