Decoding The Holy Grail: Terpene & Cannabinoid Retention: Decarb to Extraction

[Canyon]

I8,
Thanks, any test you have run will help. There is not much information about what to expect with a pressure cooker decarb. If you can only spring for one test, an end result terpene test would probably be the most useful.

 

[SweetSue]

I am harvesting a plant tonight and tomorrow. I will try a small fresh harvest batch of buds covered with oil. I can take a few samples throughout the decarb and test them with the tCheck when kicknitup1 gets here for CBV values. This will give us some real infusion numbers to work with before starting the main testing.

I am going to have lab test run on some air dried buds from the plant when I am in Albuquerque. We should have lab test back by day two or three to calculate extraction percentages. If I get good numbers for extraction, I will save a sample for a terpene test in the future.

So I have olive, coconut and grape seed oils. Does anyone have a preference? [;>)

I never know

Olive. It's the choice that offers the greatest medicinal return, and the choice Cajun recommends.

 

[qaza]

Avocado seems to be the rage here Sue, I prefer Coconut myself.
Keep up the good work, I can't do anything until I get some fresh produce

 

[Lady G2HM]

Does anyone have pics of your decarb trays before they go into the oven?

I don't understand the explanations well, so pics would guide me better.

Thank you .

 

[SweetSue]

Does anyone have pics of your decarb trays before they go into the oven?

I don't understand the explanations well, so pics would guide me better.

Thank you .

A tray of cannabis buds on a baking pan......

....... Protected by the roasting bag. I simply twist the end and tuck underneath. The closure ties that come with the bags are too much frustration and trouble for me.

I take the other rack out when I decarb and place this one in the center of the oven.

Did that help G2HM?

 

[Kicknitup1]

Tcheck is sending me a replacement meter. The original went on the fritz. Looks like it will be here in time to fulfill it's duties for our little experiment. It would be crushing to try to do this without it. I had a problem with some new technology. That's not good but not surprising either. But the good news is the company has integrity out the wazoo. Things happen. It's really refreshing to know a manufacturer has your back when you buy an expensive gadget. Still on my A list!

 

[Lady G2HM]

A tray of cannabis buds on a baking pan......

....... Protected by the roasting bag. I simply twist the end and tuck underneath. The closure ties that come with the bags are too much frustration and trouble for me.

I take the other rack out when I decarb and place this one in the center of the oven.

Did that help G2HM?

Thank you sooo much SweetSue it did. May I ask if your dish is corningware?

 

[Kicknitup1]

Tcheck is sending me a replacement meter. The original went on the fritz. Looks like it will be here in time to fulfill it's duties for our little experiment. It would be crushing to try to do this without it. I had a problem with some new technology. That's not good but not surprising either. But the good news is the company has integrity out the wazoo. Things happen. It's really refreshing to know a manufacturer has your back when you buy an expensive gadget. Still on my A list!

 

[SweetSue]

Thank you sooo much SweetSue it did. May I ask if your dish is corningware?

Yes, indeed it is. It's a Grabbit dish, I believe.

 

[Lady Antheia]

So I have olive, coconut and grape seed oils. Does anyone have a preference? [;>)

Olive for consumption, but I would be curious to see how grape seed oil performs since it is used in topical applications.

 

[Kicknitup1]

LOL. Well I clearly don't know how to insert a pic.

 

[Kicknitup1]

Hey, has anyone tried soaking buds in carrier oil for a few hrs before putting the heat to it? I did 2 hrs once but I don't remember if I thought it made any difference.

 

[Lady G2HM]

Yes, indeed it is. It's a Grabbit dish, I believe.

May I ask another question(s)?

I'm in the middle of my harvest now. .

I have seen oven trays of bud laid out openly and then there is your method.

Why do you use a roasting bag and dish?

Also if I choose to do 1ounce of bud and trimming combined, how many cups of organic extra virgin olive oil should I use?

Thank you for helping me. My lecithin is in the mail, I'm close. .

 

[SweetSue]

May I ask another question(s)?

I'm in the middle of my harvest now. .

I have seen oven trays of bud laid out openly and then there is your method.

