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Is it possible to grind up the 1/8th and let it soak in the 2oz. of 151 for a few days first, and THEN follow the steps in this guide (simmers, etc.) afterward for an even stronger extraction?
Or would soaking it first, and then doing the other steps, ruin the cannabinoids that had already extracted into the 151 during soaking?
Thanks! Preparing for 4/20 - this will be my first experience with the green dragon. :)
I don't think it would hurt but I also don't think it would do any good really either.
^^^^ Exactly... cause the greatest part of the cannabinoids are extracted during the heating process. The amount that is extracted by just soaking for a few days would be too small to make a noticeable difference.
Thanks for the replies.
I have tried the method described, but I get so high off of green dragon any way that it's made, that I really can't rate one method against the other.
However many people have stated that heated GD looses it's potency quickly but my wait and soak tinctures seems to hold their strength for a while longer.
About to make this now in preparation for tomorrow.
Sometime tomorrow night or the next day I'll let you know how it goes. :)
Not sure what just happened... Need some help. I think I just wasted an entire 1/8th.
I ground up the mixture in my grinder first, then in the coffee grinder. The coffee grinder turned it into basically a really fine powder. It was some dank, so it was kinda sticky, on the way to becoming hash.
Then I baked it for under 5 mins at 325. When I opened the oven a little bit of vapor came out and the weed powder had turned mostly light brown.
Then I had 2oz. (60 ml) of Bacardi 151 heating up in a steel bowl floating in a pot of water. I added the baked weed.
The temperature only spiked above 170 a few times - it was pretty difficult to maintain and stand over and watch for 20 minutes.
This is where the problems started:
I noticed that it was evaporating REALLY quickly. I had to keep adding more and more rum. If I didn't, it would have just been weed frying on the bottom of the bowl.
After the 20 minutes, I strained it and only have like 10-15ml of this brownish green liquid.
Is this batch ruined? Or it is going to be really strong? What effects will be had from me adding more and more rum to prevent it from burning off?
Thanks.
try it and see worst that can happen is your out an 1/8
good luck
yes everything will be concentrated in the remaining liquid. If you have not cleaned the metal bowel swish a small amount of alcohol around the bottom to clean off any tincture that may have stuck to the sides. Please let us know how it turns out.
I do mine in a small beaker with some tin foil for a cover, indented down in the middle. With a small digital cooking thermometer down through the middle. It can be taken off to stir when you want to. I don't lose hardly any alcohol (I use grain) in the 20 min. I also do it in a small cheap crock pot I got at a dollar store. It does really good at keeping the temp steady @165-170. One trick I have found is to heat the water on the stove first and then put it in the crock pot. You won't have to wait hours for the crock pot to heat up. I also cook it down into something I can smoke instead of drinking it. It works well.
Ok, here are a few updates.
I measured what I had again this morning, and it couldn't have been more than like 5ml. So I found some of the weed still in the coffee filter in the trash, and put it in with more 151 in a water bath.
I didn't use a thermometer this time, but just eyeballed it and kept it lightly simmering. It evaporated at a much better rate, and then I strained and added this to my previous 5ml.
I ended up with probably 10-15ml.
I added enough 151 to this mixture afterwards to dilute it and bring it to about 30ml.
The significant other and I just took 1ml of it on an empty stomach. We put it in 1/2 a beer. Will let you know if I was able to salvage this batch. I think I'm already feeling something, and it has been like 15 minutes.
Happy 4/20 everyone. If this doesn't work I'll just toke on the other 2.5g of Snowcaps I have saved away. :)
Ok.
Tried 1ml. Nothing.
Tried 2ml. Felt a little something for about an hour or two.
Just gave my roommate 4ml to try, I don't want to use them until later. I'm guessing it will be the sweet spot.
So it wasn't a total waste. I know to get one of those measuring cups instead of the steel bowl to simmer in the future. Anything else I can do to improve this?
Well... 1/8 (=3.5g) of weed dissolved in 30ml of alcohol is a bit more than 0.1g of weed per each ml of alcohol.
I dont know the amount you usually smoke, but i need at least 0.5g to get high (damn mids :(), so if i were drinking your green dragon i would need 5ml of it.
Also, drinking it requires more weed than smoking it, as the absorption is way slower and so the effects are "diluted" in a large amount of time... so i would suggest you to drink anything between 1.5-2 times the amount you usually smoke to ensure a enjoyable experience.
misslilly, this sounds intriguing, could you please elaborate.Quote:
Originally Posted by misslilly
Just wanted to let you know I have not forgot. Just been real busy and I'm not very good typing. But I'll be back very soon.Quote:
Originally Posted by ky1956
I made a batch of this last night, and I have to say... uh... wow. :thumbsup:
After baking at 325 degrees for 5 minutes, I made it with 190 proof ethyl alcohol (industrial grade Everclear). I did 2 extractions: the first with 3 oz of alcohol, and the second with 1 oz.
