How Cryo Cure Simplifies Trimming Cannabis

How Cryo Cure Simplifies Trimming Cannabis

It can be considered one of the most tedious aspects of cannabis cultivation, but properly trimming cannabis after (or before) it’s dried and cured can make all the difference in the dispensary. Removing excess material from your cannabis not only provides a more aesthetically pleasing flower, but it creates a higher quality product that your customers will want to keep coming back to enjoy. However, this is a notoriously tedious process done by hand; no machine has come close to the intricacy of the hand-made trimming process. Here’s how Cryo Cure makes it much easier to bring beautifully trimmed bud to market.

What is cannabis trimming?

At face value, cannabis trimming is exactly what it sounds like—it’s the process of cutting fan leaves, sugar leaves (also known as sweet leaves), and manicuring the bud to create a more aesthetically pleasing finished product.

While cannabis trimming is why our favorite cultivars look the way they do, the process is not solely done for bag appeal. Removing leaves can benefit the overall results of the final product. Trimming unnecessary moisture-holding material helps minimize the chance pathogens like mold and mildew will form, and it can also impact the taste and smell of your cannabis. The plant pieces left over from manicuring, commonly referred to as “trim” or “shake,” are also sold separately to consumers or can be used to make other types of cannabis products.

How is cannabis trimmed?

Conventionally, there are two ways that most cultivators trim their cannabis. You can either do all your trimming by hand or you can use specialized machinery to handle most of the process for you. There are good and bad aspects of both methods, so it’s important that you weigh your options before deciding on one over the other.

Hand trimmed

If you imagined someone sitting at a table with a pair of scissors carefully snipping away at a cola of cannabis, then you’re pretty much already there. Hand trimming begins first with the removal of the large fan leaves, which typically do not contain a significant amount of phytocannabinoid and terpene-containing trichomes. After removing the fan leaves, the buds can then be cut from the stem.

Only once the buds are more easily accessible can the more intensive side of hand trimming take place. Any leftover fan leaf remnants are cut away and the tiny sweet leaves are trimmed away from the buds. It’s at this stage that the buds are shaped and trimmed.

It’s important to note that cannabis is a very fickle plant that’s susceptible to contamination from bacteria, mold and other problem factors. While trimming the flower, it’s absolutely paramount that scissors used in the process are properly sterilized and that gloves and other PPE as required are worn at all times.

Benefits of hand trimming:

  • Trimming the plant by hand gives the cultivator complete control over their product, resulting in a more uniform, manicured flower.
  • Any trichomes that fall off the plant during trimming can be collected for future use.
  • Hand trimming lets the cultivator more easily check for contaminants.
  • This method does not require expensive, specialized machinery.

Disadvantages of hand trimming:

  • Trimming each bud by hand takes a significant amount of time, which only prolongs time to market.
  • If you want the hand trimming process to go faster, you’re going to need more hands, and that means hiring more people to speed up the work.
  • Cutting up any kind of plant results in a mess. Cannabis is extra messy due to the resins, leaves, and trichomes that can fall off the plant or stick to your tools and your hands.

Machine trimmed

While hand trimming cannabis gives the cultivator a level of personal control over their product, machine trimming brings speed. By removing human interaction with the plant and replacing it with raw efficiency, machine trimming removes excess plant material in less time and with lower labor-related overhead.

There are scores of machine trimmers on the market today, each with their own set of features and functionality. There are machines ranging from $170 for a hand-cranked model to several thousand dollars for a machine that can churn out 50 pounds of wet or 10 pounds of dry buds per hour — and that’s not even the most expensive or impressive trimming machine! The ultimate cost depends on how much product you intend to trim on a consistent basis.

Benefits of machine trimming:

  • These machines can be easy to use, usually requiring one or two people to operate them at any given time.
  • Machine trimming is significantly faster than hand trimming.
  • By using a machine to trim your bud, you will need fewer employees to handle this step in your cultivation process, reducing the labor needed and the human touch points that can contaminate flower.
  • Since the trimming is confined to the machine, there’s not as much mess as there would be with hand trimming.

