Holy Tincture!

[Kbomb]

Hi Onkruid,

Thanks for that info and interesting thought re perception of one's own weed (and I admit I am a supernovice when it comes to DIY - have only had 2 successes, the 2nd being JH but both to me seeming quite good and at least equivalent of previously 'bought' goods). The 'JH' I will definitely admit to questioning the source beans. Many from them hatched unsuccessfully or not at all - paper towel but consistent and spot on method I think as it's fairly simple and others have popped no problem. But this supposed JH very musky and a really good strong odour - stinks house just chopping it up. Have since sourced from a well known sponsor so we'll see.

But you make me think (with one or two tokes), of weed I have only ever had in one place - Canada. Always so much stronger than any i've had in a few other countries/continents. Man, if I could grow something like that i'd be a happy patient

Re decarbing the pot, yes. I tried 120deg C for 10mins, but in a bowl and covered with foil - tight over. Foil left on for a bit after taking out of oven. Then yes, simply in dbl top boiler for ~10min with melted unsalted butter, followed by melting choc 70% in with it and stir around on heat for maybe another 10mins; no temp actually ever checked. Taken off heat and the whole lot (with chopped nuts, weed and all) just put into moulds to cool and set. Cut and serve as desired. The oven process still stinks up the house btw!

 

[Kingsnake235]

Great report! Im curious, what was your final volume of finished tincture? With that information we can determine how much youre dosing and help you get the concentration you desire with your strain.

 

[Kbomb]

Great report! Im curious, what was your final volume of finished tincture? With that information we can determine how much youre dosing and help you get the concentration you desire with your strain.

Only about 50mls - hence why I thought it might be reasonably potent...and hoped so because that volume isn't great and a couple of drops for a decent dose would go a long way...at least enough til my next harvest! Accidental spillage of about 5mls was not nice, not to mention almost staining the marble countertop! (came off with alcohol wipes).

As an additional update I am finding that it does tend to creep up in effect over a longer timeframe than I initially thought, with more sustained effect. Was brash last night and went 12 drops and felt pretty stoned when waking up at the crack of dawn. I think the variability is in absorption - the tinc stings obviously, and a drop or two is fine, but 5 or more is a tad uncomfortable - perhaps I end up swallowing a significant amount those times and therefore it follows an edible absorption profile

 

[Kbomb]

I ask because I used a White Widow that’s been tweaked over a period of years until I arrived at what I feel is the plant’s maximum. The increase in potency from the first grow to the most recent is startling. Most here place their limit of that at 1-2 tokes.
Given your grasp of the subject matter I somehow feel that question is moot, but it should be known for control’s sake.

Ps Onkruid, this is intriguing - and I sense that this shows the vast difference in your knowledge and experience compared to mine! Tweaking over years!? I assume this implies careful breeding, selection and dedicated documentation/recording of variables, potency etc of the entire process. Hats off to you good sir. I am only just contemplating getting some regular seeds in the hope that I can grow some males, collect pollen and start some cross-breeding one day...but only to perpetuate a supply of home-made seeds and therefore minimise the risks assoc'd with importing. For now anyway...perhaps one day when I have the time I can take it to the level you are at. It will be my retirement activity ;-)

 

[Onkruid]

Hi Kbomb- Perhaps quality was a factor. If not, that puts me at a loss in figuring what detail(s) could make ours dissimilar. One other possible variable could be in our contrasting methods of decarboxylation, but I'm currently not learned enough on the matter to offer a qualified opinion on which may or may not be more effective. FWIW, the bud I used was properly cured, 6 months old, and stored ideally.

Regardless, you've got your med for now.

As I don't breed, tweaking was as you mentioned with single incremental changes followed by detailed recording. Not discounting years of reading.

Solid 1-2 toke quality came to us after several learning grows in DWC/Drip using Advanced Nutrients Connoisseur nutes, R/O water, CO2, and an ideally adjustable environment.