Why do you use a roasting bag and dish?

The roasting bag is primarily to keep odor down. We had hopes to be able to retain terpenes by cooking in the bag and then tossing it into the freezer for an hour after decarb, but that doesn't do anything to save terpenes. But it will keep smell down.

Also if I choose to do 1ounce of bud and trimming combined, how many cups of organic extra virgin olive oil should I use?

When I make a potent oil I use a half ounce of bud per cup of oil, so I'd use two cups. Use two tablespoons of lecithin. We pretty much agree now to save the lecithin until the end, after you strain the oil. If need be you can warm it in a hot water bath to get it to mix.

Let it sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours after adding the lecithin. After it comes back to room temperature stir and use. You want to mix it real well.

Thank you for helping me. My lecithin is in the mail, I'm close. .

I'm so excited for you. Wait until you see how easy it is to make medicine you grew with your own hand, directed by that beautiful brain.

I love your star emoticon. Lol!

 

[SweetSue]

Hey, has anyone tried soaking buds in carrier oil for a few hrs before putting the heat to it? I did 2 hrs once but I don't remember if I thought it made any difference.

Haven't done this, but I can't see how a couple hours would have made that much difference, unless it softened everything up making it easier to extract. That would potentially cut down on cooking time, wouldn't it? Or possibly increase extraction efficiency. Hmmmm......

 

[Oldbear]

Hi g2hm good to see you here Hope your extraction process works well for you.

 

[Kicknitup1]

Haven't done this, but I can't see how a couple hours would have made that much difference, unless it softened everything up making it easier to extract. That would potentially cut down on cooking time, wouldn't it? Or possibly increase extraction efficiency. Hmmmm......

]

That was what I was pondering, yes. Anything to cut down on heat and even time is worth thinking about. I was hoping it would extract more with less degradation. However, It may be of little consequence since, based upon my understanding, very little cannabinoids exists within the plant matter. (please correct me Right Now if I'm wrong) I think the outer areas are what it's all about. But if there's another 2+% in there......

 

[Oldbear]

Next batch I can try this. Can't see it hurting anything. I'll start with a 24 hr soak and work up from there.

Only concern with a long pre-soak is mold etc.

 

[Lady G2HM]

@SweetSue

The roasting bag is primarily to keep odor down. We had hopes to be able to retain terpenes by cooking in the bag and then tossing it into the freezer for an hour after decarb, but that doesn't do anything to save terpenes. But it will keep smell down.

*Thank you very interesting...kinda makes you think a Dispensary would do well if they decarb THCa while peeps are shopping to increase sales.



When I make a potent oil I use a half ounce of bud per cup of oil, so I'd use two cups. Use two tablespoons of lecithin. We pretty much agree now to save the lecithin until the end, after you strain the oil. If need be you can warm it in a hot water bath to get it to mix.

*The instruction manual shows the lecithin poured in with rest of the ingredients and it was powder. Is that correct? Again opposite of what we recommend here. Are we just that far ahead of the game? hahaha Thank goodness to all of you nice people will to do these study halls because people like me have hard memory retention to begin with. Thank you everyone.



Let it sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours after adding the lecithin. After it comes back to room temperature stir and use. You want to mix it real well.

*Will do


I'm so excited for you. Wait until you see how easy it is to make medicine you grew with your own hand, directed by that beautiful brain.

*I hope so SweetSue, my life is depending on it...that's all...hahaha Seriously though, you are guiding me down the path I have sought out since this happened. It's hard to believe I grew my own medicine but it's working, and now it's easier to believe every day. Hugs

I love your star emoticon. Lol!

* Thanks, I am trying to keep myself focused that I will get there with stars and positive thinking.

Hi g2hm good to see you here Hope your extraction process works well for you.

*Oh my gosh OB, I'm sooo scared my brain will mess it up. But thank you for the well wishes I could use them. lol
This is why I'm collecting the facts now, print them out and not deviate from the plan. I hope this all works. I will let you know.

 

[Suntana]

I wonder if I make a batch with both decarbed and fresh cannabis, I would be able to get the best of both worlds, terpenes included.
What do you think?