Disadvantages of machine trimming:

  • Without any direct control over the trimming process, less-than-stellar bud can still make it to the dispensary shelf, where customers take notice.
  • Machines are not as discerning when it comes to the final aesthetics of the bud, making it possible that the result is less visually pleasing.
  • Trichomes are often lost at a much more consistent rate in machine trimming than they are when trimmed by hand.
Dry trimming vs. wet trimming

You’ll also need to consider when you trim. If you’re inclined to begin trimming immediately after harvest, that’s considered “wet trimming.” If you decide you want to wait to trim your bud until after the drying and curing process, then you’d be “dry trimming.”

When it comes to wet trimming, most people consider using this method because it allows for a more uniform drying experience. That’s because the additional leaves carry moisture that can negatively impact humidity levels in a drying room. Moisture is your enemy when drying and curing your cannabis, and that extra moisture adds time to the drying process. Removing excess plant material also means you can fit more buds onto a drying rack without crowding it.

One of the biggest benefits of wet trimming is that sugar leaves haven’t had time to dry up and curl into the bud. Since they stick straight out from the bud itself, those leaves become much easier to remove by hand. That comes at the cost of everything getting dirty and sticky, as the plant’s trichomes will get everywhere and create a mess.

Conversely, dry trimming allows for a longer and more deliberate curing time. That slower cure creates a bud that’s more flavorful, yet at the cost of potentially diminished aesthetics. Still as the leaves remain on the bud, more moisture is retained, leading to a lower rate of terpene loss. That being said, dry trimming is harder to do by hand since the leaves have wilted and curled onto the bud. Also, the longer drying and curing time means the buds themselves are significantly more brittle. Brittle bud means a higher likelihood that you will lose more trichomes in the trimming process.

How Cryo Cure improves the trimming process

While Cryo Cure is not made for trimming cannabis, our customers report back that our patented machines have a significant impact on the entire harvesting process, including trimming. The freeze drying technology at the heart of the Cryo Cure process makes cannabis trimming a much less daunting process.

Fans of dry trimming enjoy using our machines on their harvest because it makes those pesky sugar leaves much easier to remove. That’s because freeze drying essentially turns those tiny leaves into an afterthought, since they stick straight out of the flower and flake right off when touched.

If you’re an acolyte of wet trimming, Cryo Cure machines effectively reduce the number of touchpoints that your flower has to go through to get ready for sale. By simply removing everything you can before running your plant material through our machines, you essentially end up with buds that you can cut from the stem. Everything is good to go at that point.

In fact, since those sugar leaves stick out they’re much easier to identify and remove. Since they have already gone through our proprietary drying and curing process, their phytocannabinoid content levels will be stable. As a result, the excess leaves can be used to extract additional phytocannabinoids and terpenes, turning this plant waste into another avenue for revenue.

Cryo Cured cannabis simplifies trimming

At Cryo Cure, our patented process alleviates many headaches in the cannabis and drying curing process, including stabilizing the flower’s THC content, extending shelf life, and of course, simplifying the trimming process. The sugar leaves on Cryo Cured bud stick right out, making them way easier to find and remove than they would be during the dry trimming or wet trimming process. This saves precious time while minimizing human touchpoints, delivering a cleaner flower to market faster than any other technology out there.

The future of cannabis flower is here, and it can be found in Cryo Cure’s Live Resin Flower. Contact Cryo Cure to learn more about our machines and how they can be used in your facility.

Premium Cannabis Flower: 4 Things To Look For In Premium Bud

Premium Cannabis Flower: 4 Things To Look For In Premium Bud

On your last dispensary visit, you may have noticed differences in cultivar pricing – why are some less or more expensive per ounce? That’s because you can choose from different tiers from flower, from smaller, lower-quality buds to the best of the best, often marketed as premium flower or top-shelf flower.

For cannabis lovers, there’s nothing that compares to premium flower. Here’s what makes top-shelf flower so special, and why it’s worth the investment.

What is premium cannabis flower?

Premium cannabis flower is top-shelf quality cannabis that has densely packed trichomes filled with rich cannabinoids and terpenes. Premium flower often boasts vibrant colors and is trimmed to perfection. It is generally more potent and flavorful, has a longer shelf life than traditional cannabis flower, and may be preferred by experienced consumers or medical patients looking for specific results. 

