November marks the arrival of our 6th annual Hashapalooza at Dockside! During the event of Hashapalooza, we dedicate the entire month to celebrating hash, offering generous hash promos, hosting informative events, and inspiring content to enhance your experience. Keep reading to discover fascinating hash facts and upcoming in-store events! This year we have an epic lineup, with hash products from Constellation, Gold Leaf, Natural Mystic, Puffin Farm, Seattle Bubble Works, and Sitka!
But what even is hash?
When you look at flower, you see the surface is covered in magical sparkling orbs called trichomes. Those trichomes contain all the good stuff that gets us high. Hash is made using a process that gently separates the trichomes from the plant. This is called manual extraction (as opposed to solvent extraction).
The TL;DR version: hash is the part of the plant that gets you high separated from all the green stuff.
What does a hash high feel like?
Hash has a unique effect profile that we like to describe as a comforting and velvety body high that enhances the senses and promotes feelings of peacefulness. Who wouldn’t want to indulge in some of that? For many, these effects free the mind, aiding productivity and increasing creativity. For others, it might lead to the yoga studio, playing video games, or a tube of Pringles and re-watching Super Troopers for the 487th time. In any case, hash is an essential stash staple for any weed-lover looking for a balanced high.
Types of hash & hash products:
Pressed Hash
Did you know that hash was the first type of cannabis concentrate ever made? Pressed hash is most similar to traditional methods of hash-making that date back thousands of years. Trichomes are removed from the plant by shaking the harvested flowers over a fine screen. The Trichomes fall through the holes, which are then gathered and pressed. Pressed hash has a stiff yet malleable texture comparable to Sculpy clay that can be warmed in the palm of your hand to make it easier to work with. Try Sitka Lebanese hash in Gold or Red. Did you know that Sitka adds fresh kief to their pressed hash to brighten up the terpene profile?
How to use Pressed Hash:
- In a pipe or bong: Warm a small amount of hash in your hand and shape it into a flat disc. Load a small amount of flower into your bowl, add the hash disc, and top with a little more flower. No flower? No problem! You can pop a nugget of hash into a bowl with a screen and you’re good to go. However, be careful to place your hash in the center of the bowl to promote even burning and try to avoid touching the hash with the flame as it can catch on fire. You want the flame to hover over the hash. Toast it, don’t roast it.
- In a joint or blunt: Get your paper or wrap ready with some ground flower. Warm a small amount of hash in your hand and shape it into a thin snake. Add this on top of your flower, and roll as usual.
- Pin and Glass method: You will need a sewing pin (the kind with the flat end, not the little ball), a bar coaster, a drinking glass, and a straw. Stick your pin through the coaster so the sharp end is sticking up. Load and light your hash as described above. Place the glass over the hash and let the glass fill with smoke. To hit it, lift the glass a little, stick your straw in there, and inhale.
- Sitka Hash Domes: Grab a Sitka Hash Dome if you want to class things up. It works similarly to the pin-and-glass method but is undoubtedly sexier. Load your hash onto the pin, light both ends, blow it out, and place the glass cloche over the wooden base. To take your hit, remove the stopper, inhale, and lift the cloche slightly from the base to clear the smoke.
- Hot knives! Check out our awesome blog post that describes how to use hot knives.
Bubble Hash
Created in the mid-90s, bubble hash has the consistency of brown sugar. It is made by “washing” flower in ice water, then using a series of screens to sift the trichomes. The temperature of the water makes the Trichomes brittle and they don’t homogenize with the water because they’re full of oil. Bubble hash is typically described using a star rating system. The higher the star number, the more refined it is. Try Seattle Bubble Works bubble hash and Puffin’s Hindu Kush 3* hash.
How to use Bubble Hash:
- In a pipe or bong: Use the tip of a knife or a clean dab tool to scoop the bubble hash out of its little container. Then, sprinkle it between layers of flower, or warm it and flatten it into a small disk that can consumed in your bowl on its own.
- In a joint or blunt: Simply sprinkle it over your flower before rolling it up. Alternatively, you can warm the hash with your hands and shape it into a snake that you roll up along with the flower (but aim to get the hash snake in the center of the joint).
