Vaping Herbs: Better Fresh & Somewhat Moist or Dry & Crumbly

Tragikkkkk

Member
Just wondering it is better to vape lightly cured fresher herb or to let it dry out to the point where it breaks like a stale-ass cookie. This is definitely a newb question, I know, but I'm curious as to what the consensus is. Or doesn't it make a difference at all?
 
Tragikkkkk,

lwien

Well-Known Member
Tragikkkkk said:
Just wondering it is better to vape lightly cured fresher herb or to let it dry out to the point where it breaks like a stale-ass cookie.


For me, neither. I like to vape my bud when it is well cured but not crumbly dry.
 
lwien,

djonkoman

Well-Known Member
everything works, but what I have(own harvest) is cured and stored in mason jars, maybe a bit on the moist side but not too much(doesn't easily crumble between your fingers like the stuff from the coffeeshop)
it's harvest from september last year, so probably curing since octobre or so
 
djonkoman,
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hereatlast

Well-Known Member
It seems to me that 'cured' and 'well-cured' are very broad terms, and not in a bad way. IMO its when you deviate from the curing process that the product might not be optimal. A sample could last for years in proper curing storage without every drying out (properly cured); at the same time, a sample could have undergone a minimal but effective cure and still be ready. Ultimately, letting a little bud sit out overnight to (overly)dry seems counterproductive to the progress that a cure can accomplish. :2c:
 
hereatlast,

gobbly

Active Member
seems that there's a little confusion about the difference between a cure and drying. Drying is simply removing moisture, rather boring really. Curing is less concerned with the actual moisture, and more concerned with the biological and enzymatic processes that continue after clipping and throughout a drying process. After clipping, buds are still alive, and can take more than 48 hours to 'die'. During this time the plant is not receiving nutrients, light, or anything, and will continue to biologically break down sugars and process carbon. The speed at which the plant matter actually dies depends on how quickly it loses moisture. Once dead, sugars will continue to break down in the presence of moisture (assuming there are complex sugars to be broken down, which there will be). Though the speed at which it dries will certainly effect the cure, it is the length of time which the drying took, as well as how evenly the drying was applied in this time that really define curing.

For instance, most growers hang dry for 4-10 days, till ~75%rh. They then jar, and 'burp' out roughly 1% per day (leave jars open for an hour or so). A target might be a finished rh of 55%, so a proper cure might be 4-10 days drying, then another 20 days of curing (burping), using 55%rh as a storage humidity. Hold properly cured bud up to something that was just left out for 14 days and quick dried, and they look rather similar (cured might look a little lighter, but might not be enough that you could tell), and have the same consistency. However take hits, and the quick dry will be 20% less potent, as well as make you hack your lung out when you take a hit, the proper cure is more potent, tastes like heaven, and the bong hits will wrap your lungs in pillowy goodness. Though with vaping the only thing I really notice is the potency (cured weed is more portent). I can take my headiest harvests, and I can take sugar trim, both taste the same when vaped, the only real difference I find is that it takes more of the sugar trim to do the trick than when I vape buds, so a vape of headies might be .3g, and a vape of sugar trim might take .4g.

I can clip a bud (or some sugar leaves for that matter), throw it in my iolite or in front of a heat gun, and vape it, the only real difference is that it takes a few min to dry out before it will actually produce usable vapor. The vaporizer will eventually dry it out though, then it will start producing vapor.

So yeah, cured weed will be more potent, but I think what you are really asking is how dry people get it before vaping. My experience has been the more dry the better, as far as milky hits and the ability to grind finely. I store at 55%rh, and most of what I smoke gets ground up at 55%, then left out for 1-2 days in a keif box till it is consumed (who knows what the rh is at this point, but I imagine it's a lot less than 55% :D).

Hope this helps!
 
gobbly,

lwien

Well-Known Member
I agree. Good info, gobbly. Thanks.

I used to vape my bud when it was crispy dry and while it did produce a LOT more vapor initially, what I missed was the taste so I don't leave it out to dry anymore. I'd rather get those good tastes while waiting a bit for the good stuff to hit. ;)
 

steiner666

Serial vapist
gobbly said:
...

I can clip a bud (or some sugar leaves for that matter), throw it in my iolite or in front of a heat gun, and vape it, the only real difference is that it takes a few min to dry out before it will actually produce usable vapor. The vaporizer will eventually dry it out though, then it will start producing vapor.
...