What makes premium cannabis flower special?

Purchasing premium flower means getting the best the dispensary has to offer. But what makes premium cannabis so special? Let’s take a closer look.

Potency

Cannabinoid potency refers to the amount of cannabinoids present in the bud. Cannabinoids contribute to the overall consumption experience, and knowing the cannabinoid profile can help consumers predict the effects of specific products or cultivars. Cannabinoids are concentrated in the trichomes, or resin glands, of the flower, which are visible to the naked eye. Premium cannabis flower usually has a lot of well-preserved trichomes, giving it a frosty look that signals high potency. 

Terpene profile 

Terpenes are responsible for the aroma, flavor, and certain therapeutic effects of cannabis. They are also among the most difficult compounds to preserve after harvest, as terpenes begin to degrade quickly under even mild conditions. Premium cannabis flower cultivators follow rigorous procedures to preserve these volatile compounds, offering rich terpene profiles and enhancing the scent, taste, and effects of their products.

Shelf life

Not all cannabis flower has the same lifespan, and all cannabis flower degrades over time.  While an individual cannabis product’s shelf life depends on how well it was harvested, dried, cured, and stored, most products offered at dispensaries list a “use by” date to signal when the flower is past its prime.

Lower-grade flower is often dried and cured incorrectly or left susceptible to environmental conditions like heat, light, oxygen, and moisture. Premium cannabis products harvested and stored correctly have a shelf-life from six months to one year before showing signs of degradation. 

Cryo Cure’s patent-pending technology directly addresses the factors that impact shelf life. By cutting the dry time from a few weeks to as little as 13 hours, Cryo Cured cannabis can have a shelf life of up to two years when stored properly in an airtight container away from light.

Four ways to identify premium cannabis flower

Whether you’re a new or experienced cannabis consumer, you may be wondering how to spot the highest-quality premium cannabis flower. While speaking to a budtender is a great way to find the right option, you can look for the following to determine the quality of a bud for yourself:

1. Appearance

Color is one of the easiest ways to distinguish premium cannabis from standard products. While lower-quality cannabis may appear brown or yellowed, premium cannabis flower will display an array of vibrant tones, from deep greens to purples. In addition to a beautiful, rich color, premium cannabis flower should appear perfectly trimmed and manicured with a frosty coating of trichomes. The buds will be larger than lower-quality options and appear much more light and fluffy. 

2. Aroma

Terpenes play a massive role in the aroma of cannabis buds as well. Generally, the more terpenes in a bud, the more intense it will smell. Because premium cannabis flower is harvested and cured with terpene preservation in mind, you can expect fresh, robust scents. Lower-quality options may have little to no scent, or worse, a musty smell that could signal contamination by mold or mildew.

3. Consistency

Premium cannabis flower should be neither too dry nor too wet. While dry and crumbly buds often indicate poor quality, premium cannabis flower will feel somewhat sticky and spongy.  Still, premium cannabis buds should be dry enough to hear the “snap sounds” when broken apart by hand. Overly moist flower will not burn as evenly and could be susceptible to contamination by mold and mildew.

4. Experience

Premium cannabis flower offers a superior consumption experience to lower quality options. Generally, premium buds provide carefully-tailored, complex cannabinoid profiles that supply a range of experiences. While lower quality options are less predictable and may leave you feeling differently than intended, premium cannabis flower offers predictable effects to suit whatever your preference may be. Those looking for products with the most therapeutic potential may succeed with the broad range of effects offered by premium cannabis flower. 

Cultivating a premium experience with Cryo Cure 

Cryo Cure is proud to offer premium cannabis flower that is consistently high in quality and can meet all your needs. Our patented process allows growers and manufacturers to avoid human error and harvest cannabis with that “fresh from the farm” feeling by eliminating the typically weeks-long process of drying and curing. Schedule a consultation today to learn more about how CryoCure can help bring your business to the next level with vibrant, aromatic, premium cannabis flower that stands the test of time.

