Tangwena's Malawi-Style Cob Cure: Fermented Cannabis

[Stunger]

This morning I found a moment to open up the vac sealed bags and re-vac seal. I didn't have much time so it was a bit of a rush to do so before family returned. They had a sort of sweetish smell to them, no longer the same fresh terpy smell that they had when they were 3 days old.

They are 10 days old and have had 1 day sweat, and 9 days ferment.

10 day old cobs, Mango Sherbert, Godfather OG, Strawberry Cough - 29/Apr/21

• Stunger
• Apr 28, 2021

And a close up, the 2 Godfathers in the middle had purple bracts and they show up a little darker than the other cobs. The Mango Sherbert on the left has a slight 'dusting' of bloom showing on the surface.

Closeup, Mango Sherbert(L), Godfather OG(2), Strawberry Cough(R) - 29/Apr/21

• Stunger
• Apr 28, 2021

 

[StoneOtter]

This morning I found a moment to open up the vac sealed bags and re-vac seal. I didn't have much time so it was a bit of a rush to do so before family returned. They had a sort of sweetish smell to them, no longer the same fresh terpy smell that they had when they were 3 days old.

They are 10 days old and have had 1 day sweat, and 9 days ferment.

10 day old cobs, Mango Sherbert, Godfather OG, Strawberry Cough - 29/Apr/21

• Stunger
• Apr 28, 2021

And a close up, the 2 Godfathers in the middle had purple bracts and they show up a little darker than the other cobs. The Mango Sherbert on the left has a slight 'dusting' of bloom showing on the surface.

Closeup, Mango Sherbert(L), Godfather OG(2), Strawberry Cough(R) - 29/Apr/21

• Stunger
• Apr 28, 2021

Those are beauties! What colors! Enjoy those Stunger!

 

[tangwena]

Well on their way and looking great from here the loose bags dont have any oxygen in them if the seal is still good so you wont get mold.
It can occur if the bag is not sealed or has a leak otherwise all is good.

 

[Stunger]

Well on their way and looking great from here the loose bags dont have any oxygen in them if the seal is still good so you wont get mold.
It can occur if the bag is not sealed or has a leak otherwise all is good.

Funny, at 3 days old, there was a smell like you would find on opening a jar of curing buds where the underlying curing terpy smell of the buds rise up to meet the nose in a quite concentrated way. But today after 10 days, it was just more just of a sweet smell. They were dry or 'damp dry' to touch, before I re-vac sealed them. The seals were and are all good.

Those are beauties! What colors! Enjoy those Stunger!

Thanks Otter, I am enjoying the new experience of delving into cobbing cobs!

Edit: Just above, I mentioned of the smell being sweetish and not a whole lot more. I had opened and re-vac sealed the cobs in the garage. An hour later when I was going out, on opening the garage door I could instantly smell a nice smell, a faint but clear terpy smell! So that's interesting, I didn't notice that clear terpy smell an hour earlier when I stuck my hooter to the cobs, they just had a damp/dry sweetish smell, and also I had returned the cobs from the garage to their place of ferment on the stereo amp. They were probably only unwrapped in the garage for 15 mins. Interesting, I am enjoying this and looking forward to them when they are ready.

 

[tangwena]

Funny, at 3 days old, there was a smell like you would find on opening a jar of curing buds where the underlying curing terpy smell of the buds rise up to meet the nose in a quite concentrated way. But today after 10 days, it was just more just of a sweet smell. They were dry or 'damp dry' to touch, before I re-vac sealed them. The seals were and are all good.


Thanks Otter, I am enjoying the new experience of delving into cobbing cobs!

Edit: Just above, I mentioned of the smell being sweetish and not a whole lot more. I had opened and re-vac sealed the cobs in the garage. An hour later when I was going out, on opening the garage door I could instantly smell a nice smell, a faint but clear terpy smell! So that's interesting, I didn't notice that clear terpy smell an hour earlier when I stuck my hooter to the cobs, they just had a damp/dry sweetish smell, and also I had returned the cobs from the garage to their place of ferment on the stereo amp. They were probably only unwrapped in the garage for 15 mins. Interesting, I am enjoying this and looking forward to them when they are ready.