- Cook with it! (more on that below)
- Make Moonrocks: Get the instructions here, on our blog!
- DIY Hash Rosin: If you’re feeling adventurous, you can make your own dabs from bubble hash using a hair straightener and parchment paper. Sandwich a bit of bubble hash between two pieces of parchment paper and squeeze it between the irons of the hair straightener on the low heat setting for a few seconds. Some more advanced rosin hobbyists also use rosin bags, micron screens, and pneumatic presses to increase rosin yield and quality.
Temple Balls
Originating from Nepal, Temple Balls were traditionally made by rubbing fresh cannabis flowers and allowing the resins to collect on your hands. Rubbing your hands together causes the resins to stick to themselves and literally ball up. Modern Temple Balls are typically made by using one of two more hygienic methods:
1) melting the trichomes using low heat so that they stick together when rolled.
2) combining dry-sift or bubble hash with hash rosin to create a softer, extra-pliable product.
Try Natural Mystic Temple Balls and Sitka’s Cascade Cream Hash. Both are made with the addition of hash rosin to create a softer consistency.
How to use Temple Balls:
- In a pipe or a joint: Temple balls can be added to bowls or rolled into joints using the same methods as pressed hash. Its pliable consistency makes it easy to shape into discs or snakes. It’s a great option for people who want a low-fuss hash format.
- We don’t recommend using Temple balls with the hash dome, or the pin and glass method; because of the softer texture, it may melt off the pin.
Hash Rosin
Hash Rosin is for all the dab-lovers out there. It is made by applying heat and pressure to bubble hash in order to create a gooey consistency that is perfect for dabbing. Try Lazy bee, Polar Icetracts, Constellation, and Aloha Friday.
Hash Rosin Infused Pre-rolls — Hash joints are cost-effective, convenient, and plentiful. Try one of our favorites from Seattle Bubble Works, Constellation, or Sitka.
Hash Rosin Cartridges — Truly the most convenient way to consume hash and especially for those who are on the go! Try Constellation and Gold Leaf cartridges.
Hash Rosin Edibles — These are growing in popularity for their long-lasting deeply relaxing high. Try Gravity Gummies from Constellation— they’re vegan, gluten-free, made with natural fruit puree and infused with solventless hash oil. If you’re more of a chocolate-lover we recommend Gold Leaf hash rosin-infused chocolates made with single-origin cacao sourced from Hawaii!
Cooking with Hash
Move over flower; hash just entered the kitchen. Bubble and dry-sift hash are extremely easy to cook with! Check out the book Space Cakes by Dane Noon and Lex Lucid for detailed recipes focused specifically on using hash.
Consuming hash raw won’t get you high, it needs to be exposed to heat in order to activate the THC. This process is called decarboxylation and is often less formally referred to as decarbing.
- Decarb it in the oven! Bake in the oven at 250 for 25-30 mins. Once it has cooled, use a mortar and pestle to grind it back up, so it’s easy to use. Once decarbed, hash can be used in any way you imagine!
- Dump it directly into batter for baked goods! Your hash will decarb while they’re baking.
- Simmer gently with cream for 20-30 mins, stirring frequently. Your infused cream can be added to beverages, sweetened and whipped for desserts, or turned into cannabutter. Add to herbal tea blends. Bring a pot of water to a boil on your stove. Add hash and your herbs of choice. Boil for 5-10 mins. Strain and enjoy.
Don’t miss our upcoming in-store events with Sitka and Constellation Cannabis!
Meet the Sitka team, learn about hash domes, and have all of your burning hash questions answered!
- Nov 10 Dockside Ballard 4-6pm
- Nov 15 Dockside SODO 4-6pm
- Nov 22 Dockside Shoreline 4-6 pm
- Nov 29 Dockside Green Lake 4-6pm
Meet the Constellation Crew and learn about this female-owned and family-managed company along with their amazing hash line-up of edibles and rosin carts!
- Nov 10 Dockside Shoreline 11-2pm
- Nov 10 Dockside Green Lake 3-6pm
- Nov 17 Dockside Ballad 11-2pm
- Nov 17 Dockside SODO 3-6pm
Here’s to another fantastic Hashapalooza! Happy hashing, and enjoy the journey!