Fresh-frozen cannabis has taken the cannabis world by storm in recent years. As the name suggests, fresh-frozen cannabis entails freezing the harvest directly after it’s been picked. It’s been growing in popularity—especially as it’s one of the best methods we have to preserve terpenes and cannabinoids.
Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at how we go about producing fresh-frozen cannabis.
Farm to Freezer Cannabis
First things first, what is “fresh frozen” cannabis and why is it so popular? Before you quickly scoff at the idea of producing freshly-harvested buds in the freezer, consider that there are a few main reasons this trend has picked up a lot of momentum in recent years:
Quality cannabis is in—and consumers want pure, high-THC extracts and concentrates. While the use or avoidance of chemical solvents will produce either live resin or live rosin, they often both start out as flash-frozen cannabis.
Fresh-freezing preserves more of the characteristics of the living plant, like the terpene and cannabinoid profiles.
Freezing cannabis can save farmers time, money, and labor (it eliminates entire steps from the production process).
Now that you know a little more about the why, let’s look at the how.
Preparing for Fresh Frozen Cannabis
When to Harvest
Another benefit of flash-frozen cannabis is that it can be harvested earlier. We generally harvest for flash-frozen a week before we’d be harvesting for dried flower. We look for slight, barely-there ambering (10% max). As a rule of thumb, about 80% milky is a good indication that it’s harvesting time.
As trichome preservation is the top priority, it’s better to harvest in the early morning or late evening (never in the middle of the day). We also stop watering roughly one to two days before harvesting. The fan leaves and sugar leaves that aren’t coated in resin are also removed at that time, and the stem is bucked off with a bucking machine or scissors.
Freeze Immediately
It’s very important to freeze the fresh material as soon as possible. Bags are filled as soon as the plants are harvested and wet trimmed. Then, they’re vacuum sealed (without constricting the flower) and immediately placed into a chest freezer with dry ice. When it comes to storage, about 60-100 pounds (depending on how tightly the flower is vacuum sealed) can be held in a 7 cubic foot freezer.
Understanding Yield
Most times, the most important thing a buyer will look at is the percentage of yield. When cannabis buds are frozen fresh, they contain more water than dried plant material—roughly 75% water to 25% cannabis.
When processed into ice water hash (i.e. the best way to capture trichomes without using solvents), many businesses are looking for yields that are at least 3-4%—which is what’s average. Yields of around 4-6% are considered the best, and some strains even produce yields around 7%.
For amateur cannabis connoisseurs, similar tests can actually be done at home! Shaking a gram or two of flower in a mason jar with ice and cold water can provide a good visual of the yield. After shaking for about 10 minutes and letting the jar rest for about 30 minutes, you should see cannabis floating at the top and a layer of trichomes at the bottom.
Fresh frozen cannabis simply helps to preserve all of the post-harvest goodness! Whether purchased like this, or after being traditionally dried and cured, Giving Tree Farms is committed to producing some of the best Simply Clean craft cannabis. As a member of the farmer-owned cooperative, Hive Mendicino, we can help any business meet their needs for dried flower or fresh-frozen material. Get started by creating a wholesale account today!