Greg’s Guide to Curing Cannabis: Learn From Cryo Cure’s President and Head of Cultivation

Greg’s Guide to Curing Cannabis: Learn From Cryo Cure’s President and Head of Cultivation

You can’t skip the process of cannabis curing, but conventional methods are time consuming and, if performed incorrectly, could result in the growth of mold and mildew. Fortunately, modern approaches and smart solutions have improved the curing process, saving cultivators time and money while reducing the risk of cultivation.

In this guide, Greg Baughman, President and Head of Cultivation for Cryo Cure, talks about the importance of curing, how it’s been done historically, and the more efficient approach now available to cultivators everywhere.

What does curing cannabis do? 

Curing cannabis balances the moisture content across all buds following the drying process and serves to prevent the growth of anaerobic bacteria, as well as the degradation of important compounds. Curing is necessary because smaller buds dry out a lot faster than bigger buds during drying. Curing causes the smaller, dried-out buds to absorb excess moisture from the bigger buds, resulting in finely preserved cannabis that is crisp, ready-to-smoke, and protected from contaminants like mold and mildew.

How has harvesting, drying, and curing been done historically?

There is no one standardized way to harvest, dry, and cure cannabis. Many cultivators use processes they developed themselves, so it’s common to see differing methods from grower to grower. 

Common methods of curing cannabis include curing in jars, wet curing, heat curing. However, each of these have limitations. Improperly curing in jars could actually promote the development of mold and mildew, and it limits how much cannabis can be cured at scale. Wet curing cannabis removes terpenes, reducing the flavors, aromas, and effects associated with those compounds. And heat dehydration curing can cause degradation of cannabinoids and terpenes, resulting in a lower quality final product.

To limit these downsides, Greg developed his own drying and curing method while serving as a caregiver in Michigan’s medical cannabis program, before he designed the Cryo Cure machines.

“I would cut the plants down whole and hang them in a dark room, where I’d keep the temperature at 65℉,” Greg said. “I would keep it at 55% humidity for the first four days, and 40% humidity for the last three days.”

In addition to setting the right temperature and humidity levels, the drying room needs sufficient airflow to keep the room cool. Because hot air rises, Greg would run an air conditioner from the ceiling to keep temperatures at acceptable levels throughout.

After a week, Greg said he would take the plants down and hand trim them before curing. To cure the flower, Greg would place the trimmed buds in airtight turkey bags – the same ones used to cook a turkey in the oven. He would then leave the buds to sit overnight. At this point, the smaller, dried-out buds would absorb moisture from larger buds. 

“Because it’s an airtight container, moisture seeks its own level. If there are smaller buds, that moisture is going to be absorbed from the bigger buds and essentially equal out the product,” explained Greg. 

The goal of curing, he added, is to reach 8% to 12% moisture content and 0.5% to 0.6% water activity (aW) in each bud — any higher risks the development of anaerobic bacteria like mold. Generally, Greg could tell the curing process is complete by feeling the buds. If the buds were crispy, he said, they were ready; if not, he would reseal them in the turkey bags for a few hours before checking again.

How long does curing cannabis take? 

Traditional methods of drying and curing could take anywhere between 10 and 30 days to be completed. That represents a significant loss in potential revenue for commercial cultivators who are growing at scale — a capital-intensive operation — and want to sell their flower as soon after harvest as possible to support their cash flow. While the curing process itself can be done as quickly as one day using Greg’s method, it can’t be done until the flower is properly dried. With Greg’s pre-Cryo Cure method, drying takes a week, but can take even longer depending on the process other cultivators use – some cultivators dry their flower for two weeks or more.

The challenge with lengthy drying periods is that each day cannabis spends drying represents lost potential revenue for a cultivator. In addition, cannabis flower left to dry and cure for more than a week loses significant amounts of terpenes because terpenes degrade naturally over time. This timeline accelerates when cannabis is exposed to oxygen, heat, humidity, and light. Lower terpene content means less product appeal on dispensary shelves, so preserving terpene content after harvest is especially important. 

Thankfully, equipment like Cryo Cure’s is changing the game and speeding up the time required from harvest to sale. 

