I posted this on Reddit, but I know that many have a pathological hatred of that platform so I will repeat it here (minus the evidently controversial opening comment), sorry it is so long and hope it helps:
Not sure how long this will get, so here is the TLDR:
Firstly there has been a lot of confusion (including it seems the manufacturer) as to which is which, so:
TC is the crumble which resembles loose kief
IC is the hash and comes as a small sticky ball
Upon opening the smell from both is actually slightly more muted than I would have expected. The TC smells slightly stronger on initial opening, but both have the same piney / spicey / hashy smell which I quite like. Honestly it smells exactly how I would have expected it to, just a little more muted, so if the terpenes have been added it has been done well.
When opening the TC an amount (probably about 0.1g) was 'stuck' to the glue seal. I do not think this happened when the lid was heat sealed down as the kief was not actually bonded to the glue and I think it was just something that happened in transit. It was very easy to remove this from the lid as it was not actually bonded to the glue - but be careful when opening the TC or you could loose some of it......
The IC came as a small ball of sticky hash that was stuck to the bottom / side of the jar. Removing the hash from the jar will leave small amounts stuck to the glass - you will need handling / scraper tools for this.
I have found the best method of vaping to be mixing with flower so most of my usage has been like this.
For dosing the TC I have found the best method to be to grind an appropriate amount of flower then add in the correct amount of crumble and mix it together in the bottom of the grinder (no kief catcher). For me when making dosing caps for the venty / volcano this would be 0.3g of flower and 0.25g kief for 4 caps which produces a nice loose pack, and yes that does mean each cap contains £2.50 of crumble......
This works best with slightly sticky flower, if the flower is a bit drier then the sandwich method may be better.
For the IC the best method is to scrape off small pieces of the hash and then roll / squash them into mini worms and put these in a sandwich between layers of flower. It is essential to get the pieces of hash as small as possible if using a DHV, there is a bit more leeway when using a ball vape.
When vaped the IC does seem to have more flavour and maybe has slightly stronger effects when vaped effectively (small pieces & ball vape). However the TC is easier to get a complete extraction from, especially in a DHV and therefore you may find this 'stronger' in your setup.
On my volcano I use my own XL bags which allow me to do a 1 hit extraction from a dosing cap at 210C with flower.
When using a dosing cap with flower and TC mixed together there is thick vapour in the bag after the first extraction, trying a second produces a small amount of faint vapour.
Doing the equivalent test with the IC in small pieces yields less vapour on the first extraction and a reasonable amount on the second.
With the mixed flower / TC dosing caps I find there is no need to stir them and I can do a very nearly compete extraction in one go, however with the IC on the volcano it is necessary to stir / break up any lumps that have formed in order to perform a second extraction.
As for effects: as a chronic pain patient who seems to be forever having to prepare / vape flower and never quite getting the relief I need this is a god send. Total relief lasting for at least 2 hours....
This is a heavy hitter and mixed with a nice sleepy strain of flower it is a case of goodnight vienna. It can be used in the day time in moderation mixed with a good buzzy strain (congo creek haze was interesting), however this will leave you functional only in that you are not asleep!
So in my opinion this is decent hash, more in the old school style rather than the more modern ultra pure variants and if your experience of hash stopped in the late 80s / early 90s this is going to blow your mind.
As a medicine I find it fantastic and if you are in a similar situation and cannot / do not want to press your own rosin then I think you will find it great as well, As for value that is a different question.
Obviously this is the first extract available on UK medical and Cantourage / Phant will have invested the time and money to get this through the regulatory minefield so they will naturally want to capitalise as much as possible while they have the monopoly. Hopefully there is now a pathway to market and we will not have to wait too long for competition to do it's thing and bring down the price / drive up the quality.
Is it worth it? If you are in a similar situation to me and need the extra strength from the hash and can afford it then yes. If you just wanted to try it to see what the fuss is about then probably not.
So for me I will have a pot of TC on my repeat until there are other options, I will just have to use it sparingly....
I am glad it is now available, but it needs to be cheaper.
EDIT: Should add that the crumble is slightly sticky and does tend to clump together, but breaks apart easily when prodded with the small metal stirrer that came with my ball vape.
The IC hash is very soft and sticky, not the easiest to handle if you are not familiar with it and at some point you are going to end up with sticky hashy smelling fingers, this is not easy to remove - you have been warned.
Not sure how long this will get, so here is the TLDR:
- Which is which?: TC is the crumble, loose 'kief', IC is the ball of sticky hash
- Which is better?: Depends - If you own a good ball vape, like to set fire to your medicines or are only interested in maximum flavour / effects then you probably want the IC (hash). If you will only be using a DHV (venty / volcano etc) or care more about useability and ease of dosing then you probably want the TC crumble.
