honey oil guide

Education

Honey Oil : What You Need To Know

Are you having trouble keeping all the various cannabis products straight? You’re not alone. With the ever-growing assortment of cannabis products, and the weird names they use (strain names like God’s Green Crack and Death Star come to mind) it can be hard to keep up, especially with something as tasty sounding as honey oil. 

Are you unsure about what makes each of them special and why you should buy them? Honey oil is not your ordinary tincture or infused oil. 

Want to find out why?

Continue reading and you’ll learn everything you could ever need to know about this amber coloured extract!

Tell me About Honey Oil

honey oil how to make

You may have heard it called Hash oil, but it’s the same thing. I know this can be confusing, but we’ll sort it all out.  Using extraction technology, we can remove the valuable cannabis compounds from dried flower and concentrate them into a consumable product. Honey oil is also called weed honey, but by any name, it is filled with THC, CBD, terpenes, and more.

The name may lead you to expect a product similar to other infused oils. In reality, what you’ll find is a sticky and thick product. The reason for this is all in the process. Through something called winterization, we go from dried flower to this clear-amber colored product. The winterization process removes the stuff that you wouldn’t want from your honey oil, stuff like the plant’s chlorophyll, its fats and its lipids. 

Once removed, the only thing that remains is a highly potent product that’s safe to consume when done responsibly.

The cannabis community loves its slang, and Honey oil is a perfect example. While you may expect it to be sweet, it does not live up to its name. What you can expect is a potent product, free of plant material, capable of getting you baked. Inside this concentrated product are only the compounds you really want, and nothing more.

The terms wax and shatter are also used to describe honey oil at times. This can be more confusing, but it is because both of those products are made from Honey Oil. We won’t be learning about all of that today though. Instead, we’re going to be focusing on what exactly makes Honey Oil such a fantastic product.

What to do with Honey Oil?

honey oil how to use

The versatility of Honey oil makes it great for all types of consumers. Whether you prefer smoking, vaping, or dabbing, you can use Hash Oil to get you baked. It can be added into joints, or even dabbed on the hot cherry of your glass bowl. 

In fact, there’s a specific kind of joint called the “thai stick” that involves dipping a joint in honey oil before rolling it around in kief for a super-charged experience!

Keep in mind that this product is potent! Just a little can go a long way to adding some punch to your weed!

Why is Honey Oil Special?

The first and most critical factor is potency. The THC content of Honey Oil can be 80% or more. Compare this with dried flower, which ranges from 10-20% THC. Through extraction, we get rid of the plant matter and concentrate the cannabinoids.

The unique consistency and appearance of this product are simply beautiful. Smoke just a bit and you may find yourself staring at your Honey Oil for hours.

As we discussed, this product goes by many names. Hash oil is the exact same thing as Honey Oil. Shatter and Wax are made from Hash oil, but they are not the same final product at all. We’ll learn how to make honey oil before the end of this article. 

Before that, however, we will focus on the critical factor for all concentrate: the starting material. High-quality flower makes amazing concentrates, but this can also go the other way.

You only get out what you put in

Before we even start making cannabis concentrates, we have to ask one question. What starting material will we use? You can make this concentrate out of any bud you got laying around, even trim or shake. That said, the better the bud, the better the Hash Oil. There is nothing wrong with starting with some lower-quality shake to get the experience you need before using your good stuff. Once you have the starting material figured out, it’s time to focus on the process.

How To Make Honey Oil

The process for making Honey this concentrate is not difficult, but there are easier methods for beginners, like cannabis oil and rosin. Extracting out cannabis requires a solvent, and Hash oil generally is made using CO2, butane, or isopropyl alcohol.

Since butane is very flammable, it needs to be used outdoors. Not doing so can be deadly, so do your research is using butane for extraction. An alternative method that is safer involves using isopropyl alcohol. Ventilation is still important, so ensure you get some air flowing. You also won’t have to worry about residual solvents in the final product, which is a major concern with butane and certain other solvents.

Using Isopropyl Alcohol

honey oil how to make guide

For the best quality product with the simplest and safest process, you can’t go wrong with isopropyl alcohol. If you can access ethanol or methanol, these may be better options. Do your research before using any product at home. Before we dive into the details, there is one scientific process to discuss, called winterization. Skipping this step can result in creating Cherry Oil instead of Honey Oil. Cherry oil is darker and has a thicker consistency, like molasses.

Understanding Winterization

Don’t worry, the most complicated part you need to know is the name. The process itself is simple and only requires a freezer. All you do is leave the cannabis plant material and isopropyl alcohol in the freezer for 24 hours. More details are described below! This process removes unwanted wax, fats, and chlorophyll found in the plant material. This leaves you with what you need to create a clean and transparent oil. 

The benefits of winterization include enhanced potency, clarity, and a better smoking/vaping experience. The shelf-life of your product is also increased. Although from our experience you’ll smoke all of your Oil long before this matters! Once you get through the winterization process, then it is time for extraction.

Making Honey Oil with Isopropyl Alcohol

There are only two steps needed to make this amber coloured concentrate, that’s all! We just discussed the first step, winterization. It does take a little patience, but the benefits are worth the wait. The second step involves the actual extraction using isopropyl alcohol. This is how we pull out all those valuable compounds to create this potent and pleasant concentrate.

Materials:

  • Cannabis
  • Isopropyl Alcohol
  • Freezer
  • Baking pan
  • Mason Jar
  • Coffee filter / Mesh bag
  • Tool for scraping

An Easy Process

Don’t worry, the entire process is straightforward. After you grind up your weed, place it, and the isopropyl alcohol into your Freezer for 24 hours. After that, you combine the two into the mason jar and shake it up for 30 seconds. Then you pour the combo through the mesh bag/coffee filter into the baking pan. 

Let it sit for a bit, so that all the iso evaporates. Scrape the remaining product into an airtight container for storage, preferably a cool dark place. It can also be st