How Cryo Cure expedites drying and curing cannabis

Cryo Cure simplifies and shortens the traditional drying and curing process by dialing in the precise ratio of time, temperature, and pressure to achieve the perfect moisture levels in the flower. This process can be completed in seven steps that only take one day to complete.

  1. Chop down cannabis plants.  
  2. Defoliate the plants and cut to packageable size.
  3. Arrange the buds on baking sheets to be loaded onto carts. 
  4. Place the carts in a -20℉ walk-in freezer for a minimum of 2 hours.
  5. Transfer the carts into a Cryo Cure machine for 12 to 16 hours to dry (rather than a week or more in a drying room).
  6. Remove the buds from the machine for trimming and manicuring.
  7. Place buds into an airtight chamber to cure overnight. 

Using a Cryo Cure vacuum chamber allows cultivators to eliminate the traditional hang drying process, reducing the time frame from up to a month to less than 24 hours. In many cases, the runtime can be reduced to as short as 12 hours. The process results in several benefits to product quality, including:

  • Bigger buds – no shrinkage
  • Vibrant appearance
  • Stellar terpene retention
  • THC-A stabilization – no degradation into CBN

Curing cannabis is critical to preserving flower quality for the long haul, but until now it was a labor intensive and lengthy process. Luckily, with Cryo Cure, curing cannabis is now easier and faster than it’s ever been..

Curing cannabis with confidence 

There will always be debate regarding the best process for drying and curing cannabis. While many people think that slow and low is the way to go for cannabis, Cryo Cure has developed a process to achieve the same results much more quickly and efficiently. In a cannabis industry where time is money and quality is on every consumer’s mind, the Cryo Cure method offers a better way to get your flower market-ready. Visit our website or speak with one of our experts today for more information on our patented technology and methodology

Why Cryo Cure Is The Best Choice for Ice Water Hash

Why Cryo Cure Is The Best Choice for Ice Water Hash

Ice water hash is gaining ground in the concentrates world, celebrated for its potency and flavor. But what you get out of this process is only as good as what you put in, making it critically important that the cannabis flower used to make ice water hash is fresh and of top quality. Read on to learn more about how ice water hash is made, how it’s different from other concentrates and extracts, and how Cryo Cure can help you get the most out of your biomass.

What is ice water hash?

Ice water hash is a cannabis concentrate made by combining cannabis flower (like Cryo Cure’s Live Cured Flower) and trim with ice water and agitating the mixture. Ice water hash is made by a mechanical separation process that captures a high amount of cannabinoids and terpenes, making for a potent and flavorful final product. Ice water hash is rated on a scale of six stars, with one star being the lowest grade product and six stars being the highest grade. Ice water hash can also be used to produce a solventless extract known as rosin.

How is this product made?

The production process behind ice water hash is relatively simple when compared to solvent-based extracts that require highly technical processes. It can be made in four easy steps.

  • Combine cannabis flower and trim with ice water: Fresh cannabis and ice water are combined in a bucket or wash machine. Buckets are used in relatively simple DIY methods of making ice water hash, while wash machines are better for commercial production at scale. The near-freezing temperatures of the ice water freeze the resin glands of the plants, known as trichomes, making them very brittle and easy to break apart from the plant material.
  • Agitate the mixture: Agitating the ice water and cannabis causes the trichomes densely packed with cannabinoids and terpenes away from the biomass. The cold temperatures also ensure cannabinoid and terpene potency is preserved during this process.
  • Strain mixture to separate water and trichomes: The resulting solution of water and trichomes is then strained through a series of fine mesh bags, typically in descending order from 160 microns, 120 microns, and 25 microns in size. This separates the trichomes from the water, leaving them behind on the sieves.

    The 25 micron bag typically contains the purest ice water hash, which tends to be lighter in color than its lower-grade counterparts. The product collected from the larger diameter bags tends to be darker in color and slightly less potent due to the presence of fine particulates of plant material.
  • Collect trichomes and dry: Once strained, the trichomes can be scraped from the bag and collected. At this point, the trichomes are still moist and need to be dried. Removing the moisture from the trichomes results in a dried brick of ice water hash.

