How To Wash Bubble Hash

Properly made full melt bubble hash is the most sought-after starting material that rosin extractors can hope to find. Bubble hash itself is a solventless (chemical-free) extract, composed   Jessica Morris   of isolated trichome heads for a pure and highly concentrated form of cannabis.  

Remember the golden rule: the quality of your rosin depends primarily on the quality of your starting material. To make the best of the best, you need to start with material that’s above the rest. If you’re able to create 5-6 Star bubble hash then it’s good enough to be dabbed by itself, but you can definitely press it as well. 3-4 Star hash makes great source material for rosin and can bring out the very best in that particular cultivar. 

On the flip side, subpar hash will yield subpar rosin. Therefore, knowing how to wash bubble hash the right way is an invaluable skill to have, and will always be in demand.  The following broad strokes overview lists the tools you need and the steps to take in pursuit of the holy grail of rosin source material, ice water extraction bubble hash. 

Chilling and Mixing 

The first step is to wash and inspect all your equipment to make sure everything is nice and clean with no rips in your bags and stitching. It's a good idea to pre wash your bags to flush out any loose fibers. Fill your sprayer and one wash can with a mixture of clean ice and RO water. How much material you have will determine how much water you need. The goal is to keep the cannabis material and ice in a state of suspension for 30 minutes to ensure everything is as cold as possible.

Place your microplane in the freezer and prepare a shelf in the freezer for your hash, a towel, and your 25 micron screen for wicking (which should come with your set of hash filter bags). Next place the 220 micron bag inside of your wash bucket, inside of which you’ll wash the starting material.  Put a layer of ice on the bottom of the bag, then a layer of cannabis, then another layer of ice on the top to create a cap. Pour a mixture of cold ice water from your other bucket slowly over the ice cap, filling the can so that the mixture is in suspension. 

Let this soak for 30 to 40 minutes. This prepares the trichome heads to be cleanly separated from the stalks with minimal breaking away of additional plant material.  After you’ve let it soak, stir with a metal or plastic mixing spoon for 10 minutes. If you want to enjoy the bubble hash by itself, as opposed to using it for rosin production, limit stirring for 5 minutes. After stirring, let it sit for 1 to 2 minutes to allow the trichomes to settle to the bottom of the wash can. 

Filtering 

Pull out the 220 micron bag, making sure to squeeze all the water from the bag. Layer your wash bags into the other wash bucket, starting with the smallest micron first and ending with the largest micron on top. Now, dump all the water through your filter bags.

THE PRESS CLUB HOW TO WASH BUBBLE HASH MICRON FILTER SCREENS
Instead of stacking each filter bag directly on top of the next, you can use a bucket stacking system to keep the filters from sagging into each other. Check out our article about How To Build a Bucket Stacking System for Washing Hash. 

Before you pull your bags, spray them to make sure the sides to make sure all the trichomes have fallen down onto the screen. Pull each bag slowly and shake the water. Spraying water over the bag beneath it allows the trichomes that might be trapped to fall into the bag below. 

Stretch the bags so you can carefully spray the hash to filter any particulates that are trapped. If air drying it's very beneficial to patiently wait for all water to drain, then scoop onto the 25u screen and press all the water out. Put the micron screen and hash into the freezer to thoroughly freeze for 24 hours. 

Microplaning/Sieving and Drying 

After it’s frozen, remove the hash and take either sieve or microplane and break apart the hash over parchment paper inside of a clean pizza box as thin as possible. The idea is to create a very thin layer of hash that can dry evenly. Avoid clumps and try to break it apart with the microplane as thoroughly as possible.  Place in a cold room around 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit for about a week or so, until completely dry.