What is cannabis flower?
Cannabis flower, or bud, is the smokable, trichome-covered part of a female cannabis plant. Weed flower is the most popular form of cannabis due to its versatility since it can be consumed in a variety of ways, including smoked in a pipe or joint, vaporized in a vaporizer, or incorporated into edibles.
Common forms of flower
Loose flower
Loose flower is literally just buds without any processing. It can be purchased in dispensaries and usually comes in jars or sealed bags labeled by strain and weight. When the flower is harvested, dried, and cured, it must still be ground to make it easier to handle and consume. Ground flower can then be used in joints, bong bowls, or homemade THC edibles.
Pre Rolled Joints
There are other ways to buy flower, too. Pre-rolled joints or pre-rolls are one of the most convenient products out there. They save time for the consumer by doing all the grinding, packing, and rolling for you. The rolls are available in single- to three-pack sizes of about 0.75 grams per joint. As with any product, diversification is key.
Flower Quality
Private reserve
Private reserve is one of the most sought-after cannabis products. It often carries with it the connotation that the dispensary is responsible for its cultivation and harvest. If you want to try cannabis flower, I recommend trying a private reserve. They are made of the highest quality flowers that have been cured for the best taste and aroma.
Top-shelf
The term top-shelf describes marijuana that's not quite at the same quality as private reserve. The terms that can be used interchangeably for this level of cannabis are piff, fire, chronic, loud, and artisanal. Producing top-quality cannabis requires attentive care and meticulous harvesting, which is why the prices are higher for this category. Growing top-quality cannabis means focusing on quality over quantity. Buds should be dark to bright green with shoots of purple or orange.
Bottom-shelf
Cannabis of the lowest quality is referred to by some retailers as bottom-shelf. This type of cannabis is old, contains seeds, stems, and tastes harsh when combusted. It's usually brown in color, lacks a robust scent or visible trichomes, and is usually on sale for cheap.
Smoking methods
Joints and blunts
Smoking joints and blunts is a popular way to consume cannabis. A blunt is just a joint made from a hollowed-out cigar or rolled in cigar leaves. It can also be slang for the fat joint that some people enjoy. There are many items associated with smoking joints and blunts, like grinders, papers, blunt wraps, and crutches that can be purchased online or found at dispensaries.
Pipes and bongs
The various shapes and sizes of weed pipes can get confusing. What's the difference between a bubbler, a chillum, and a steamroller? There are many different names for pipes and they all serve different purposes. Pipes are the least fussy way to smoke, making them perfect for travel or discreet smoking. The most common material for pipes is glass because it is easy to clean and inexpensive.
Bongs are used for smoking cannabis just like pipes or bowls. They come in many different shapes and colors, but the most common materials for bongs are glass, plastic, ceramics, bamboo, and metal.
It is also important to know that cannabis consumers are very resourceful, so they will often construct makeshift bongs out of materials found around the house, including apples, beer cans, and water bottles.
Vaporizers
Vaporizers are just one of many new cannabis consumption methods. But unlike smoking joints or blunts, bongs, or pipes, vaporizers use heat to create vapor. This prevents the user from inhaling combusted material. The devices use just enough heat to vaporize cannabinoids without combusting substances, which allows users to experience the taste of cannabis without the tar and carcinogens in traditional methods.
More and more people are using vaporizers to smoke weed. There are now three general types of vape pens to choose from: large tabletop models, vape pens, and the in-betweens. Large tabletop models allow for the most precise selection of temperatures for connoisseurs interested in specific terps and cannabinoids. Vape pens are the most convenient tool though customization may be limited. Many choices exist in between.
How to properly store flower
If you want to store your products well, it's important to consider age, exposure, and storage. To do this, you should minimize the flower's exposure to oxygen, heat, moisture, UV light, and more. One easy solution is a Mason jar. When searching for premium solutions, there are many hermetic containers that will keep the product's humidity consistent.
Signs of flower degradation
Color: Cannabis flower is one of the most distinct plants in the world. There are many signs that show that it has been around for at least a few times. For example, the once-vivid green, purple, and orange will wilt into lifeless orange pieces after time has passed. However, if you leave it alone, the trichomes will stay intact.
Smell: Cannabis, when left to its own devices in a jar, produces an unpleasant smell. However, if you expose it to fresh air, the cannabis will flush its stale, fermented air and give off an underlying amalgam of hay and parchment paper.
Taste: Aged cannabis has a different taste and feel than fresh flower. For some, old bud packs quite an acerbic punch. For others, the difference is very noticeable. But with the flower's natural degradation of THCA into THC into CBN, its taste becomes more earthy.
Anatomy of a flower
Trichomes
Recently, people have been talking about the most unusual of plant features: trichomes. These are little "hairs" that come up on plants. They look like glistening growths and serve a variety of purposes across botany. In some plants, trichomes are digestive traps. Other plants, including cannabis, use trichomes to protect themselves from cold weather or pests.
Bracts
The bract of a flower is like the body of a female plant. The bract of cannabis plants protects its flowers; they surround the flower's inflorescence and extend from it. There is usually one or two bracts per flower, and they look more like leaves than petals. Bracts protect the sensitive parts of the flower and stem from rawness and excessive light. However, in cannabis, bracts also make up part of the whole flower.
Calyx
The calyx of a cannabis plant can often be confused with its bracts. A calyx is made of tiny leaves that spiral where the flower branches from the stem. Like sepals, calyxes protect the flower's reproductive organs. A cannabis flower's pistils and most of its trichomes are in its calyx. They're just as valuable as any other part of the plant!
Sugar leaves
You may not notice sugar leaves on your cannabis, but they do exist. Sugar leaves are the delicate leaves that grow at the base of the buds. They're white and sugar-coated, and number of sugar leaves doesn't equate to the number of trichomes on a bud. Even though they're technically part of the flower, some growers leave them on when harvesting and trimming, and for aesthetic or natural drying reasons, or to help break up resin clusters.