I ended up with about 1.2 oz of GD, and it's pretty nice stuff. I took 1/2 ml last night, and it was real smooth and mellow. I took about 3/4 ml a couple hours ago, and I'm finding it real hard to type this post... :hippy:
I love this stuff. Thanks, and hats off to Master Wu, and everyone else who contributed here. :cool:
(Oh, and this is my first post here, so, "Hi, everyone!" :)
Hey ky1956, sorry to take so long to get back. Just getting started with hydro and have been very busy. But anyway. Basically I do the Green dragon and just let it cook down until the alcohol and what's in it evaporates off. I use a small crock pot to do the cooking and it works well. Add hot water to the pot and I don't have to wait so long for the pot to heat up. I did it quite a few different times trying different things. The first time I tried it, it came out great but had a bit of a time trying to get it that way again. I had a couple pounds from an outside grow and the weed was not that great. So I had plenty to play with. It would not come out good so I could just grab another 1/2 ounce and try again. The first time I used about 1/8 that I had decarbed and some scrap from some hash making. That was what was left on my 105 micron screen. Not great hash but still had a lot higher percentage of thc than the weed. Again that batch came out great. A very smooth smoke that would melt but if you were careful you could smoke by itself in a pipe with a screen or mix some weed with it. It was not so sticky that you could not handle it. You could pull off a piece and put it in with not much problem. After that one I wanted to try again. So I tried several times with just some weed (not decarbed) and did not come out very well. The extraction process would take everything out of the weed, and I do mean everything!! Under a low power microscope what what was left looked like clear fibers. Probably the thing I noticed the most was the chlorophyll. If left it on the heat to long it would smell and taste burnt. And was just a sticky mess to work with. But at the time I was not in a place where I could do a decarb and try it. But when I finally did it came out much, much better. The decarb process of vaporizing what ever it is that comes out did the trick. After that the last time I made hash I took just the scrap from the 105 screen (no decarb) and tried that and again it came out great. So through many experiments my findings are that the quality of the finished product has to do with the percent of thc in relation to the amount of vegetative matter. You can do it without the decarb process but the thc has to be high. Or the other crap has to be cooked off first with a decarb.. But it seems to be a very efficient way to extract thc. Unlike say ice water that only get the balls and leaves the stalks (I read that the stalks have the 2nd highest percent of thc on the plant). This method gets it all out. And also the last time I did it, when it seemed like all the alcohol was gone I put it in the oven at 170 for a little while and then in the freezer. I do it in a small pyrex dish that I can scrap out with a razor blade. When cooking it down it will still seem kinda wet and sticky but will harden when it is cooled. And if anything it seems like a good way to take a low grade hash and make something good out of it. Any questions just let me know.Quote:
Originally Posted by ky1956
Well... decarboxiling the weed usually increases its amount of THC (unless the weed be already completly cured), so it makes the final product stronger. I dont know why people skips this step, as it is a way to get some more THC for FREE!
And misslilly, adding some water to the dish with hash oil when scraping it makes the scraping way easier... the water makes the hash oil stick much less to the dish. If you use water at the right temperature, its possible to scrape completly the hash oil, and leave absolutely nothing in the dish. Too warm water makes the hash oil soft and sticky, and too cold water makes it hard and sometimes even brittle. But adding small amounts of warm and cold water until reaching the ideal temeprature, the hash oil can be made soft enough to be scraped without any effort and yet hard enough to stick to itself better than it sticks to the dish, allowing you to make a ball with it while you scrape it.
PS. The hash oil is insoluble in water so this process wont cause any losses of it.
Hey Coelho, well when I'm done cooking it down it's not really in an oil state. I can scrape it off the dish pretty easy. Sometimes it is even kinda dry in spots when done and can be rolled into a ball without sticking to your fingers at room temp. As long as you don't play with it to long of course. But the water does sound like a good idea to try. The last few times the weed was well cured when I did it, 6 months or more. I'm not sure but wouldn't the decarb have to due with eating it and not if it is going to be smoked. With the heat causing the THCA to be converted to THC? Which is what will happen when I smoke it? It's just that when I decarb it, it seems to vaporize a lot of the unwanted stuff or convert then in some way as to not end up with a sticky mess when I am done. I can tell for sure that it gets rid of a lot of the chlorophyll that is in it.
