- You can always find great deals on shake/trim at your local dispensaries.
- Shake/trim are great components for making butter and oil because they are conveniently broken down for you.
- Save all of the stems you find in your shake and brew an infused tea!
The Undisputed
“I’m sorry, but that just isn’t weed to me” – My Roommate
He believes that any self-respected smoker would never buy shake. Uhm, hello? I am a self-respected smoker, sheesh. I love myself some shake! Why? Because the quality of the cannabis is just as good and you are able to buy it for a lot cheaper.
I’ll be honest. I hated shake when I first started smoking back in Tennessee. I was saying the same thing about it as many of the critics. That it is not good, it is trash but I would still smoke it, etc. Especially since, more often than not, the weed man would throw in the shake for free.
You can often find a half for $35 and an ounce for $60 in my local dispensaries since many people view shake as “bottom bag hand-me-downs”. Many dispensaries do not want to keep shake in stock so keep an eye out for these deals if you are a baller on a budget.
The one downside with shake is that the THC levels do not usually compare to that of it’s perfectly nugged counterpart. This could be because of how shake is gathered, by packaging the fallen leaflets of bud. Shake usually tests out 18 percent and lower, but you can find some higher if you are lucky
It’s also known that stems can be found throughout a bag of shake. They are not very appealing to smokers, but necessary for me! I will tell you why here in a bit.
Shaken Not Trimmed
Budtenders often tell me that shake and trim, is the best if you plan on infusing oil or butter. It is already ground up nicely for you and you are getting a nice quantity for the price you pay, so do not worry about messing up the first batch.
I used both a Blue Dream trim at about 20.2% THC and the Chemdawg strain at 24%. They both hit me about the same, but I feel that this was because of the form. Brownies vs cookies and oil vs butter.
I used the oil for the brownies and they came out fluffy, chocolatey, and had a mild cannabis-like flavor. The effects from this batch gave me a mild head buzz and heavy body high. The cookies, however, alongside the butter, gave me a super-duper body high that almost put me to sleep.
Let’s move to why the cannabis stems are so important
Cannabis-Infused Tea
You have probably read about cannabis-infused tea or come up with your own method on how to make a tasty batch, right?
I have a way to make some pretty decent tea. A lot of people suggest throwing out the stems, or for some, chewing on them.
I personally will save my stems for brewing a tea. Be it from a bag of shake or from a hefty nugget. What I like to do is keep my stems stored with kief from my grinder. I usually let them “marinate” in the freezer for a few days at a time; don’t ask me why, personal preference.
Then, I empty out already packaged tea bags and place that with the “marinated” stems into a tea infuser ball to let sit in some nice boiling water. Give that a little bit of time to brew and viola! You have some infused tea.
Cannabis-Infused Milk Brew
Not much of a tea person? Don’t worry, I have another option for you. Now, this is a recipe that I find a lot stronger than a normal tea brew.
Gather some supplies:
- Whole milk (important: get whole milk so the fat binds to the cannabinoids in your stems/shake)
- Cannabis stems (optional: cannabis shake)
- Cheesecloth
Dosage varies on your individual tolerance so try .5-1g of cannabis stems/shake for each cup of milk.
- Place milk in saucepan on Medium heat and wait for it to simmer, not boil.
- Place cannabis stems/shake into the milk and stir thoroughly.
- Let mixture simmer for 1 hour so that the cannabis can decarboxylate and infuse with the milk.
- Turn heat off and allow milk to cool
- Strain mixture through cheesecloth to remove all plant matter.
- Enjoy!
Grab those cookies, pour a bowl of cereal, make some macaroni & cheese, or do whatever makes your heart content.
Drink up and let that sweet THC give you the high of a lifetime!
Remember, do not waste perfectly crafted cannabis nugs on tea when you could be smoking a perfectly rolled joint and sipping on tea from a fresh batch of shake.
Try it out, tell us what you think, and tell us your unique way of making some cannabis-infused tea.