On the next opening to check them keep the old bags and use new bags.
After about an hour sniff the aroma of the old bags and you will get a glimpse of what you are making.
Sometimes I keep the old bags for weeks just to enjoy the sweet cured smell its what you are aiming to set in the cobs.
If you keep them sealed after curing and drying as you age them they are preserved like time capsules for the future.

 

[TriangleCheese]

Thanks for coming back TC, that's really encouraging! Yes I meant hybrid buds when I mentioned indica, as my harvest this year was all hybrids, just that they are more dominant in one than the other.

That's interesting, and wonderful how every cob cure is unique. The ferment/cure temperature you effectively used is impressive for being quite warm and reassuring how they turned out.

Originally I was going to make 1oz cobs but when it came to it, time was short and it was easier to just make them bigger. It was also suggested to me that I could try cobbing on different days post harvest to experiment with what is most ideal in regard to pre cobbing drying times, but there is a certain amount of luck with me getting a clear run to do this stuff, and after 4 days of whole plant hanging and then 1 day in a brown paper bag trimmed, I had a clear run and I felt that they were about right, but we'll see, my ferment/cure temp is about 28C so I will keep them there for a few weeks at least. As Tangwena says, to open them regularly and smell the progress. I could have done a smaller test run but my grow cycle is 1 year outdoors, so I really didn't want to wait another year to make more, I have cobbed about half my recent harvest, as I can get by fine with the remaining jarred buds if I screw this up the attempt at cobbing.

When you chose to stop the ferment/cure, did you do so primarily from their appearance/smell, or were you just wanting to do a long ferment/cure?

I am so looking forward to these. So much that I continually want to open and check them. Which I will do tomorrow, as it will be 7 days if I get clear run with the family out.

I always use my nose when it comes to curing any form of cannabis

I think the longer is the better. Nothing gets moldy and the temperature is not 50 degrees Celsius all around the COB. I think the average temp. over the COB is still around 30 degrees but I put the nugs almost totally wet this time. I think that made it take longer to ferment and also made the high heat tolerable. I think I am very close to the sweet spot with the wireless router and this size of pretty wet COB.

 

[PumasPyjamas]

Alright, back at it once again. 35 days in the vacuum when pics were taken. They were initially sweated for +30h at unknown temps, I "measure" it by hand. Too hot to touch if you leave your finger in the water for more than a few seconds. I did it the same way I previously did, check my other posts in this thread for more info. This time the twist was that I sweated them again at about 2 weeks in. Gave em roughly 24 hours in the kettle. No idea if it had any meaningful impact, but guess I'll see when I get to enjoy these. I'm gonna try to keep my hands off them for as long as I can so I could enjoy those legendary cobs that have been aged for at least 6 months, preferably a year or so. Oh the dream.

The grease on these wraps looks pretty promising to me. It kinda reminds me of the stuff rosin tek folks pull.

Gonna post a few under different lighting setups. It was surprisingly hard to get a decent photo of these things.

This one had some serious blooming going on.

 

[StoneOtter]

Alright, back at it once again. 35 days in the vacuum when pics were taken. They were initially sweated for +30h at unknown temps, I "measure" it by hand. Too hot to touch if you leave your finger in the water for more than a few seconds. I did it the same way I previously did, check my other posts in this thread for more info. This time the twist was that I sweated them again at about 2 weeks in. Gave em roughly 24 hours in the kettle. No idea if it had any meaningful impact, but guess I'll see when I get to enjoy these. I'm gonna try to keep my hands off them for as long as I can so I could enjoy those legendary cobs that have been aged for at least 6 months, preferably a year or so. Oh the dream.

The grease on these wraps looks pretty promising to me. It kinda reminds me of the stuff rosin tek folks pull.

Gonna post a few under different lighting setups. It was surprisingly hard to get a decent photo of these things.

This one had some serious blooming going on.

Going to be hard waiting!