Can this be done by just grinding up stems and leaves up in a food processor and putting them into a ball mason jar and dumping 151 on them, seling the jar for 1 or 2 months? The alcohol should break down the cellular of the THC.
and make it easier for absorbion right to the blood stream.
Yes, it also works, if you have the patience to wait that long... just keep it in a dark and cold place (as light destroys the THC).Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatekeeper777
I recently (last week) suffered a collapsed lung and don't want to chance smoking again. I recently failed at making sufficiently concentrated butter, so I thought I'd try this.
I drank about a teaspoon-full about 40 minutes ago dissolved in a glass of coke (after drinking a rum and coke :) ). I definitely feel high, but don't feel it getting any stronger, but I used to smoke kush or purple all day every day so my tolerance is probably pretty high. Tomorrow I will try 2 teaspoons-full.
Some thoughts:
- I used Bacardi 151 since I can't get everclear out here in California.
- I decarboxylized an 1/8th on a sheet of aluminum foil. The temperature got a little above 325 degrees and I noticed a lot of vapor when I pulled it out. Next time I will err on the lower side of 325.
- Some crystals and stickiness stayed on the aluminum foil - i used some pretty good kush. Next time I will run some rum over the foil to try to rinse that off into the cup.
- I used a pretty thick pyrex measuring cup. I put it in a large put of water and then turned on the burner. I found it difficult to get up to 170 degrees even with the burner on high and ended up doing something like 25 minutes at 160-165 degrees. Next time I will try a mason jar which may be a little thinner.
If while doing other things start boiling just water or just hot out of the tap and heat up the bowl and start with hot water in the pot helps me speed things up. But I also use a small crock pot to keep it hot instead of on the stove.
6mL worked out great. i talked to a friend who vaporizes all the time and he also said 325 is too hot and suggested 200 for 20 minutes. i'll try that next time and report back.
I just tried the method from post 1 of page 1. I did 5.7g of homegrown bud and good trim and 3 oz of Everclear (190 proof) two times, and ended up with about 3 oz of liquid total. I put 2 ml of the GD in a beer under the assumption it would be bunk, and I'm about 50 min in and I feel a mild body buzz, but I'm 5 beers in as well so I'm not sure if I'm ust getting drunk or I'm going to be ripped here shortly. Time will tell. :thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by VanKee
Well 2 ml did nothing to me. I waited 90 minutes and then took some BT's and got really ripped, but 2 hours later I was back to normal. I think I'm gonna try like a tablespoon and see what happens. :jointsmile:
Well... if there are 5.7g of weed dissolved in 3oz (88.7ml) of everclear, each ml of it is equivalent to 5.7/88.7 = 0.064g of weed. So, 2ml of it is equivalent to 0.13g of weed, which i think its a very small amount.Quote:
Originally Posted by dejayou30
True, however the extraction of the THC into the alcohol should be more efficient, making the THC from .13 g worth of herb plenty to get me stoned. The bowls I smoke are usually .2-.4 g, so obtaining 80% or so of THC in the .13 g in the 2 ml of GD compared to obtaining 20% from burning a .2-.4 g bowl, I should get plenty stoned off the .13 in the GD.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coelho
Plus, it was 5.7 g per batch, so really there was 11.4 g in 3 oz of GD.
I didnt see it was 2 batches... so your numbers are the right ones.
Anyway, eating/drinking weed needs a much larger amount of THC for reaching the same level of "highness"... the high from eaten/drank weed is spread on a way longer amount of time, so the high gets very "diluted"...
I measured it by smoking an amount of hash oil (very high % of THC), and then drinking some green dragon made dissolving the same hash oil in alcohol. (The green dragon was drank the next day, so there was no difference in the effects due the tolerance.)
The amount of hash oil i had to dissolve in alcohol to get the same level of highness i got from smoking the hash oil was like 5-6x greater. (Of course, the high i got from drinking the green dragon lasted WAY longer than the high from the smoked oil).
So i concluded that smoking requires roughly 5-6 times less THC to get the same level of highness of drinking it. (What is caused in part by the much shorter high one gets when smokes).
This values may depend on each persons metabolism, but i think they are enough for a rough aproximation.
EDIT: Well... i just see you already calculated different % for eating and smoking... 80% is 4 times 20%, so it seems your numbers already compensated for the difference between smoking and drinking... im sorry... im on the comeup of a psychedelic and my mind isnt working properly... so we should seek other causes for you didnt get high...
