Intro to Cannabis: What is Kief?

Welcome back to our Intro to Cannabis blog series from Genesis Grow Corp., where we cover the basics of cannabis use, terminology, and general information on all things cannabis. As we’ve said before, if you’re new to cannabis culture, there are a lot of words, devices, and types of cannabis, so much so that it can quickly become overwhelming to navigate a dispensary or even a group of friends who are well-versed in cannabis culture.

Today, we’ll be discussing what’s referred to as kief, pollen, or dry sift. From what it is to how you extract it, to how you consume it, we’re going to cover all the basics! 

The Basics

Before we get into specifics, let’s equip you with the information you need to identify kief the next time you pick up some luxury cannabis flower from Genesis Grow Corp. 

If you have handled a nugget of cannabis flower before, (especially high quality, THC-rich bud) you’ve probably noticed that it covered your fingers in a fine, crystal-esque, and sticky powder — that’s the kief! Yes, it’s supposed to be there, and it’s actually where you’ll be able to find the highest concentration of THC in the flower. 

Okay, so let’s get into the science, or at least the specifics of what kief actually is. In the cannabis plant, there are these tiny ‘hairs’ that are formally called trichomes. These trichomes are where you can find the concentrated THC and CBD that exists within the cannabis. 

As we discussed in our “What is THC” blog, THC serves the plant by protecting it from excessive UV rays as well as protecting it from getting eaten by animals or pests. And the trichomes within the cannabis plant, and specifically the cannabis flower, are highly concentrated strands of THC that when observed up-close look similar to a mushroom, having a shaft that ends with a spherical head. 

As a cannabis plant matures, these trichomes mature along with it and can actually serve as an indicator that the plant is ready to harvest! How, you ask? When the plant is ready, the trichomes will be the color of cloudy glass or amber. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the trichomes can also reveal a folly in harvesting, as a clear trichome indicates the plant was not ready for harvest. 

Something else that is interesting to note, is that kief and cannabis buds are sticky due to the resinous nature of the trichomes that appear in cannabis plants. The more you know! 

Now that we have an understanding of the trichome, it’ll be easier to explain exactly what kief is. Remember how we said that the trichomes have a spherical head? 

Perfect. That’s where the kief comes from. When using various extraction methods (which we will discuss in a moment), these spherical heads fall off of the shafts of trichomes in the flower. Once the kief has fallen off the shaft of the trichome, it collects in a reservoir (the reservoir differs depending on the extraction device), and after it has collected you can scoop it up, and use it in a variety of ways!

Now that we’ve covered what kief is, let’s talk about extraction and use. .

Extracting Kief

4 Piece (or 3 Compartment) Grinders

If you didn’t know, grinders are essential pieces of equipment for any cannabis connoisseur who enjoys smoking flower. First and foremost, they grind your bud, which makes it easier to roll with, pack bowls with, and (if you have a 4-piece grinder) collect your precious kief. 

The way that 4-piece grinders collect kief is by having three separate compartments. The first compartment consists of a bunch of metal teeth. Here’s where you’ll put the flower. After you load the top of your grinder, place the cap on and twist. This grinds your bud until it’s fine enough to fall through a series of holes that lead to your next compartment. 

The next compartment catches the ground up bud, but there’s another catch to it! At the bottom of this compartment, there is an extremely fine screen that serves to separate the kief that fell off the cannabis as it was being ground. 

Can you guess what’s next? That’s right, another compartment. This one is what’s called the kief catcher, and that’s because it’s the place where the kief will fall after passing through the screen in the previous compartment. 

There you have it, that’s how you use a grinder to extract (and store) your kief! 

Dry-Sifting

Dry sifting works similarly to a grinder in the way that it extracts the kief, however dry sifters don’t require you to grind your bud. Essentially, a dry sifter is a screen or series of screens that you place your cannabis in and then give a hearty shake. This breaks those spherical heads off of the shaft of the tricome, which then falls through the screen and into a storage compartment. 

Depending on the scale of the dry sifter, you may be able to send the cannabis and kief through a series of screens that continually get finer. The reason for the multiple sifting is that it extracts a product that is extremely fine and potent.

Getting Kief-y With It

Now that we know what kief is and how we can extract it, it’s time to talk about different ways you can utilize that kief you’ve worked so hard for. 

Smoke It 

The easiest way to use that beautiful kief is to smoke it, either by sprinkling a dash into a joint or onto a bowl. Then, you simply spark your smoking apparatus, and boom! You did it! You’ve successfully extracted and used your kief.

If you’re a seasoned cannabis veteran, you can even go so far as to smoke an entire bowl, joint or blunt of kief. But be advised, this is a sure-fire way to get extremely blazed, so proceed with caution. 

Make Some Hash

You can turn your kief into hash by basically, just smashing it into itself. While there are machines that will do this for you, you can also make it on your own.

Pressure and heat are the variables that change kief to hash, so you can make your own by smashing kief down with a flat surface and applying heat until it forms into a green or brown ball (the color depends on the kief, what strain it came from, etc). Once you’ve made your hash, roll it up or put it in a pipe and smoke away! 

The process of smashing the kief breaks these spherical heads, letting the resins inside loose. This change in composition alters the flavor and effects that you’ll experience from the cannabis. 

Infuse Cooking Oil

Another great way to get the most out of your kief is to infuse some cooking oil. While we’re not going to get into that process right now (we’ll focus a different blog on that), you can treat your kief as you would cannabis flower to infuse some THC and CBD goodness into oils like butter or olive oil. The best part? Because you’re using concentrated trichomes, the infused oil will turn out more potent than it normally would if you were just using cannabis flower alone. 

Once you’ve infused a cooking oil with the kief, you use it as you would normal cooking oils to create baked goods, dressings and sauces, or even a full course meal! 

Make Some Moonrocks 

Moonrocks have been rising in popularity in the cannabis scene, perhaps because there an extremely potent and intense way to consume your cannabis. Although the name may be confusing, the concept is simple. A moonrock is a bud of cannabis flower that has been coated in a cannabis concentrate, and then covered in kief.

If you’re looking to make some moonrocks on your own, all that is required is the aforementioned cannabis ingredients. Once you have them, warm up the concentrate until it’s malleable, smother your bud, and then use your kief to cover the concentrate coating. That’s all there is to it!

Once you have moonrocks, you can smoke them as you would regular cannabis flower. Be warned, however, this medium of cannabis is extremely potent so please only try it if you know your limits and are confident that it won’t get you too high. 

Quality Cannabis = Quality Kief

We hope that you’ve learned a thing or two from this quick introduction into all things kief. And, remember, when it comes to getting the best quality of kief, you need to be using the best quality of cannabis.

At Genesis Grow Corp. we pride ourselves on being cannabis industry leaders. Our cannabis projects have introduced luxury cannabis to the California market that is of the highest quality because we put so much effort into cultivating our cannabis plant, and we’re passionate about creating incredible cannabis.

With our innovative projects like The Pacific Crest Pre-Rolls, Mad Cow Genetics, and Oh My Ganj we’ve curated cannabis that is engineered to satisfy the most sophisticated cannabis users, and give new cannabis users an unforgettable introduction to cannabis culture.

If you want to get your hands on some amazing bud that will yield mind-blowing kief, find a Genesis Grow Corp. distributor and pick up some of our products today!