A proper cure in a closed container improves your buds’ flavor, aroma, and potency. It also reduces the risk of mold and bacteria growing in the jar, which can ruin your buds. For the first week of curing, we recommend opening your jars once or twice a day for a few minutes—called burping—to release moisture and replenish oxygen.
Temperature
Curing cannabis is essential for maintaining quality, preserving the flower’s taste and smell, and creating a smoother smoking experience. The proper process of curing cannabis improves the flavors of the bud by encouraging the degradation of plant sugars and chlorophyll. It also preserves the delicate bouquet of terpenes in flowers, providing a much more complex flavor and aroma. However, it’s important to note that the terpenes in freshly harvested buds are susceptible to decomposition, which can negatively affect their taste and smell. The temperature of the curing environment is another factor that can make or break the quality of your final product. It’s best to stick with a low temperature (between 72 and 76 degrees Fahrenheit) to ensure a smooth smoking experience, as high temperatures can cause mildew and mold to develop.
Humidity
Curing cannabis is critical to producing high-quality buds that smoke smoothly, smell delicious, and have a strong sense of flavor. It’s also the best way to preserve the delicate terpenes in your buds. To dry your buds, you’ll need a controlled space to hang them and dry them slowly. The optimal humidity for curing is between 45-55% and a temperature of 60-70deg F, with no sunlight. After drying, you can cure your buds by placing them in mason jars and storing them in a dark room or a designated space with a fan. It’s important to open the jars from time to time to “burp” them to allow fresh oxygen to enter the jar and for gases to escape. This practice improves the bud’s aroma and taste while also helping to prevent mold growth.
Light
Cannabis buds are full of water and chlorophyll, the nutrients that keep the plant alive. This water and chlorophyll are what make a bud green in color. But these molecules don’t taste good when smoked, so they’re broken down over time to leave behind a bitter and unpleasant smell. Curing is slowly removing moisture from a bud to ensure that the terpenes and cannabinoids in it remain intact. It also helps prevent mold and other airborne bacteria from growing, which can cause an unpleasant odor and harsh taste in your bud. Curing is a time-consuming process that can take anywhere from two weeks to a month, depending on your preferred curing temperature and humidity levels. You’ll need airtight glass jars (mason jars work best) and a hygrometer to monitor humidity. Fill the jars about three-quarters full, leaving room for airflow.
Oxygen
Oxygen is one of the most recognizable gases on Earth, as it is a key part of every organism’s DNA and helps keep us alive. It is also a crucial part of photosynthesis, allowing plants to grow. Curing cannabis reduces the moisture content of buds within a controlled environment for multiple weeks or months. This reduces the chances of mold and mildew growth, which can ruin the product. It also allows the chlorophyll to break down, resulting in a smoother smoke with less of that harsh taste of hay. This is a critical step in preparing fresh flowers for smoking. The oxygen in the jars needs to be monitored and balanced carefully, as too much can degrade the THC faster than it should. This can lead to a loss of potency, making the product more difficult to sell. Keeping the oxygen levels in your jars at an ideal level is not easy, but it can be done. Open the jars thrice a day for five to ten minutes, and allow the buds to breathe. This will help the oxygen circulate through the jars and protect the buds from mildew and mold.
Airflow
Cannabis is 80% water by weight, and the first step in making it smokeable is to remove the excess moisture. This is done by drying it in a controlled environment to reduce the water content of the buds while still preserving its natural flavors and terpenes. When the buds are dried, they’re placed in airtight containers that are only filled to around 75 percent capacity (this way, they can sit loosely and avoid mold or mildew from developing). They should be cured in a cool, dark place for two weeks, but some growers prefer to cure their buds for a bit longer, as this can enhance flavor and potency.
Curing your cannabis is a crucial part of the process, as it preserves the terpenes and cannabinoids to make your buds smoke smoother and smell more attractive. But this isn’t all; curing also helps to degrade the chlorophyll inside the buds, which can cause several unpleasant effects when inhaled.