Did you drink it with an empty stomach? It makes a large difference... drinking it with a full stomach usually doesnt work at all.
The amount of beer in your system may have overridden the effects of the GD. I have used alcohol to lessen the effects of psychedelics when I overindulged. Next time try it sober on an empty stomach to give the GD every opportunity to do it's stuff. Enjoy:cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by dejayou30
So I tried this for the first time about 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately, it did not turn out as well as I was hoping. I used 3.5g of bud, 2.7g of stem, and 2.4g of duff.
The first problem I had was when I did the pre-bake I did it for 5 minutes at 300, but I put it on the top rack in the oven. So it was too close to the electric heating element and it came out darker than the duff I used. Also a cloud of vapor about the size of a loaf of bread came out when I opened it up. I decided to keep going with it anyways and did the same with the stems after I ground them up. I put it on a lower rack and it came out just right (at least I think so).
So I added it to a bell jar with about 4 oz of 151. I didn't use a double boiler though. I used a steamer insert in the pot I cooked it in to keep it off the bottom. Although it was still really hot because the steamer insert was sitting on the bottom. So I think I had it way too high a temp because of this.
I let it cook for about 10 minutes before I looked at it, and boy was it boiling. Probably only an oz of 151 left in it. So I took it out, let it cool a bit, and added more 151. Lowered the temp and went back to it. At one point I put the lid on tight and shook it. Turned out it wasn't on tight and It sprayed all over me the the kitchen counter. Let it go for about 1.5 hrs I think and then strained it using cheese cloth and a garlic press. I didn't think it would work so I didn't use gloves and absorbed a lot through my skin. I ended up with about 1.5 oz.
I then started a second extraction with another 4 oz of 151 and went to my room to watch tv for about 45 minutes. Fast forward 4 hours... I wake up with a horrible weed hangover and stumble to the kitchen. As far as I could tell the material was damp but there was no 151 visible. So I decided I was done and threw out what was left.
From what I could tell it does work although it only lasts about 1.5 hrs for me. With a dose of about 20 drops. I gave my friends about 5 drops under their tongues and it got them high, but I don't think there was any THC in it really. I didn't take any for about 1 1/2 weeks and it just isn't all that strong.
So things I learned:
1) I need to do a double boiler next time. Maybe just a metal pan sitting ontop of the pot. The chef at the restaurant I work at does this when he needs a double boiler.
2) Use the rack in the middle of the oven. Not the one closest to the heating element.
3) Don't start this at 1am. You need to be awake and alert cause you can easily screw this up.
I have very good luck making my own capsules with coconut oil so I may just stick to that. I also want to try using veg glycerine. Seems like it would be a lot more user friendly than alcohol(and I don't really like alcohol anyways). I'm sure I'll give this another shot eventually, but I may try the 2 month sit and shake method. I have heard you can speed up the process of the shake method by baking the herb before doing this. Has anyone tried it like that? Either with or without baking it before starting the long extraction process.
I have been very successful when I follow the Master Wu recipe, but have also had dissapointing results when I tried to take shortcuts.
1)Dry the weed first, you seem to be on top of that now
2) Use a thermometer to keep track of the temp in your solution, set a timer to go off in 20 minutes and stay in the kitchen with your cooking.
As for the sit and wait method that has never failed me, it just is not as convenient as the Master Wu technique. My preferred method is to put the dried weed into a tincture bottle that I get at the local health food store for $2. Fill to the top with alcohol and store in a dark place for 4-8 weeks. I shake it on occasion but have found that with enough time everything takes care of itself. Once I think the tincture is ready I leave the weed in the bottle. You will gets a few small flecks of herb in the eyedropper but not enough to cause any problems (like salad in your teeth) and who knows the longer it soaks the more potential you have to extract more thc.
Yeah, I always dry the weed first. Otherwise it sticks to the coffee grinder. I definitely need to stay in the kitchen though. I'm used to making capsules with oil and letting it sit in the crock pot for 12 hours. I may actually try it in the crock pot next time. Although it's hard to tell exactly what the temp in it is. I have a candy thermometer but it doesn't fit in the crock pot. I did check the temp of the green dragon but it doesn't appear to be accurate. It never got above 150. I even stuck it in the boiling water and it still didn't clear 150 after about 1 minute. So I think it is busted. I did place an oven thermometer in the c.p. before. I think the 3 settings were at 155, 220, and 255. Oh, and when I set the oven to 300 the thermometer never went above 270. It was hung off the bottom of the top rack though. So it was a bit further away from the heating element.
