Perfection in Full Bloom
The moment of perfection for cannabis arrives at harvest, when the flower reaches its full bloom. At this juncture, the buds are fully mature, boasting their pinnacle in aroma and appearance. It is during this brief interlude that the flower has completed its development yet remains untouched by the onset of degradation. It is a state of absolute perfection.
The flower within your jar should retain this pristine perfection, just as it did at the time of harvest. At Curated Cannabis, our unwavering commitment revolves around the immaculate preservation of these flowers. Through our innovative Live Cured Flower, introduced in 2018, we strive to ensure that the flower undergoes minimal change over time. To learn more about this meticulous process, please continue reading below.
Fresh Flower is Wet Flower
Fresh cannabis flower contains nearly 80% water and can’t be smoked right away. You have to dry the flower and remove nearly all this moisture before you can roll it into a fat joint or pack it into your bong.
Traditionally, this means hang-drying the flower to allow the water to evaporate from the flower. The general consensus best-practice is hanging the flower upside down, on the stem, in a dark room set at 60F and 60% relative humidity until the stem snaps clean. Afterwards, buck the flower off the stem, trim off the excess leaf, and cure to finish.
Live Cured Flower
At its core, Live Cured Flower is perfectly preserved cannabis flower. We are fully committed to ensuring that the flower in our jars is just as perfect as it was at harvest. Every step from harvest, trim, dry/cure, sort, package, and storage through delivery is focused on preserving the flower. In addition to careful handling, we also minimize exposure to heat, UV light, and oxygen, especially during the drying process.
Air drying flower by hanging it in an air-conditioned room is remarkably passive, but highly cost-efficient. As a reminder, the primary purpose for drying cannabis flower is to make it suitable for consumption. The flower quality is decreasing, albeit at a slower rate than water leaving.
With our Live Cured Flower, we hand-trim the flower immediately after harvest and freeze it, minimizing exposure to heat and oxygen, while halting all biological activity. We then actively remove the moisture in a closed, controlled environment. We separate flower and water in a closed system without oxygen and minimal amounts of heat. We weigh each flower bud individually, which is how we specify the number of buds per eighth, and we keep track of how much water we’re removing.
When we say quality at any cost, this is what that means.
Traditional – Dry, Shrivel, and Shrink
Compared to Live Cured Flower, traditionally dried/cured cannabis flower shrinks down in size, vibrance, and aroma. Everything condenses. The vibrant flower and verdant stems condense into a dense dulled bud. The spectrum of aroma condenses and homogenizes. The dried and cured flower is less perfect than it was at harvest. A necessary evil to remove the water from the flower.
Unfortunately, drying the flower (traditionally) means exposing it to heat and oxygen for up to two to three weeks. Heat and oxygen corrode and degrade a lot of things on the planet, including cannabis flower. In addition, the flower will lose its potency and aroma. Exposed to heat and oxygen, THC degrades into CBN and terpenes evaporate into the ether. For more information, see this article.
Final Notes
There are some wild claims about the transformation of cannabis flower during the drying process. The most absurd being that cannabis flower will continue cannabinoid and terpenoid production through the drying process (see article):
“Though the harvested branches can no longer draw nutrients from the main stalk, the flowers can, and will, draw the remaining nutrients from the branch. During this phase, THCa synthesis continues, and when marijuana is properly cured, these cannabinoids are allowed to fully develop before being suspended in that state.”
Don’t get it twisted – if the statement is true, live concentrates (e.g. Live Resin and Live Rosin) wouldn’t be a thing.