Rosin and ice water hash

Once you have bricks of ice water hash, they can be used to produce a solventless extract called rosin. To produce rosin, dried ice water hash is placed into a rosin press, a machine that consists of two metal plates arranged in a vice grip. The plates are heated and the bricks are pressed at between 300psi and 1,000psi, melting and squeezing the trichomes and terpenes into a viscous, potent cannabis oil. 

Rosin, like other extracts, is highly potent in cannabinoids like THC and CBD. It also tends to have a heightened level of terpenes compared with other extracts thanks to the low temperatures at which it can be produced — after all, there is no need to evaporate residual solvents like there is in ethanol or hydrocarbon extraction

Where does Cryo Cure come in?

When producing ice water hash, Cryo Cure comes in after the wash is complete. During the ice water hash production process, manufacturers aren’t able to capture all the terpenes and cannabinoids from the biomass. Soaking wet biomass is at risk of microbial contamination, so leaving it to air dry is off the table. Unfortunately, without an effective alternative and despite knowing there are valuable compounds still locked inside the biomass following the wash, most manufacturers simply discard the wet plant material and cut their losses.

However, Cryo Cure makes it easy to quickly dry the wet biomass in a matter of hours while eliminating the risk of microbial contamination. This allows manufacturers to save the wet biomass and capture the remaining cannabinoids and terpenes via hydrocarbon, ethanol, or CO₂ extraction. The result is less waste, allowing manufacturers to squeeze every dollar out of material they were simply throwing away beforehand. 

In this way, a Cryo Cure machine is an investment that quickly generates a return. The amount of additional cannabis oil manufacturers can capture with Cryo Cure adds up to a significant revenue stream, easily covering the costs of acquiring and running Cryo Cure’s freeze drying machines. That’s not to mention the sustainability benefits that come from reducing massive waste that is currently the norm in the industry.

Eliminate ice water hash waste with Cryo Cure

Ice water hash and rosin are immensely popular with consumers who prefer solventless concentrates and extracts packed with flavorful terpenes, so manufacturers are increasingly adopting ice water hash as part of their process. Unfortunately, the process of producing ice water hash leads to significant waste, as manufacturers are discarding wet biomass that still contains precious cannabinoids and terpenes. If you’re ready to get the most out of your cannabis flower and stop leaving money on the table, it’s time to try ice water hash the Cryo Cure way.

The Cannabis Drying and Curing Glossary

The Cannabis Drying and Curing Glossary

A deep dive into the cannabis drying and curing industries – which, by the way, includes hemp – reveals a rich world filled with differing strategies and practices for producing the perfect buds. As you research different methodologies and decide what’s best for your business, you’ll stumble upon some important terminology and information that can help shape your decision. This Cryo Cure guide to drying and curing terminology can help you learn why these terms are important and how they impact your final product.

Cannabis Drying and Curing: The Basics

No matter which methodology is most appealing, you’ll see cannabis drying and curing discussed separated and together on occasion. That’s because the two processes are often executed together, although cannabis curing is an optionable (but preferable) step compared to the necessary cannabis drying process. Here is the difference between cannabis drying and curing.

What is cannabis drying?

Cannabis drying is the process of removing moisture from cannabis (and hemp) after harvest. This is a crucial step in the process for preparing cannabis for sale, as moisture is a harmful element that can cause crop-ruining molds and mildews. To dry cannabis or hemp, the branches are hung upside-down on wire or string to dry, or they may be laid flat on trays. The drying process typically lasts for a few days to two or three weeks, depending on the grower’s preference.

What is cannabis curing?

Closely related to cannabis drying, the cannabis curing process allows the dried flowers to further intensify their flavors. Lasting anywhere from a few days to a few weeks or more, this process places dried cannabis in a dark environment closed off to oxygen, allowing grassy chlorophyll to degrade and phytocannabinoid content to stabilize and intensify. This process also allows your cannabis to be stored for longer without risking molds or mildews from developing. The result is a smoother, more flavorful, and more potent cannabis or hemp flower.

Common cannabis drying and cannabis curing terms

As you dive further into the world of drying and curing, you’ll find differences in technique, procedure, and preferences between growers. 