On the up side though. Back when I made it and I spilled it all over my arm, and then didn't use gloves I absorbed a lot and got pretty stoned from it :) Woke up with a killer stoner hangover that mellowed out to a nice buzz for about 3 hours.:D
I like the idea of leaving the herb in the bottle too. It could get stronger as you take it.
What kind of tolerance does everyone develop to tinctures? By the end of a 2oz bottle are you taking 5 doses and just getting a light buzz? I always seem to build up a tolerance to whatever strain I'm consuming within a weeks time. Doesn't matter whether I'm smoking it or eating it.
I get a very quick tolerance buildup to GD. Went camping last week with a fresh bottle got wasted first night, took 3x next night got very stoned but lacked the spiritual experience outlined by Master Wu, 3rd night inhaled rest of bottle got a strong body stone but was very disappointed.
Moral of story-use sparingly.
While I enjoy the occasional spiritual dose I usually just take about 1/3-1/2 an eyedropper full then supplement it with smoking about 1-1.5hrs later.
Hello!
I am happy to find fans of this wonderful drink. I understand that the process of decarboxylation is important, but I am wondering how will the GD will work without it?
My method is as follows:
- Grind up ¼ oz of high quality bud and pour it into a 1/5 of everclear.
- Store it in a black bag where it is exposed to warm temperature (since its summer and I donâ??t have AC)
- Shake it once or twice a day while removing the cap so it can breathe.
- Use after 1 month.
I am not sure if I am doing this right. I wish I would have done the decarboxylation but it is too late for that now. Did I waste a whole ¼ or will it still work? If it wonâ??t â?? is there any way to salvage what I have? I remember a year or so ago my friends had a bottle where they used this same process without decarboxylation â?? seemed to work for me. I would like to get the most powerful potency possible. Any advice is much appreciated.
J
Making green dragon this way works too... of course, decarboxilating the weed before soaking it in alcohol makes it stronger indeed, but if the weed was already of good quality, the difference isnt so great. Decarboxilating works better with low/mid-quality weed, as most high-quality weed is already properly cured (and thus decarboxilated).
One important thing is the bottle with the weed must be kept in a dark place, as light destroys the THC.
You may have to drink shots to have it work though. There are 25.6 oz in a fifth. When done in smaller amounts an eighth in 2oz will give a little less than 30 doses(one dose being a ml or 1 dropper full). So with a quarter in 25.6 oz you would have to drink a little less than half of a shot to get the same effect. If that is what you are going for then have fun :) Since you said you were going for potency you could put a shot in a drink and be flying. Also many people say you should let it go more than a month, although it will work after this amount of time still.
Please critique what I did. It did not come out very potent.
Used 4 grams of finely chopped chronic
Around 3 grams of stems from assorted strains
2.5 oz 151 Everclear
Placed pot on foil in preheated 325 oven for 5 minutes. came out a light brownish color noticed a small cloud of vapor escape when i opened the oven. I placed that immediately into a jar containing 151. I had previously heated the jar in water a bath with some water in it to 170. When the oven had 2 minutes to go i switched the water for 151. It got up to temp pretty quickly even after adding the pot since it was straight out of the oven. Had that going for 20 minutes. It stayed at a slight bubble. Temp was monitored by a digital meat thermometer, stayed 170-174. It was strained through very fine mesh and pressed well. I placed it in a small plastic bottle that had an dropper top. I figured this plastic should be ok since it had another sort of herbal extract in it previously. I let it cool and placed one full dropper into a half cup of poweraide and drank it. This was at 3:30pm, only thing I had to eat that day was a lunchable (meat, cheese, crackers) at around 11am. I started feeling some effects at 4:20 (haha), and it kept going up till 5pm when it peaked at only a half decent body buzz. It tapered off till 6pm when I decided it was time to go ahead and smoke.
Thing I think I could have done wrong:
Something in the poweraide inhibited it?
Since the 3 inch meat thermometer probe wasn't all the way submerged in something, the reading was off?
Maybe my oven got too hot? I had tested it earlier with the meat thermometer and preheated at 325 it would get upto 345 after the door was open for a several second period.
Let me know what you gurus think. I really need to find a smoking alternative. Now after years of smoking daily my inner ear starts hurting really bad after I smoke, like an ear infection.
It doesn't sound like the best ratio of pot to alcohol. After a month pour the liquid into a wide mouth jar or jars, straining out the weed in a coffee filter stretched over the top. Let the jars stand in a dark place without lids and let most of the alcohol evaporate. This will concentrate the magic into a smaller volume of liquid.Quote:
Originally Posted by volume