Paper towel here as well. Been using it for 6 years with excellent results and wouldn't consider doing it differently.

You've now got me shopping for silicone chocolate moulds.

The only level I consider myself at is student, this forum being our study group.
Not unlike doctors, we're all in practice in this pursuit.

I'm going to go ahead and make an early prediction that you'll have a rich and rewarding retirement and a wonderful time getting there. Best to you.

 

[Kbomb]

thanks Onkruid (always forget to embolden, if that's a word, your name). I sure hope it's a fun time getting there.

Probably potency indeed. With some good beans on me now, I'm hoping for a boost to the learning process and tweaking (esp looking forward to medgom1.0 , and Barney's LSD). Curing is another factor - my JH only had perhaps 1.5 months before I used it. And of course the environmental factors you mention will be important. For me it's only rain water and T5 lighting at this stage with a little help from my worm farm friends for extra nutrients. Basic and obviously effective for now, but upwards and onwards as they say. Already designing a 2nd box with hopefully positive modifications.

By the way - I used an ice cube tray for my moulds the first time as that was the only thing I had around that I could think of...and have used them ever since.

 

[Onkruid]

Onkruid=Dutch for weed. No need to embolden me. Thanks for your consideration.

It may be yet another thing we cultivators of cannabis have in common; That with each grow quality improves.

As you mentioned your v2 growbox you’ve no doubt learned valuable lessons in ventilation, temperature, and humidity control as they pertain to your space. My output quality and mass each improved with ventilation modifications that were tweaked as I learned my growspace more completely. Proper control of the plants atmosphere is in my opinion the single-most important grower priority.

For me T5 was outstanding. Used to flower my outgoing mothers under it. Bravo on your use of ‘only’ rainwater and castings.

Nice thought on the ice cube trays, but I’ve already ordered ‘flower’ moulds. Spring gifts for loved ones. Going to spread your 70% love around. Thank you.

 

[Kingsnake235]

ps: based on your 2 doses of 5 drops each

1400mg / 50mL = 28mg/mL = 840mg:1oz = 19.6mg/0.7mL Dropper = 1.4mg / drop

1.4mg * 10 drops (0.35mL) = 14mg/dose

=
10 drops @ 0.84g:1oz (your recipe)
3 drops @ 3.5g:1oz (onkruids recipe)
2 drops @ 4.2g:1oz (buddha state recipe)

with the below for reference

therefor:
1.0g:1oz = 0.033g/mL or 33.3mg/mL = 47.6mg/0.7mL dose (1.65 mg/drop) * Standard
3.0g:1oz = 0.100g/mL or 100 mg/mL = 70.0mg/0.7mL dose (5.00 mg/drop) * Control *
3.5g:1oz = 0.116g/mL or 116 mg/mL = 81.2mg/0.7mL dose (5.83 mg/drop) * Onkruid
4.2g:1oz = 0.140g/mL or 140 mg/mL = 98.0mg/0.7mL dose (7.00 mg/drop) * Buddha
7.0g:1oz = 0.233g/mL or 233 mg/mL = 163 mg/0.7mL dose (11.7 mg/drop) * Concentrated *

all in all, looks like a good first test run, as you are just below the standard 1:1 ratio, and it sounds like your results were fairly similar to those noted in the tincture thread, so its probably a safe bet to up your ratio to 3:1 or more and take 2-4 drops instead of 10

 

[Kbomb]

Thanks for your work Kingsnake! You can be sure i'll try a larger ratio next time, though i'm also now very tempted to experiment with a glycerine tinc (heated in a double top boiler). I imagine it will be smoother (sans sting obviously), probably therefore less damaging to oral mucosa, and I imagine the flavour will be nicer...I also wonder about making it flavoured? e.g. I wonder if adding a smidge of vanilla pod scrapings would give it a lovely vanilla flavour?
I do like the alcohol method for longevity (resitance to bacterial growth because of the high alcohol content)

Either way, when I have something to play with again, i'll update it here to let you all know how I got on!