Yeah thats how its been IME, moister bud just takes maybe a draw or two to get the vapor flowing, which doesnt bother me. The stuff im vaping in my wdz now gives nothing but a bit of flavor in the first hit, but the 2nd and after are killer

I have no idea what curing process the herb i get goes through, but i know that i like to keep it as moist as possible once its in my hands. I keep it in air-tight canisters, usually keeping a few days worth ground up at a time with the rest stored as whole nugs..

The only time moisture really concerns me is if the stuff is overly moist when you buy it and you know it effects the weight. Or if youre going to be storing it for a long time and its not dried well enough and it gets moldy. THose are about the only things to really be concerned with about moisture imo, because how rapidly the stuff vapes isnt that important to me.

Well, i guess i like to keep the herb for in my LB really dry so it vapes in fewer hits so i get more trenches per battery and take less time to stealth vape. TBH i havent noticed vapor from moister or drier herb to have much of a different as far as how dry it is on my airway, its all pretty dry unless it runst hrough water. i just always take a drink of something after every draw, oftentimes before i even exhale.
 
steiner666,

Tragikkkkk

Member
Thanks for the input everyone and especially to Gobbly on that nice, wholesome explanation.
 
Tragikkkkk,

Vaporgin.

Mt.BakerVaper
lwien said:
I agree. Good info, gobbly. Thanks.

I used to vape my bud when it was crispy dry and while it did produce a LOT more vapor initially, what I missed was the taste so I don't leave it out to dry anymore. I'd rather get those good tastes while waiting a bit for the good stuff to hit. ;)

Same here, used to prefer it bone dry but now i enjoy those first few tasty hits of moist herb until the vape drys it out enough and it really starts producing vape
 
Vaporgin.,

sunsett70

Member
steiner666 said:
...I have no idea what curing process the herb i get goes through, but i know that i like to keep it as moist as possible once its in my hands. I keep it in air-tight canisters, usually keeping a few days worth ground up at a time with the rest stored as whole nugs..

steiner, i used to keep my (just purchased) moist weed in air-tight but will face mold problem, so i had to dry them out. How do you or any of you guys with "moist weed in air-tight containers" handle this issue? will opening the container to 'burp' it daily help, but opening it daily will might dry it faster (???). any advice?
 
sunsett70,

lwien

Well-Known Member
My bud is never moist that I get at the dispensary. It's sticky, but not moist, but I would imagine that daily burping should do the trick if it was moist.
 
lwien,

Nycdeisel

Well-Known Member
I prefer it on the dry side, but not extremely dry, I dont leave out a large amount of herb to dry openly for over a day. When I get my stuff its usually pretty moist, so I cure it a bit more in my jars, slowly, for a few days at least, this helps to dry it out but not a super quick dry that may leave the vapor feeling harsh.

I also find that drier herb grinds much much better.

The best results I have had vapor wise were with some ground bud that got to dry more then it normally does when Im looking after it.
 
Nycdeisel,

gobbly

Active Member
sunsett70 said:
steiner666 said:
...I have no idea what curing process the herb i get goes through, but i know that i like to keep it as moist as possible once its in my hands. I keep it in air-tight canisters, usually keeping a few days worth ground up at a time with the rest stored as whole nugs..

steiner, i used to keep my (just purchased) moist weed in air-tight but will face mold problem, so i had to dry them out. How do you or any of you guys with "moist weed in air-tight containers" handle this issue? will opening the container to 'burp' it daily help, but opening it daily will might dry it faster (???). any advice?

Get a small hygrometer and make sure your material is below 70% rh (I have never seen or heard of mold or mildew below 70%). As mentioned, 55-60% is ideal for storage. Burping daily is just a way to lower humidity at a set rate, if your rh is too high you can burp, but if it's much over 70-75% you want to either hang it longer, or put it in a paper bag for a day or two. Curing is an art :) You could alternatively leave it out in the dark for a few days and just dry it, assuming it was cured before you got it (if not, it's probably too late to do anything about anyway).
 
gobbly,

djonkoman

Well-Known Member
if your bud is moist enough to get moldproblems when you buy it, your dealer probably doesn't fully dry it to get more money for it
 
djonkoman,
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