Tips Shouldn't ethanol tinctures be instant?!

[NorVape]

I'm making some ABV vodka on my croc pot, and it had me thinking...

...why do I do all this to make tincture?

When one is trying to make concentrates with ethanol it's called a QWET - Quick Wash EThanol, and the quick part is very important. It makes sure one gets a clean product, where all the desirable active ingredients are extracted without unwanted ingredients from the starting material.

If this is so, and all the active ingredients are extracted, isn't the QWET basically a very pure tincture, before the ethanol is removed, and concentrate is collected?

Wouldn't the best way to make an ethanol tincture then be to QWET decarboxylated starting material, and then reduce ethanol as needed?

 

[momofthegoons]

Wouldn't the best way to make an ethanol tincture then be to QWET decarboxylated starting material, and then reduce ethanol as needed?

That's a really good question.

I made some tincture recently that was made from herb that had not been decarbed and was left over a period of 8 weeks. It was a trial and error method... since tincture wasn't my original intention with this. @Vitolo gave me this explanation:

it has leached the plant matter of all compounds, including the harder to reach CBDs etc.
For those in deep pain, this is their preferred tincture.
It is requested more by pain patients than the prettier and properly made green dragon.
I call it "Whole Tincture"

So I guess the answer would be it depends on what you want the tincture for. It would seem to me that a quick wash, as you're describing would work. But it would only get the THC that is readily available on the product. And when inhaling, you don't want the other compounds so a quick wash is best. But in tincture aren't they beneficial?

 

[NorVape]

Very interesting point, @momofthegoons

I think I should try to make one of each, when time permits

 

[momofthegoons]

I think I should try to make one of each, when time permits

I like your attitude!

 

[sickmanfraud]

As someone who has made 2-5 batches of tincture per month for the last 5 years, I would like to expand on Vitolo's answer.

QWET is a product made for smoking/vaping so they only want the THC and want to avoid extra chlorophyll at almost all costs.

When making a medical Green Dragon Tincture you leave the ethanol and cannabis together for about 1 hour to attempt to get all of the beneficial cannabinoids while still limiting the amount of time so as to minimize chlorophyll.

I would be happy to share the Freezer method of making Green Dragon with anyone(s) interested. let me know. Once someone has tried this method they can not stomach the heated method or the "take a month" method.

BTW, I claim no ownership of this method it was made popular due to PsychedelicSam over at GrassCity.

 

[LesPlenty]

Is this with ABV also, I would be interested if it is, I am getting quite a pile of it.

 

[Disrupt]

When making a medical Green Dragon Tincture you leave the ethanol and cannabis together for about 1 hour to attempt to get all of the beneficial cannabinoids while still limiting the amount of time so as to minimize chlorophyll.

Wonder how useful the extra time really is. Used to do three QWET washes. About 80% of total concentrate comes off in the first wash, ~15% in the second and <5% in the third. The second is still dabable, in a pinch. Decided it's useless to isolate the third because it's just a spot of black dreck good for nothing but medibles/topicals anyway, so why not leave it with the spent flower for eventual fat extraction. With a long soak, the ratio of cannabinoids to everything else may be lower than we realize.

Is this with ABV also, I would be interested if it is, I am getting quite a pile of it.

Don't vape flower much, but if there was a pile of ABV, would probably extract it with fat. Fat is more non-polar than ethanol, so it should pick up less unwanted material. Hexane might be best as it's the most non-polar, but this is basically similar to gasoline and requires the same precautions and thorough purging, so probably not worth it.

For tincture, recommend decarbing after QWET. This will leave an oil that you can redissolve in the carrier of your choice.

 

[asdf420]

For tincture, recommend decarbing after QWET. This will leave an oil that you can redissolve in the carrier of your choice.

as opposed to decarbing before? wha

I would be happy to share the Freezer method of making Green Dragon with anyone(s) interested. let me know. Once someone has tried this method they can not stomach the heated method or the "take a month" method.

what is this method?
what i'd like to try is to mix RSO with ethanol. although 40% burns quite a lot already, hopefully alcohol-dissolved RSO can be a much faster delivery method than oil based

 

[Disrupt]

as opposed to decarbing before? wha

Oops - you need to purge all of the ethanol before the oil starts to decarboxylate and that's not what the OP had in mind.

 

[momofthegoons]

what is this method?

The freezer method is discussed in the Green Dragon thread starting with this post.

I'll add that, while I didn't decarb, most instructions I've read since making that batch call for you to do so prior to freezing the herb.