 

[Onkruid]

Nice cypherin' Kingsnake235. Thanks for the great data!

 

[Onkruid]

Kingsnake235 - Belated thanks for the +rep. I just noticed it. Apologies for the timing.

 

[Kbomb]

Hey guys, just a little update on my tincture made with Bacardi 151.

As mentioned previously, I found that it was effective under the tongue, but with perhaps 1-2 full droppers' worth. Bit of a sting though, that volume of tinc.

Well as it happens, I got sick recently with a 'cold'/upper respiratory virus. My usual practice for these infections, is to consume honey and lemon, among other things. I had been reading a bit more with regards to tinctures and saw someone mention evaporating the alcohol away in tea. I decided to add some tincture to my honey/lemon water. You're right Onkruid, that citrus goes well. I find the taste quite pleasant with honey and lemon, especially Tasmanian leatherwood honey.

But the main surprise - this tinc seems far more potent taken this way! One full dropper hits harder and overall feels more sustained than the under-the-tongue method. The lack of alcohol burn under the tongue is a bonus. Takes longer to kick in of course but worth the wait.

Hoping to trial a hot glycerin extraction soon so will update you on how that goes.

'Hot' lemon and water I mean, boiled in a kettle water, so temp would be 75-85degC when tincture added to cup

 

[W1zard]

Wow really cool post and packed with heaps of info, thanks

i did this as a trial for e pens, though the method is the virtually the same, Read a bit on line and watched a few youtube videos

though only experimented in smaller quantities.

you get your bud ,mull it up , and put in oven ( i cant remember the exact degrees but wasnt hot enough to burn or vap the matter but enough to change the compound) for an hour. once done, put in a sealed glass jar in a hot water and depending on the strength of the solution you wanted (the vids and docs i read suggested 3ml 5ml and 10ml per gram) and leave the water over heat and shake every 15 or so mins. do this for an hour and press the contents for oil. Ha not having any stockings available i used some cut open teabags and the backs of two spoons.

im sure u could get more having a better press but was getting about 3ml's back from a 5 ml run. i was using both Propylene Glycol and Vegetable Glycerin, 50/50. The tincture was sweet to taste and worked well as a topical rub, as a vape, was getting nice mild hits though the pens i were using were not strong enough or both the mixture was a little too thick to vape properly with..perhaps if i thined it out more .

All the est and good luck

 

[Onkruid]

Kbomb- Thanks for your great update! Sounds like a really nice tea you've concocted. Makes perfect sense as an ideal evaporative medium too... With awesome honey and lemon to boot.

So interesting is your experience with it's onset affecting you to a greater degree than when taken in through the salivary glands. It's unknown to me the mechanism(s) that allow for it's behavior in this way. Could be the heat, tea, honey, lemon or any combination therein. I know that when consuming edibles their onset can be accelerated by eating foods with higher fat content. As THC is lipidic (insoluble in water, but soluble in fat), this makes sense to me. What I don't get and am very pleased for you about, is the enhanced potency effect.

You've not only stumbled onto a great recipe, you've found a better, more economical delivery method for yourself. Well done!
Looking forward to you regaling us with your upcoming glycerin exploits!

Hope you're on the mend!


W1zard- Thank you for sharing that wisdom. FYi -- The oven process you mentioned is called decarboxylation, which removes carbon dioxide and strips a carbon atom from the chain. This normally occurs in an instant when smoking as the temperature conducts this process on the fly. In order to, for lack of a better term 'activate' the pot for oral consumption, it must first be decarb'ed. Lower, consistent temps are key here. Too low and it won't be effective. Too high and it will vape out the goodness. 220°F is the number I go by.

Interesting still is the use of water for isolation/concentration. I just don't get it's inherent insolubility in water producing similar, if not greater efficacy. Time to dust off the chemistry books.