 

[tangwena]

Alright, back at it once again. 35 days in the vacuum when pics were taken. They were initially sweated for +30h at unknown temps, I "measure" it by hand. Too hot to touch if you leave your finger in the water for more than a few seconds. I did it the same way I previously did, check my other posts in this thread for more info. This time the twist was that I sweated them again at about 2 weeks in. Gave em roughly 24 hours in the kettle. No idea if it had any meaningful impact, but guess I'll see when I get to enjoy these. I'm gonna try to keep my hands off them for as long as I can so I could enjoy those legendary cobs that have been aged for at least 6 months, preferably a year or so. Oh the dream.

The grease on these wraps looks pretty promising to me. It kinda reminds me of the stuff rosin tek folks pull.

Gonna post a few under different lighting setups. It was surprisingly hard to get a decent photo of these things.

This one had some serious blooming going on.

Nice going man the colors are looking on point and that bloom is off the charts so early on.

 

[PumasPyjamas]

Nice going man the colors are looking on point and that bloom is off the charts so early on.

Thanks! I'm kinda surprised at that amount of blooming, I have never seen anything like that so early on. This looks like a very promising batch. 8)

 

[Stunger]

Hey Pumas, those cobs are looking full of potential!

How long did you let your buds/plants dry before cobbing them?

 

[PumasPyjamas]

Hey Pumas, those cobs are looking full of potential!

How long did you let your buds/plants dry before cobbing them?

Heya I can confirm these got potential. I just finished a taste test and it's pretty goddamn good compared to the original. But yeah, these ones got a bit too dry to be perfectly honest. I let the plants get very very thirsty before chopping them so they kinda pulled the rug under me and went crispy in just three days while hanging in the tent. I've done these from wet to dry and I'd recommend going for a bud thats dry to the touch, but still moist inside and the stems still bend instead of snapping. These current cobs barely gave off any moisture when they were sweated, no clear water droplets, just a moist baggie. That's why I also went for the second sweating at around two weeks, cause I felt that I had give the fermenting a little boost. I also kinda skipped the part where you open the vac and let the cobs dry to the touch. I just made sure they werent wet and put em back.

 

[Stunger]

That's exciting that you have done an early test and found them good, did you consume it or vape/smoke it? How do you usually use cobbed bud? What strains did you use for your cobbing?

I also tried to let my buds dry out but still be moist inside to adequately ferment. So far they seem on track but I won't know for sure until they are ready for a test, only 2.5 weeks so far. I will most likely open tomorrow for a looksee.

 

[PumasPyjamas]

That's exciting that you have done an early test and found them good, did you consume it or vape/smoke it? How do you usually use cobbed bud? What strains did you use for your cobbing?

I also tried to let my buds dry out but still be moist inside to adequately ferment. So far they seem on track but I won't know for sure until they are ready for a test, only 2.5 weeks so far. I will most likely open tomorrow for a looksee.

I smoked them thru a percolator /w some tobacco. Didn't even have to let the taste piece rest for a bit because it was pretty dry straight out of the bag. Usually you dont get to do that, so I guess thats a plus for the "a bit on the dry side" type of cob. I've documented three curing experiments in this thread. On pages 255 and 258 you can check out the strains and results, but overall I've found that this type of curing enhances whats already there. If I were you I'd try to keep my hands off the package as much as I can. Let them sit in their juices. It's pretty staggering when you open up the vac after a few weeks and the smell almost burns your nostrils if you take a good sniff out of the bag.

Keep in mind this is a developing process for me and I'm constantly looking to perfect this method, so I'm kinda all over the place doing different things to see what happens. Wish I could just send Tang some of my pieces and let him tell whats up.

EDIT:
Oh and these current cobs are made out of Gorilla Zkittlez, Aurora Indica, Gorilla (dinafem), Purple Skunk Mass and a sativa leaning random bag seed. Can't really tell you which is which because I only recognize two of them by smell. They got mixed up at some point.

 

[Stunger]

So my cobs are now 19 days old and still in the ferment stage sitting on the stereo amp keeping to a warm 28C.

Today I opened them up to inspect them, having last done so when they were 10 days old.

Visually they have shrunk a little more and the vac seal packs had become a little 'roomy' from the shrink vac seal they had when last opened 9 days ago. There are some fine bloom crystals on their surface of all of them in a very minor way.

