It’s a Hashtag Hash Bash!
by Brianna Newton-Jackson, budtender and outreach lead at Hashtag Fremont
From left to right: Tyler with XLB hash pipe, Carl with Sitka hash dome, Shannon in exultation, and Brianna with another XLB hash pipe and torch (photo by Kim Bevington).
Of all the cannabis concentrates and extracts we carry at Hashtag, hashish is the type of extract that we budtenders have personally consumed the least often. With so much popularity surrounding new methods of extracting concentrates and new ways to dab, old fashioned hash has simply taken the back seat.
That all changed last weekend after a few of us at Hashtag decided to get together and experience hash at our Hash Bash!
Hash, also known as hashish, originates from the Arabic language and translates as “grass.” It is believed that the popularization of hash began around 900 CE, although some argue that hash has been made and consumed since before written language existed.
In fact, evidence supports that hash was used in food and drink as early as 1000 BCE, in ancient India — a full 1,900 years before its popularization. That means hash may be 3,000 years old!
Many cultures used hashish extract for a variety of medicinal uses. Some used the extract to make tea and a variety of edible forms called bhang, an ancient edible preparation originating from the Indian subcontinent. One of the most common uses of drinking bhang was to ease nausea and discomfort associated with menstrual cycles and early pregnancy.
As a result of early European exploration into Africa, hashish made its appearance in the Western world at the turn of the 19th century. By the 20th century, hashish extractions accounted for the majority of Western pharmacopeia, until cannabis prohibition eradicated all hashish products and pushed them onto the illicit market. And in the 1960s, hashish reemerged and gained popularity once again.
Extracting traditional hashish requires removing the trichomes, which contains all of the cannabinoids and terpenes in cannabis, from the female cannabis plant’s leaves and stems, and then using pressure and heat to create a solid, hard-pressed, brick-like extract.
Different ways to extract cannabis and produce hashish have evolved over time, creating a variety of different products that we now find in recreational shops today, from bubble hash to traditional hard-pressed dry sift hash.
So, how did we decide to consume hash at the bash?
The most common way, of course -- inhalation!
We decided to use Sitka’s glass hash dome to truly elevate our experience, as well as XLB Glass’s beautiful handblown glass hash pipes.
XLB Glass hash pipe (photo by Kim Bevington).
To start our Hash Bash, we began with dry-sift, special pressed hashish in Midnight Splendor from Sitka’s collaboration with Legacy Organics. The strain Midnight Splendor crosses the genetics of Kali Mist, Granddaddy Purple, Kauai Purple, and GSC, with the flavor and aroma of strong hashishene (a terpene with a hashy smell), buttery cream, and a sharp lemon finish. The effect on me after just a few passes was very strong, sedative, and relaxing, yet balanced with a feeling of social euphoria.
This dry-sift hashish was best suited for consuming with Sitka’s hash dome. Before our Hash Bash, most of us knew only one way to smoke hashish -- sandwiched into a bowl of flower, or sprinkled into a joint.
This was the first time any of us had smoked hashish solo, without flower, and holy cow, we are big fans! The hash dome completely elevated our world of hash smoking.
We started our adventure by placing the hash brick onto the pointed tip in the center of the dome, lit a corner of the hash, and let the flame grow.
Sitka’s dry-sift hash just glows (photo by Kim Bevington).
After a few seconds, we blew the flame out and quickly covered it with the glass topper.
While the vapor began to build in the dome, we had time to lay back, relax, and socialize.
Hash smoke builds in the Sitka hash dome (photo by Kim Bevington).
Once the inside looked nice and milky with hash smoke, we removed the small glass plug at the top, leaned in, and inhaled the sweet vapor.
Carl sips some Sitka hash smoke (photo by Kim Bevington).
Our second adventure of the hash bash involved XLB Glass’s hash pipe and Puffin Farm’s Chernobyl 3* bubble hash. Puffin Farm’s bubble hash is extracted using only ice and water from their own Clean Green Certified material, creating a high quality, tasty hashish.
We scooped this beautiful hash into the bowl of the pipe while heating up the glass rod with our torch.
Brianna loads a bowl with Puffin Farm’s bubble hash (photo by Kim Bevington).
After we felt that the tool was hot enough from about 30-45 seconds of torching, it was time to inhale.
Brianna gets the hash pipe’s rod hot and ready (photo by Kim Bevington).
We learned that you get the most vapor from inserting the hot glass tool into the base of the bowl, compressing the hash.
Every few seconds, we lifted the tool just enough to allow space between the hash and tool, creating an up-down motion until there was no more vapor.
Shannon takes a hit of Puffin’s bubble hash on the XLB Glass hash pipe (photo by Kim Bevington).
You can get quite a few tokes out the hash pipe before having to add more hashish.
Shannon sits back after smoking that sweet hash with a still-smoking rod (photo by Kim Bevington).
All in all, this exploration into the timeless tradition of hashish was one of adventure, excitement, and rad sociability!
Of all of the products we used, Sitka’s hash dome seemed the most pleasant and required the least complex operations to get us high.
Using the XLB Glass hashish pipes left us gooey and glued to the floor, and once we got into the swing of how to operate them, we had a whole new avenue of fun.
Shannon, left, and Brianna, right (photo by Kim Bevington).
The high and experience were heightened with friends, while the hash kept a low, glowing burn throughout our Hash Bash.
Cozy, cool-headed, mellow, and euphoric, hash is that old-school new-new that can engage the warp drive on your regular flower highs or offer delightful elevation all on its own.