Identifying High-quality Hemp Flowers

 

How to identify high-quality hemp flower

First thing’s first: When shopping for hemp anywhere, whether online or in-person, you need to know how to tell if you’re looking at high-quality flower or cannabis derivatives. 

While you can look for visual quality cues, eyeballing it isn’t the most reliable method for buying on the web. Although you can look for the following characteristics in the available product photos:

• Bud structure: The cannabis flowers’ density will vary, depending on the cultivar. For example, hemp plants are also organized into Sativa and Indica categories. Generally, Indicas will be somewhat densely packed. On the other hand, Sativas have more pistils (female flowers’ reproductive parts) and are relatively fluffy.
• Color: While you shouldn’t expect a bright, vibrant green, since the plant is dead, your hemp flower should not be drab and dull-looking. That’s a sign that it’s low-quality because of missteps in the cultivation or drying process (or both). Ideally, buds should be green – not brown. Other colors to avoid include:
  • Red
  • Tan
  • White
  • Yellow

One major thing to look for when shopping for hemp products online is a lab test. Suppliers offering only the highest-quality strains should have no problem providing a Certificate of Analysis that primarily outlines the flower’s cannabinoids, terpenes, and safety.

This is more crucial than you might realize. A readily available certificate ensures that you know what went into your hemp flower’s growth and development and confirms that your product is free of harmful substances like residual pesticides or hazardous bacteria. 

The terms the dispensary uses for the products indicate quality as well. For instance, the following terms will let you know straight away if your chosen product is top-tier:

• “Top-shelf”
• “Dank”
• “Loud”
• “Fire”

(Note that these are more often used for marijuana, which has 0.3% THC or more. You might not see these terms often used to describe hemp flower, but it’s helpful to know them nonetheless.)

When you finally pick up your buds (or have them delivered), note whether the flower is dry or coated in a healthy amount of resin. It should be slightly sticky, a rich green (can be light, dark, or in-between), and have a potent smell. That’s how you know it’s good stuff!

Ways To Smoke Hemp

1. ROLL IT UP

The first thing that comes to mind is rolling your hemp into a joint, exactly like you would roll regular marijuana joint, so to speak.

A conventional joint normally holds about 0.75 grams of dried, ground hemp, but you can also find larger rolling papers that hold as much as 1.5 grams each. 

If you’ve never rolled a joint before, make sure you check out our guide to rolling the perfect joint. 

Alternatively, you can use a handy rolling machine to do all the work for you. 

Feel free to mix in some other herbs if you want to. Some common additions include damiana, tobacco, marijuana (where it’s legal to do so), or dried rose petals. 

If rolling isn’t your strong suit, you can always skip the groundwork and order hemp pre-rolled. This convenience does come at a little extra cost, though.

2. ADD IT TO DRY HERB VAPE

You can also vaporize dried hemp flowers in a device called a dried herb vape. These devices are designed to heat the hemp flower up to the point of vaporizing the active ingredients without causing combustion.

The combustion reaction is what generates all the nasty chemicals that make smoking so bad. It also destroys a lot of the active ingredients before they ever reach your bloodstream. Vaping hemp flower is one of the easiest and most efficient ways of using hemp flowers. The only downside is you need a special device to make it work. 

3. SMOKE IT IN A BONG OR PIPE

You can also smoke your hemp flower in a bong or pipe. Simply grind your herb up and add it to the bowl. You can also add additional herbs to help smooth out or flavor the smoke. A good option here is a herb called mullein, which makes the smoke much smoother and reduces the harshness on the throat and lungs. 

WILL SMOKING HEMP FLOWER GET YOU HIGH?

While hemp won’t make you feel high the same way marijuana does, it can have some subtle, but noticeable cognitive effects. For example, a common description is that one’s body goes into a sort of ‘autopilot mode.’