Rolling papers are thin, lightweight sheets of paper made from plant fibers, such as wood pulp or hemp. They are designed specifically for rolling and smoking tobacco or cannabis. Rolling papers provide a convenient and portable method for hand-rolling joints. They offer smokers the ability to customize the size and contents of their smoking experience unlike other methods where you may be limited by the size of your bowl.
Rolling papers come in various sizes, including regular and king-size. They are sold in packs containing multiple sheets. The papers are often white or brown, but some brands offer colored or flavored options. The three most popular types of rolling papers are “Rice Paper”, “Natural Unrefined – Unbleached”, and “Hemp Blunt Wraps”.
Since rolling papers were originally designed for the tobacco industry, there is a lot of research and data out to support which materials burn slower and cleaner. Let’s take a look at 3 types of papers and break them down.
Rice paper (like this well worn pack of Elements) are NOT made from rice. They are in fact made of wood pulp. Wood pulp is a perfect starting material because of its strength and ability to be stretched thinly during the production process creating ultra-thin papers. These papers have minimal flavor due to there being less plant material after the refining process. The term rice paper seems to be a marketing ploy to make the description sound sexier than wood pulp.
“Natural Unrefined” (like RAW) or “Unbleached” papers are popular because people assume brown paper is a healthier option than white papers. The truth is that they aren’t any more natural than white rice papers, they are just processed differently. The pulp refining process is cut short leaving more plant material in the paper. It’s this plant material that gives the papers their brown hue. If these papers were refined longer, they would resemble the white rice papers. One real difference between rice papers and the brown “natural” papers besides the color is that the additional plant material makes them stronger, so they will hold their shape when rolled and won’t tear easily. The term “unbleached” is another marketing trick to help promote products. No bleach is used in the production of papers but since it refers to making things white, they have adopted that term.
Hemp blunt wraps are a fantastic alternative to tobacco wraps. Cannabis companies in California are not able to sell cannabis and tobacco together because there are laws that require retailers to sell them independently. Because of that, the best legal alternative is the hemp wrap. Hemp wraps are thicker and have a more robust taste than rice papers or the “natural” brown papers. The stronger flavor and heavier smoke make them less like a traditional joint and more like a blunt. They typically come in green or brown because of the unrefined fibers from the plant being present. They are processed differently than traditional rolling papers because they are made from ground hemp fiber using the entire plant as opposed to the highly refined wood pulp that I mentioned before.
We recently started carrying a custom hemp wrapped mini blunt filled with our Live Cured Flower. We sell these in singles or 5 packs, and let me tell you… They hit great! I’m typically a blunt smoker and if I need something quick on-the-go, I always grab these. I like the rich herbaceous smoke and the slow burn. I know this is our product, so of course I’m going to hype it… But I’m really digging these wraps haha!
When selecting the ideal rolling papers keep in mind that the best ones will be the ones free of chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, and microbials. Most major producers of papers have high standards and refine their materials without using chemicals but there are some sneaky brands out there that sell lower quality papers with additives to make them appear to be higher quality. You only start to see issues with pesticides, heavy metals and microbials when using less traditional materials such as palm leaf blunts or flower petal wraps. We have all our product’s lab tested so we guarantee no pesticides, heavy metals, or microbials are ever present.
The choice of rice papers, “natural” papers, or hemp wraps really comes down to preference. There’s really very little to no difference between white and brown papers. Some say the taste is different, but I challenge you to take a blind fold test and tell the difference. They’re both smooth burning and easy to roll with. The hemp wrap is for the smoker looking for a more bold, full body smoke. These tend to be a little trickier to roll because of the rigid nature of the fibers making them not as pliable. I find all three options to be appealing for different reasons and use them interchangeably depending what I’m smoking and how much I want to roll.
If you’re still trying to learn how to roll a joint or a blunt check out our past posts, How To Roll The Perfect Live Cured Flower Joint and How To Roll The Perfect Live Cured Flower Blunt. We also now offer Mini Blunts if you need something to smoke while you practice. Now go find your favorite wrap and twist up!!
Stay stoned and stay safe!
