It ’ s All About the
by Rich Hamilton
photos by Kyle LeGrow
Economical , easy to make , and potent , kief will give your day that little kick you were looking for . courtesy of Green Cedar Retreat
Dry-sift kief is a soft sand-like powder that you have most probably seen in the bottom of your grinder . Originating from the Arabic word meaning “ pleasure ,” kief is one of the most economical and potent forms of cannabis concentrate that is derived naturally from the cannabis plant . Dry-sift kief is a concentrate collected from the tiny resinous trichome glands of the cannabis plant . Trichomes are those microscopic , bulbous protrusions that look like frosting you will see covering your weed nugs or mature female cannabis plants . It is in these tiny parts of the plant where an abundance of the cannabinoids , flavonoids , and terpenes that make up your chosen strain are created . Think of trichomes like the ripe fruit on a tree . If you shake the tree the fruit will fall off but so will some leaves and branches . It is a similar situation when you want to collect kief . In order to get the good stuff , you have to get rid of the leaves and other plant material first . You can remove most of the plant material through sifting , leaving you with the real deal — a full spectrum of pure cannabinoids such as THC and CBD . It is no surprise , then , that kief produces relatively strong effects .
Pure kief can be collected and refined .
Collecting Kief
If you regularly smoke cannabis , then collecting kief can be easy . The simplest way to do this by using a three-chamber grinder designed to have a layer specifically for sifting and managing kief . courtesy of Green Cedar Retreat
If you grow your cannabis , you will have the opportunity to process more significant amounts of kief when trimming buds after harvest . Most trimming machinery has a function to separate and collect kief . If you are trimming
A mesh sifting screen can be used . by hand , you can use mesh sifting screens to separate the kief from your plant material . Sifting screens are relatively inexpensive and readily available from most hydro stores . Kief powder consists of tiny particles measuring in the range of 75-125 microns ( one-millionth of a meter ). Therefore , the size of the holes in your mesh sifting screen is very important to take note of . Normally measured in microns or lines per inch ( LPI ) the correct sifting screen will help you collect the maximum amount of kief at the highest quality levels . As it can be challenging to separate kief from plant material , you can stack several screens on top of each other . If the screens have consecutively smaller LPIs or microns , it will refine the kief into grades of purity . Once the kief starts to collect on your screen , you should use a clean sieving card to push it around the screen with gentle force to allow it to pass through the mesh . Once collected , keep your kief in an airtight container in a cool , dry place out of the light to avoid THC degradation . To maintain quality , stir it every few days to stop it from sticking together . If you are looking at storing the kief long term , however , then your best option is to vacuum seal and keep it in the freezer in a glass jar for ultimate freshness . Overall , kief is a pretty versatile and easy-to-use concentrate you can use to enhance most cannabis experiences .
66 Maximum Yield