  • Drying room: This is the dedicated area in a grow facility just for drying cannabis. 
  • Hanging: This is when cannabis branches are hung upside-down to dry. This is typically done with wires or a special hanger.
  • Drying tray: This is an alternative to hanging cannabis upside-down to dry. Drying trays are space-saving mechanisms that allow the cannabis to lie flat while drying.
  • Climate control: This can be any suite of tools used to ensure the proper temperature, ventilation, and humidity of a drying room. Climate control tools may include fans, thermometers, HVAC systems, and controllers.
  • PPE: Personal protective equipment is a must for any employee entering the drying area. Masks, hair nets, gloves, and protective clothing are all common to ensure minimum contact between the cannabis and the person handling it, reducing the chance of bacteria and other contamination.
  • Bud rot: Also called botrytis, bud rot is a mold that can form in cannabis when it’s not properly dried. This mold is tough to spot because it forms in the center of the bud, where plant material is most dense and retains the most moisture.

  • Humidity: This is the amount of water vapor present in the air. While humidity and cannabis are often discussed, it is not as crucial a factor as relative humidity.
  • Relative humidity: This is the amount of humidity that’s actually present in the air. This figure changes depending on the temperature of the room. This is also commonly called water activity. This can be measured with a water activity meter. 
  • Trimming: This refers to removing the large fan leaves and the tiny sugar leaves from cannabis, leaving behind the phytocannabinoid and terpene-rich flower for consumption.
  • Wet trim: The harvested cannabis’s fan leaves and sugar leaves are trimmed before the drying process.
  • Wet weight: This is the weight of the cannabis before it goes through the drying process. Not surprisingly, cannabis weighs significantly less once the moisture content has been removed.

  • Chlorophyll: A pigment in plants, chlorophyll breaks down during the cannabis drying and curing process. If there is too much chlorophyll in the final product, the cannabis or hemp may taste too grassy.
  • Dry trim: The plant’s fan leaves and sugar leaves are trimmed after the cannabis goes through the drying process.
  • Burping: Also called “breathing,” this is the part of the cannabis curing process where fresh air is introduced back to the cannabis. This process typically takes place once a day during the curing process.

  • Oxidation: If cannabis is exposed to air (specifically oxygen) during the curing process, it may oxidate. With cannabis, oxidation results in the degradation of THC, transforming into the Cannabinol (CBN) that causes “couch lock.”

Dry and cure cannabis in 24 hours with Cryo Cure

Moisture and time are the enemies of cannabis. Too much moisture, and dangerous molds and mildews can form. Too little moisture, and the hemp or cannabis flower becomes brittle and quite literally crumbles. This makes cannabis drying vital to get perfect, even if that’s at the sacrifice of taking extra time to do so. But time is a problem, too: The more days pass, the more opportunity for the flower to form problems, not to mention lose the valuable and fragile terpenes that make the consumption experience truly unique.

Enter Cryo Cure. This patent-pending cannabis drying and curing system reduces the multi-week process to as little as 13 hours. This machine skips the hanging phase of drying altogether, accelerating the process by deep freezing the hemp or cannabis flower before undergoing a specially formulated set of time, pressure, and temperature to cure the cannabis. Instead of obliterating your cannabis’ moisture content to ultra-low levels like a regular freeze dryer would, Cryo Cure reduces moisture content to 8 percent to 12 percent, dry enough to keep mold and mildew at bay. 

Cryo Cure is uniquely designed to preserve terpenes normally lost during the cannabis drying and curing process. Our machines have three separate ways to preserve and collect terpenes: stabilizing terpene content from the onset (what we call “live resin” flower), recapturing terpenes lost during extraction, and settings on the machine specifically for terpene extraction. Whichever way is best for your business goals, you can recoup thousands – and even millions – in lost revenue potential that literally evaporate into thin air during the cannabis or hemp drying process.

The result is a hemp or cannabis flower preserved at the height of its freshness, with vibrant colors, an unforgettable aroma, and an outstanding flavor no standard dry or cure can match. The differences are clear – by smell, vision, taste, or touch. To explore your options, contact Cryo Cure today.