Smell, is a warm sweetness with an underlying terp smell. They are surface dry but have a sense of warm humidity to them so they still have a little bit of 'bendy' give to them, they are not rigid.

These pics are taken under natural light without flash. The camera decides on colour weighting so some differences between pics.

Cobs at 19 days old (I mislabelled the pics on uploading as 18 days old)

18 day old cobs: Mango Sherbert(2) Godfather OG(2) Strawberry Cough(2)

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

18 day old cobs: Mango Sherbert(2) Godfather OG(2) Strawberry Cough(2)

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

Mango Sherbert & close up

18 day old cobs: Mango Sherbert(2)

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

18 day old cob, still in ferment stage: Close up of Mango Sherbert

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

Godfather OG & close up

18 day old cobs: Godfather OG(2)

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

18 day old cob, still in ferment stage: Close up of Godfather OG

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

Strawberry Cough & close up

18 day old cobs: Strawberry Cough(2)

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

18 day old cob, still in ferment stage: Close up of Strawberry Cough

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

Unless @tangwena thinks otherwise, I will continue leaving the vac sealed cobs in the ferment stage at 28C.

From what I can gather this ferment stage will probably be continued for a total of at least 3 or 4 weeks. These cobs were made from buds that had been whole plant dried for 4 days before trimmed to budlets and dried in paper bags for another 24 hours, the paper bag trimming would have sped up their drying so I feel the buds would have had the equivalent of at least 6 days whole plant drying before they were made into cobs, in other words they began as cobs fairly dry but hopefully they were still left sufficiently moist to achieve a high terp golden type cure. During sweat I didn't see any water droplets, only a little 'fogging'. Altho it isn't at that stage yet, I am wondering whether they would benefit from continuing past 4 weeks at 28C.

At this point, if I could change anything that I have done so far, it would possibly be to have gone 1 day less whole plant drying before trimming to paper bags, in order to have left the buds slightly moister, but it is too early for me to say that yet, hopefully I got them at the right time and now can apply a 28C ferment stage that is long enough to complement the cobbed buds drier level of moistness.

Another thought I had, I wondered whether I should have given them a very light surface misting of water before re vac sealing them, just to perhaps help boost their continued ferment. I didn't do it, but just had the thought!

 

[tangwena]

So my cobs are now 19 days old and still in the ferment stage sitting on the stereo amp keeping to a warm 28C.

Today I opened them up to inspect them, having last done so when they were 10 days old.

Visually they have shrunk a little more and the vac seal packs had become a little 'roomy' from the shrink vac seal they had when last opened 9 days ago. There are some fine bloom crystals on their surface of all of them in a very minor way.

Smell, is a warm sweetness with an underlying terp smell. They are surface dry but have a sense of warm humidity to them so they still have a little bit of 'bendy' give to them, they are not rigid.

These pics are taken under natural light without flash. The camera decides on colour weighting so some differences between pics.

Cobs at 19 days old (I mislabelled the pics on uploading as 18 days old)

18 day old cobs: Mango Sherbert(2) Godfather OG(2) Strawberry Cough(2)

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

18 day old cobs: Mango Sherbert(2) Godfather OG(2) Strawberry Cough(2)

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

Mango Sherbert & close up

18 day old cobs: Mango Sherbert(2)

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

18 day old cob, still in ferment stage: Close up of Mango Sherbert

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

Godfather OG & close up

18 day old cobs: Godfather OG(2)

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

18 day old cob, still in ferment stage: Close up of Godfather OG

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

Strawberry Cough & close up

18 day old cobs: Strawberry Cough(2)

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

18 day old cob, still in ferment stage: Close up of Strawberry Cough

• Stunger
• May 7, 2021

Unless @tangwena thinks otherwise, I will continue leaving the vac sealed cobs in the ferment stage at 28C.

