One of the many things Greeley Gallery loves most about cannabis, is how versatile it is! At our recreational marijuana dispensary in the Arbor Lodge neighborhood in north Portland, you’ll find a great assortment of edibles, including weed infused beverages for you to try.
But did you know you can make your own edibles at home? Using our high-quality cannabis flower, you can create custom edibles at your own convenience. We’ll even tell you how! But before you can dive into baking some brownies, you’ll have to decarboxylate your marijuana or else you won’t get the outcome you want.
What is Decarboxylation?
If you’ve never made your own edibles before then you might not know what it means to decarb your cannabis. Think of it this way. Most people who enjoy edibles also enjoy the psychoactive high that comes from ingesting activated Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The key word there is, “activated”. Raw cannabis flower won’t get you high, which is where the decarboxylation process comes in.
Decarboxylation is the process of activating your cannabis, so you feel the high you’re after. Although it has a bit of chemistry involved, it’s nothing like Walter White in Breaking Bad. Essentially all it means is heating up your cannabis flower to activate it.
The Science Behind Decarboxylation
Raw cannabis, like the kind you can buy from us in a variety of amounts, contain tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) which is non-intoxicating.
The decarboxylation process removes the acid, which converts it into THC. Although, it should be noted that the same process is used for converting cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) into CBD.
How to Prepare for Decarboxylating Your Cannabis
The only materials you need to decarboxylate is:
Dried cannabis flower
A flat pan to bake, like a cookie sheet
Piece of parchment paper
Pre-heated oven
After laying the parchment paper on your baking sheet, you’ll want to scatter your dried cannabis flower on top.
Some people prefer grinding it first to even out the texture and surface area for baking. Others believe grinding the cannabis removes more trichomes. Grinding first also allows more chlorophyll to be absorbed which some people don’t like because the result is an earthy, bitter taste.
However, placing large buds on the pan makes it difficult to bake the cannabis evenly. Which is why Greeley Gallery recommends breaking the larger pieces up into smaller ones by hand, aim for pieces about the same size as popcorn.
How to Decarboxylate Using Heat
There are a few different ways you can decarboxylate your weed. Heat, cofactors, solvents, and light can all work, but using heat is probably the most popular so we’ll start there. Heat is also the easiest method because you have more control in your kitchen.
All you’re doing is baking your dried cannabis in the oven at a low temperature for a certain amount of time. Your goal is to heat the flower without destroying the terpenes or flavonoids, which can make it more bitter, and decrease the health benefits of marijuana.
It sounds easy, and it is, but it’s a bit tricky because each cannabinoid and terpene decarboxylates at their own temperatures.
Generally speaking, the most common recommendation when it comes to changing THCA to THC is baking the flower at 220-240 degrees F for about 40 minutes. To decarboxylate CBDA into CBD, you’ll want to bake the flower for about twice as long, at 80 – 90 minutes.
The exact temperature is going to depend on your oven. You need heat for the process, but too much of it and you’ll burn away the other important plant materials. For this reason, don’t heat any higher than 300 degrees F.
Final Thoughts
There you go! You’re one step closer to tumbling down the rabbit hole of DIY edibles. Have fun looking up new recipes for everything from the classic pot brownies, cannabutter, and anything else you can imagine!
All we want at Greeley Gallery, is to help you have the best possible experience using our products. We pride ourselves on offering only the best, high quality, cannabis flower and goodies and are always happy to answer any questions you have. Stop into our recreational dispensary in north Portland today!
