There’s a multitude of steps involved in turning cannabis into solventless rosin, and even though some of the smaller ones may seem insignificant at times, neglecting them can have far reaching consequences for your finished rosin. Breaking up the bubble is one such example. It’s a simple but laborious task that can be overlooked by many rosin makers, yet this unheralded technique is in fact way more important than people give it credit.
What Is Breaking Up the Bubble?
Once ice water hash has been collected and dried it tends to form into solid blocks, and before you can press them, these blocks need to be turned into a powder. This process of transforming chunky hash into a press ready state is known as “breaking up the bubble”, and even though it may not seem all that important, it is in reality a critical step in the making of top quality solventless rosin.
Why You Should Be Breaking Up the Bubble
On a practical level, powderizing hash makes it much easier to fill micron filter bags evenly, which in turn helps to avoid blowouts. However, its benefits go way beyond this. What we are doing by breaking up the bubble is creating a mass of hash particles that have the same size, density, and surface area. This is important, because it allows your hash to be liquefied in the press in a consistent manner. It simply takes heat longer to penetrate denser objects, so if your filter bag is full of differing sized particles, the trichomes within them wont melt at the same rate, and that will greatly impact the quality of your rosin for the worst.
Furthermore, powderizing hash makes the contents of your filter bags more porous too, thus allowing more avenues for oil to escape, which is important for maximizing yields.
Microplaning
When it comes to breaking up the bubble, the de facto best practice is microplaning. Microplanes are a popular carpentry tool which are used to shape wood, and as some ingenious rosin makers have discovered they’re also the perfect tool for breaking up blocks of ice water hash. This is because microplanes get the job done quickly, consistently, and without creating a huge cloud of dust in the process.
How to Microplane Bubble Hash
Microplaning itself is as simple as grating a carrot. Just take your blocks of dried hash, run them across the surface of your microplane, and they should quickly disintegrate into a powder.
However, it is a laborious and frankly dull task to perform, which is why so many rosin makers fall down at this step. It’s all too easy for you to become complacent and lazy when performing menial tasks like these, and the biggest problem can simply be keeping your mind on the job. Try to be as diligent as possible when microplaning, that way you can ensure your hash becomes a consistent powder, free of any larger pieces.
Ultimately, this small step in the rosin process makes for a giant leap in the quality and consistency of your finished product, so don’t overlook it like so many do.