From what I can gather this ferment stage will probably be continued for a total of at least 3 or 4 weeks. These cobs were made from buds that had been whole plant dried for 4 days before trimmed to budlets and dried in paper bags for another 24 hours, the paper bag trimming would have sped up their drying so I feel the buds would have had the equivalent of at least 6 days whole plant drying before they were made into cobs, in other words they began as cobs fairly dry but hopefully they were still left sufficiently moist to achieve a high terp golden type cure. During sweat I didn't see any water droplets, only a little 'fogging'. Altho it isn't at that stage yet, I am wondering whether they would benefit from continuing past 4 weeks at 28C.

At this point, if I could change anything that I have done so far, it would possibly be to have gone 1 day less whole plant drying before trimming to paper bags, in order to have left the buds slightly moister, but it is too early for me to say that yet, hopefully I got them at the right time and now can apply a 28C ferment stage that is long enough to complement the cobbed buds drier level of moistness.

Another thought I had, I wondered whether I should have given them a very light surface misting of water before re vac sealing them, just to perhaps help boost their continued ferment. I didn't do it, but just had the thought!

They are going perfect my friend dont wet them at all, all the moisture they need is inside the core.
By the end of 4 weeks they will be perfect and ready to use or dry further and seal up to age and gain perfection.
You could have used moister buds but the result would have been darker and less terpy the way you are going is just fine for a tasty, terpy cure with very good effects.
Next time try the moister cure if you are curious its deeper in every way but this cure is going very well and you should be very happy with the results.

 

[TriangleCheese]

I am smoking a COB joint now. Wanted to share some insights as I keep smokin' it.

This COB is from the last batch I've shared here. As I told earlier this one is fermented for a very very long time. Temperature was around or slightly above the upper limits. Wet weight was 50 g, I didn't measure the dried weight as I don't have a scale.

I smoked this one four times at different stages of curing. All smoke sessions took place after the vacuuming process completed. I smoked fresh after vac. bag and a month later and a couple weeks later and smoking it for the 4th time now.

First smoke experiences were better than regular cured weed in terms of high and smell. Taste wasn't there. Taste got better with time but it was already there after vacuuming. I think jar curing helps a lot more with the bad taste go away.

Now I am smoking a heavenly joint. Smell was steady and strong at all stages but man the potency feels very different than the rest of the sessions. I'm half way through the joint and feeling the buzz for 30 minutes. I normally smoke a joint in 10 minutes tops regardless of the size but this one is a one hour long joint, even for me. And it is a thin joint

Taste is indescribable. So strong and so deep. The nug turned almost black. I think the darker the color gets, the deeper the effects become. I strongly advise on long fermentation periods in upper temperature limits. And also wetter nugs.

Strain is an unknown mix. Potential genetic partners are Super Silver Haze, Chocolate Chunk, Blue Cheese, OG Kush and Chemdawg91. It feels more like SSHxCC to me but it can consist of other mentioned genetics as well.

I'll be back with more COB's soon. I flipped my flowering tent and in second day. I vacuumed the last batch on second day so nugs were pretty wet and it took a very long time to COB cure them. I didn't purposely prolong the COB curing stage. I'll repeat the exact steps for my flowering strains : Pink Kush, Purple Punch, Chocolate Chunk and Tropicana Poison.

COBbers gonna COB

COB Joint.JPG

• TriangleCheese
• May 14, 2021

 

[tangwena]

The skies the limit my friend enjoy.

 

[Tkmk]

Since my first buzz at the age of 22 I've been searching for an elusive euphoric experience, one that connected me to a deeper awareness, insight, and hallucinatory inspiration one might more often attribute to ceremony than recreation. After years of dreaming, and following three years of learning to grow my own cannabis, I've danced around the edges of my dream, but so far the Dark Devil Auto was the closest thing to otherworldliness I'd come across.

There was a singular moment in my youth where I was transported by the after effects of Columbian Gold, which memory may or may not be influenced by the hunky tennis player that shared that experience with me. Just in case he wasn't the cause of the memories being so......delicious, I'll be growing a Columbian Gold this year. A girl has to know.

I'll be cobbing that eventual harvest.

"Cobbing?" you inquire. "What is cobbing?"

I'm so glad you asked.

Well, it turns out someone has worked to perfect a method of curing that he believes closes replicates the cobbed buds he grew up appreciating in Africa. Tangwena was frustrated for years at the inferior quality of the euphoric experience with western-style drying techniques. For decades he devoted himself to the process of replicating the flavors and euphoric effects he remembered from his earlier years, but using safer methods.