Great idea using tea bags as a filter. Probably one of the best paper filters. Certainly one I overlooked. Thanks for that tip!
Having used coffee filters in the past I quickly became disappointed by the loss of liquid through absorption and switched to panty hose.

Wish I had some experience to impart to you over the use of vapes, but I use a PAX with dry product only.

Best to you in your discovery endeavors with vaping!

 

[Kbomb]

Happy to report that I am on the mend indeed thanks Onkruid.

Have had a go at a glycerin tinc (just posted in the 'Methods of Use' like this thread). Will play around with it some more, but initially i'd say, 'meh' with regards to duration of onset and potency. Back to the drawing board....

 

[Onkruid]

Meh, huh. Looking forward to reading your thread to learn what's going on. Love that drawing board though. It has a way of making the greatest successes from even the worst of failures. Trial and error... You'll get it dialed.

 

[Kbomb]

Hey Onkruid long time no chat - just a little update here for you and for all others looking to gather more information.

Recently made another couple of tincs. Still used bacardi 151, and your method of freezer for 2wks, shaking around once a day.

I had 2 strains recently harvested - Critical auto and Bubba Kush auto. Wasn't brave enough to decarb for longer than 30min at 120deg C.

14g of each, separately in different jars, into 100mls bacardi 151 in each jar. 2 weeks in freezer. Strained ~94mls through cheesecloth.

1dropper = 0.75mls. Placed in mouth it's not pleasant - stings and i'm not much of a rum fan. Preferred administration is in mug with lemon juice freshly squeezed, and boiled water added. Some honey to sweeten. Both actually pretty quick onset on empty stomach - feeling it in ~20mins. 3 droppers' worth and that's a good few hrs of a pleasant and intermittently waxing/waning buzz.

Next plan: decarb for longer - probably an hour minimum at 120deg C. And a higher concentration weed:alcohol. Tempted to use a drink I prefer - scotch. Have some 48.5% so might give that a go too. Might be just the trick, on the rocks

 

[keshazel]

Thank you for this very informative post. I'd like to use this to help me dose accurately. However, I really don't want to wait 6 weeks. I've heard there is a way to prepare the tincture with heat that makes it ready right away. Any information? Thanks.

 

[alltatup]

Hey guys, just a little update on my tincture made with Bacardi 151.

As mentioned previously, I found that it was effective under the tongue, but with perhaps 1-2 full droppers' worth. Bit of a sting though, that volume of tinc.

Well as it happens, I got sick recently with a 'cold'/upper respiratory virus. My usual practice for these infections, is to consume honey and lemon, among other things. I had been reading a bit more with regards to tinctures and saw someone mention evaporating the alcohol away in tea. I decided to add some tincture to my honey/lemon water. You're right Onkruid, that citrus goes well. I find the taste quite pleasant with honey and lemon, especially Tasmanian leatherwood honey.

But the main surprise - this tinc seems far more potent taken this way! One full dropper hits harder and overall feels more sustained than the under-the-tongue method. The lack of alcohol burn under the tongue is a bonus. Takes longer to kick in of course but worth the wait.

Hoping to trial a hot glycerin extraction soon so will update you on how that goes.

'Hot' lemon and water I mean, boiled in a kettle water, so temp would be 75-85degC when tincture added to cup

I have found that when I put my cannabis tincture under my tongue and then spit it out, it doesn't have much effect at all. When I hold under tongue and then swallow it gets me high. I have also discovered that the only time tincture gets me high is on an empty stomach in the morning. It doesn't work as far as the high goes in the afternoon, after I've eaten.

I will try your hot tea method early in the morning!

 

[alltatup]

Happy to report that I am on the mend indeed thanks Onkruid.

Have had a go at a glycerin tinc (just posted in the 'Methods of Use' like this thread). Will play around with it some more, but initially i'd say, 'meh' with regards to duration of onset and potency. Back to the drawing board....

From everything I've read, 190 proof alcohol, because of its minimal water content, will be best at infusing all the good stuff. I haven't heard rave reviews about glycerin.