- Are the terpenes added?: I honestly do not know - but I would be very surprised if they are. If anything they are slightly more muted than I would have expected, but smell how I would expect given the source strains. Smell is piney with a bit of spiciness and a 'hashy' background.
- Is it £40/g quality?: No, it is very overpriced for what it is
- Does that mean it is 'rubbish'?: No, this is decent hash - just VERY expensive
- I only have a DHV, will this work?: Yes, with caveats
- Is it effective as medicine?: Hell yes.
Firstly there has been a lot of confusion (including it seems the manufacturer) as to which is which, so:
TC is the crumble which resembles loose kief
IC is the hash and comes as a small sticky ball
Upon opening the smell from both is actually slightly more muted than I would have expected. The TC smells slightly stronger on initial opening, but both have the same piney / spicey / hashy smell which I quite like. Honestly it smells exactly how I would have expected it to, just a little more muted, so if the terpenes have been added it has been done well.
When opening the TC an amount (probably about 0.1g) was 'stuck' to the glue seal. I do not think this happened when the lid was heat sealed down as the kief was not actually bonded to the glue and I think it was just something that happened in transit. It was very easy to remove this from the lid as it was not actually bonded to the glue - but be careful when opening the TC or you could loose some of it......
The IC came as a small ball of sticky hash that was stuck to the bottom / side of the jar. Removing the hash from the jar will leave small amounts stuck to the glass - you will need handling / scraper tools for this.
I have found the best method of vaping to be mixing with flower so most of my usage has been like this.
For dosing the TC I have found the best method to be to grind an appropriate amount of flower then add in the correct amount of crumble and mix it together in the bottom of the grinder (no kief catcher). For me when making dosing caps for the venty / volcano this would be 0.3g of flower and 0.25g kief for 4 caps which produces a nice loose pack, and yes that does mean each cap contains £2.50 of crumble......
This works best with slightly sticky flower, if the flower is a bit drier then the sandwich method may be better.
For the IC the best method is to scrape off small pieces of the hash and then roll / squash them into mini worms and put these in a sandwich between layers of flower. It is essential to get the pieces of hash as small as possible if using a DHV, there is a bit more leeway when using a ball vape.
When vaped the IC does seem to have more flavour and maybe has slightly stronger effects when vaped effectively (small pieces & ball vape). However the TC is easier to get a complete extraction from, especially in a DHV and therefore you may find this 'stronger' in your setup.
On my volcano I use my own XL bags which allow me to do a 1 hit extraction from a dosing cap at 210C with flower.
When using a dosing cap with flower and TC mixed together there is thick vapour in the bag after the first extraction, trying a second produces a small amount of faint vapour.
Doing the equivalent test with the IC in small pieces yields less vapour on the first extraction and a reasonable amount on the second.
With the mixed flower / TC dosing caps I find there is no need to stir them and I can do a very nearly compete extraction in one go, however with the IC on the volcano it is necessary to stir / break up any lumps that have formed in order to perform a second extraction.
As for effects: as a chronic pain patient who seems to be forever having to prepare / vape flower and never quite getting the relief I need this is a god send. Total relief lasting for at least 2 hours....
This is a heavy hitter and mixed with a nice sleepy strain of flower it is a case of goodnight vienna. It can be used in the day time in moderation mixed with a good buzzy strain (congo creek haze was interesting), however this will leave you functional only in that you are not asleep!
So in my opinion this is decent hash, more in the old school style rather than the more modern ultra pure variants and if your experience of hash stopped in the late 80s / early 90s this is going to blow your mind.
As a medicine I find it fantastic and if you are in a similar situation and cannot / do not want to press your own rosin then I think you will find it great as well, As for value that is a different question.
Obviously this is the first extract available on UK medical and Cantourage / Phant will have invested the time and money to get this through the regulatory minefield so they will naturally want to capitalise as much as possible while they have the monopoly. Hopefully there is now a pathway to market and we will not have to wait too long for competition to do it's thing and bring down the price / drive up the quality.
Is it worth it? If you are in a similar situation to me and need the extra strength from the hash and can afford it then yes. If you just wanted to try it to see what the fuss is about then probably not.
So for me I will have a pot of TC on my repeat until there are other options, I will just have to use it sparingly....
I am glad it is now available, but it needs to be cheaper.
EDIT: Should add that the crumble is slightly sticky and does tend to clump together, but breaks apart easily when prodded with the small metal stirrer that came with my ball vape.
The IC hash is very soft and sticky, not the easiest to handle if you are not familiar with it and at some point you are going to end up with sticky hashy smelling fingers, this is not easy to remove - you have been warned.