In Africa the buds were cobbed and buried for fermentation, creating magical alchemy that transformed good bud into intense bud. Be forewarned, this is not cannabis you want to smoke as a newbie. At least not alone. Lol! Burying your cannabis can be problamatic from a sanitary perspective, particularly in the control of microorganisms that promote mold. Tangwena overcame that problem with vacuum sealing, and then he worked out a timeframe that gets the buds fermented and ready to cure in less than two weeks from harvest.

Vacuum seal the finished buds and let it cure for three months and you'll have an end product that will change how you think of your cannabis. From reading their accounts you'll change that perspective when they first come out of the cob after a week or so fermenting.

His thread is titled "Malawi style cob curing." When you've achieved success with this technique you're going to want to thank him. It'd be a nice gesture to stop by and pay your respects. If you don't want to bother with a membership to do so you can let me know and I'll pass it on. I think he and I are going to be talking about this technique for many years.

Do yourself a favor, go to his thread and read his accounts of the euphoria. Come back ready to play.

Tangwena's thread's been up for years and runs nearly 250 pages. They welcomed me with open arms, thrilled to share what they learned as a team, and even reworked the flow chart fellow member repuk developed to reflect current knowledge. In a nutshell, this is our process. No need to reinvent the wheel.

repuk’s flow chart: part 1

• SweetSue
• Mar 8, 2018

Instructions for Tangwena’s Malawi-style cob curing

repuk’s flow chart

• SweetSue
• Mar 15, 2018

Latest update

repuk’s flow chart: part 4

• SweetSue
• Mar 9, 2018
• 6

The latest rework of Tangwena’s Malawi style cob curing technique

I know, impressed the hell out of me too.

I want to do this. I'm going to do this. It's so much more fun to take these adventures with friends. Want to play? Ok, let's learn to ferment our cannabis together.

I'm just starting the process myself. I'm being a bit more casual with this thread than others I've started because I don't want to wait until I'm all ready. I want to start while I'm in process, let you guys jump in and add information as we go. I'll be harvesting my Malawi in the morning, and the plant needs to hang to get to around 80% RH before I cob any. That'll take between 1 to 3 days. As Tangwena describes it "the sugar leaves should be limp, but not brittle." He likes to think the buds are still alive when he cobs them, and talks sweetly to the buds as he compresses their sweetness into a cigar-shaped bundle of future joy.

Supplies:
* You'll need something to wrap the buds in. The best wrapper appears to be corn husks. I got mine from the rain forest, but you can find them in many stores for wrapping tamales. Alternatively, Tangwena suggested construction-weight paper bags. They'll withstand the abuse better than thinner bags. The corn husks create more surface area with their grooves. Tangwena says he swears by the sweeter taste created by the husks.

* The best cobs hold 1.5 - 2 ounces of buds, at somewhere around 80% RH

* A vacuum sealer system eliminates the threat of mold. You're going to squeeze them snugly.

* The process begins with a 24 - hour sweating step, maintaining the cobs at 40 C/104 F. There are many ways to achieve this, some of which repuk suggested on his chart. I'll be using a seed-starting heat pad with an inverted container under the insulating weight of a couple towels. Simplicity and frugality rolled into one.

There were some good pointers I found in just the first 10% of Tangwena's thread.

Aaaaand I just realized they got deleted. Lol! I'll go back over the material tonight and tomorrow and add it into this thread. I'll get the process worked up with details. They're aware that we're building on their experience and heartily encourage us to create a flow between the communities.

Tangwena's intention is to share this wonderful gift of knowledge with the world, to change the hearts and minds of cannabis enthusiasts, one cob at a time. I'm honored, as an unofficial ambassador of to bring the knowledge back to my friends.

I think we're going to look back on this day warmly as the start of something wonderful. Can't you feel it?

Ok, who's in?

Ican not wait to see what you come up with after doing so sounds freakin amazing thank you for sharing.

 

[APAX]

Any one of you guy's ever tried curing in Bamboo? if so please share knowledge and experience