FREEZE DRYING WEED: STEP BY STEP

Growing cannabis is a process that requires dedication and above all patience. This is well known by experienced cannabis growers because once harvested, they have to wait for the buds to go through the drying and curing process. In some cases, this can take up to a month and a half more or even two, but… What if we told you that there is a technique that dries Marijuana flowers in only 24 hours?

What is Freeze Drying?

Freeze drying is a technique commonly used to preserve perishable foods by dehydration. The process consists of dehydrating the material using freezing and then, by reducing the surrounding pressure, allowing the frozen water to evaporate. This removes virtually all the moisture in the product and allows it to last longer.

Some pioneers of the cannabis sector have found in this technique (applied for years in the food sector) a possible way to make the processing of cannabis more efficient. 

Indeed, in a regulated market like the United States, technological advances are inevitable to improve production and optimize the quality of the final product.

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Freeze drying and cannabis: does it work?

For years, some growers have studied the possibilities of freeze-drying cannabis flowers to dry and cure them without getting good results. Indeed, due to the legal framework and the “special” circumstances of the cannabis industry, it isn’t always easy to apply advanced techniques and the necessary resources aren’t always available.

Early attempts at ‘freeze drying’ were a failure because the machines used for this weren’t designed to dry cannabis buds, but to dehydrate apples or other foods. The conditions offered by these machines were too aggressive for the delicate trichomes, which eventually fell apart. In addition, the resulting cannabis was too dry and crushed, and numerous terpenes and cannabinoids were lost, resulting in a final product with less aroma and taste than traditionally dried buds.

However, some people realized that they needed to adjust the parameters that didn’t allow them to freeze-dry the cannabis flowers while retaining their trichomes and terpene profiles. And they finally succeeded.

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What does freeze drying consist of?

The freeze-drying process for drying and curing cannabis buds consists of several phases:

1. The fresh buds are in a cold room, the drying room. The flowers must be placed on steel grid shelves without being crushed and with the utmost care.
2. Once placed, the sub-zero temperatures of the chamber freeze the buds by turning the water in them into small ice crystals.
3. Once these crystals have formed (along with the moisture contained in the flowers), the pressure inside the freeze dryers is reduced to create a vacuum.
4. The combination of low pressure and low temperature activates a process called “sublimation”, which converts the crystallized water into a gas without passing through the liquid state but preserving the molecular structure of the freeze-dried substance without damaging the structure.
5. Finally, this moisture in the form of gas is drawn into a cooler condensation chamber by vacuum. The result is a cannabis flower from which the remaining moisture has been extracted, but which retains its full flavor, color, and aroma.

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Differences between freeze drying and the traditional method

You may be wondering what the difference is between freeze-dried flowers and those that have been treated with the traditional method. The difference is huge, as the appearance of the buds that have gone through freeze-drying is incredibly similar to that of the fresh flowers when they are still on the plant.

Contrary to what we are used to, freeze-dried buds don’t reduce in size (as those that have been dried by hanging the plant for 15 days do), and their color, aroma, and taste are also the same. Bright green buds and an intact terpene profile that many have begun to dub ‘bright resin flowers’.

What are the benefits of freeze-drying?

The benefits of using this technique are numerous, but it indeed requires an initial investment that not all cannabis growers can afford.

In the United States, where this method is beginning to be implemented, large and medium-scale farmers are still looking to optimize their resources and obtain a better quality of their products. In a competitive market like the US, this revolutionary drying technique can make a big difference to a brand, but as we have seen above, not everyone can afford the equipment to do it.

• Without a doubt, one of the advantages is that the cannabis flowers will be ready for consumption in just 24 hours, as opposed to 15 days of drying plus about 30 days of curing.
• The trichomes are better preserved. Laboratory results have confirmed that this technique reduces the loss of resin, which results in a high amount of cannabinoids and terpenes. With this technique, breaking or detaching of the trichomes is avoided, the buds are literally “frozen” in time, just at that moment (freshly harvested) when they express their greatest potential and beauty.
• Without a doubt, the visual effect is one of the great attractions of ‘Freeze drying’, as the buds barely shrink in size and are twice as large as normally dried buds. The color is bright green and has an incredible aroma.
• This is a method that eliminates the fungus problems that can occur during traditional drying.
• There is no excess moisture, the drying is perfect.
• Moisture levels can be reduced to 1%, so cannabis dried with this method is ideal for extractions, as water is the number one enemy in the process of making certain cannabis extracts.
• Some consumers claim that flowers dried under this new technique produce a more energetic effect, which they describe as “joyful”. In addition, users claim that smoking this type of cannabis is a milder experience for the throat and less irritating for the airways.

What do you think? Are you ready to try one of those preserved terpenes?