Dear Cheri,
When decarboxylating hash in an oven should it be broken into pieces, or crushed using mortar and pestle? Or should it be decarbed as is in a solid brick? I'd imagine the heat would be better distributed if it were in smaller masses, but I figure it never hurts to ask someone else's thoughts.
Good question. My inclination was the same as yours, but I could not find anyone else who had written about this, so I went to the decarb expert Shanel Lindsay, inventor of the Ardent Lift Decarboxylator to get the straight dope on decarboxylating hash.
Shanel wrote me back and confirmed our theory.
Regardless of whether you are decarbing hash in the oven or using the Ardent Lift decarboxylator, hash that has been pressed into a hard brick should be broken down before decarbing to allow airflow between the pieces. So break the hash into small pieces, decarb using your method of choice, and you should be good to go.
Can you infuse Cocoa butter? For massage?
Yes, absolutely. You can infuse all kinds of butters and oils for topicals. In fact I have a new online course coming up on making cannabis topicals (launching in a few weeks).
https://cannademy.com/cannademy-diy-topicals/
Do you still have to decarb even when using the crock pot oil infusion method?
For maximum potency, it is recommended. The slow cooker will not get quite as hot as we need for full decarboxylation, it will do some, but lab tests reveal you will do better if you decarb first. For more information see this article.
https://www.cannabischeri.com/mary-jane/learning/marijuana-decarboxylation/
Hello, is there a way to decarb an oil that wasn’t pre-decarbed before extraction?
Not exactly no. But you should use the oil anyway as a lot od decarbing will have taken place during the process of making the oil. Could you have made it more potent by decarbing first? Probably. But it will still be useful and could still be mighty potent.
I have a concoction we refer to as Death Pellet. It’s a jar of all the kief from a long parade of cannabis flower strains, plus a rather large amount of wax/crumble/liquid concentrate from a vape. Can I decarb this even with portions of it already being processed?
I guess you could although it sounds like parts of it might already be decarbed?