How to Decarboxylate Cannabis
Decarboxylate / ˌdēkärˈbäksəlāt /
( Decarboxylating | Decarboxylation | Decarb | Decarbing )
According to Wikipedia, decarboxylation:
…removes a carboxyl group and releases carbon dioxide (CO2). Usually, decarboxylation refers to a reaction of carboxylic acids, removing a carbon atom from a carbon chain.
In a nutshell, the process of decarboxylation is a low, slow heat treatment for cannabis which converts the plant’s tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), the non-psychoactive compound, into delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound. If you want your edibles to get you high, you need to decarb your cannabis first.
You don’t need to decarb cannabis when you smoke it, because the heat involved in smoking quickly converts the THCA inot THC, which your lungs can easily aborb.
Eating raw cannabis may get you a little tiny bit high, but the decarbing process vastly increases the THC levels with the magic of chemistry.
Different Ways to Decarboxylate Cannabis
There are several ways to decarboxylate your cannabis, including various expensive custom-made machines as well as the very basic oven method.
How to decarboxylate cannabis in the oven on a sheet
- This is the most dead-simple, low-tech, easy way to decarb cannabis at home.
- It’s a tried and true method and works just fine.
- Some people find this method smelly and messy compared to other methods.
- Preheat your oven to 240 F (between 225-250 is OK but we set it to 240 with great results).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread out your cannabis leaves (trim) and small buds (larf) loosely on the parchment paper.
- Place the baking sheet with the cannabis on the middle rack of your oven.
- Bake for 40 minutes
- Take out and let cool for 30 minutes, and it’s ready to infuse some oil!
Decarboxylate cannabis in the oven inside mason jars
- This method is similar to the above method, but creates a lot less smell.
- Furthermore, there is less escape of the volatile compounds, terpenes.
- Preheat the oven to 240 F
- Place a moist dishcloth on a baking sheet.
- Crumble (don’t grind) the cannabis to barley-size pieces (not powder).
- Put the cannabis in the mason jar(s) and screw them closed (not too tight).
- Put the baking sheet on the middle rack and bake for 60 minutes.
- Every 15 minutes (4 times total), pull out the mason jars, give them a shake and return to the sheet.
- Take out and let cool for 30 minutes, and it’s ready to infuse some oil!
Decarboxylate cannabis with a purpose-built infusion appliance
There are a few machines, including the following:
- Magical Butter Home Infusion Extractor Machine
- Levo II
- Ardent Nova
- The Alpha420 All in 1
- Active Gear Guy Infuser Machine
These machines seem to be proliferating as home made cannabis edibles are gaining popularity, but we have not used any of them, largely due to the high price tag, the fact that they are only for one purpose, and they get mixed reviews.
How to decarboxylate cannabis with an Instant Pot
We looked online and found a great article about decarboxylating and infusing all with this versatile pressure-cooker and we were sold! It’s great for decarbing & infusing cannabis, plus we can use it as a replacement for our crock pot and rice cooker, and also use it for soup, stew, chili con carne, and so on!
Fast and Easy Cannabis Decarboxylation with Instant Pot
Having tried a few different ways to decarboxylate and infuse, we’ve decided that we love the speed and absolute perfection we achieve with this very popular, versatile appliance called an Instant Pot.
It’s basically a pressure-cooker which can serve as a crock pot or rice maker, so you can use it for all kinds of things other than decarbing cannabis.
What you need:
- Instant Pot
- Mason jars filled with crumbled cannabis
- 2-3 cups of water
The process is so fast and easy – and there is no smell at all until you open the jars!
Step-by-step instructions to decarboxylate cannabis in an Instant Pot
Click the image to check out our “How to Decarboxylate Cannabis” video on YouTube!
- Fill your mason jars with crumbled cannabis (barley-size pieces).
- Pro-tip: put an inch of cooking twine under the lid when you seal the jars for easy reopening.
- Pour 2 or 3 cups of water into the Instant Pot.
- Place the steamer rack trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Put the mason jars on the rack.
- If your Instant Pot didn’t come with a rack, use a dishcloth instead.
- Close the Instant Pot lid.
- Set the pressure to high.
- Set time to 40 minutes.
- Make sure the valve is closed.
- Turn the “keep warm” feature off.
- It will start automatically.
- The machine will first achieve the correct pressure / temp.
- Then it will cook for the 40 minutes.
- When it is finished, do a “quick release” and remove jars.
- Be careful not to set them on anything cold, as they may shatter.
- Let the jars cool (closed) for 30 minutes.
- The cannabis will be perfectly decarboxylated with a perfect smell and colour.
