How To Add Flavour To Your Weed Before And After Harvest

Nothing against the natural smell and taste of weed, but did you know that you can spice-up your herb even more with extra flavour? How about adding delicious fruity notes or enhancing your smoke with a refreshing minty essence? There are numerous different ways you can make your cannabis more flavourful—during growth, and after harvest is done. Here is how to maximise your weed’s natural flavours, and how you can give your buds some extra flavour post-harvest.

HOW TO GROW EXTRA-FLAVOURFUL CANNABIS

The distinct flavours of cannabis come from compounds called terpenes, which are volatile aromatic substances produced by the plant’s trichomes. The unique composition of these substances is what gives each cannabis strain its unique flavour—citrusy, spicy, piney, floral, sweet, chocolatey... The key to achieving the most flavour from your cannabis plants during growth is to maximise terpene production and expression. Here is how to do it:

• Stress makes cannabis plants more flavourful!

Aside from providing an amalgam of great aromas, terpenes are believed to be a crucial natural defence mechanism for the plants themselves. As such, more terpenes are created when the plants are stressed, such as during the onset of a pest infestation or nutrient deficiency. Obviously, you don’t want to risk your plant’s health in any way, but there are gentle stress methods you can apply safely so your plants will produce a max amount of terpenes.

• Low stress training

Low stress training (LST) involves manipulating the growth of your plant in a way that causes it to grow sideways. This way, your whole plant can receive more light, rather than just the topmost part of the canopy. This not only increases yield potential, but functions as a gentle stress method capable of increasing aromatic compounds. Although LST is simple to do, it requires some finesse. String or ties are used to bend and secure the shoots to encourage bushier growth and more even light distribution.

• Increase flavour with UV lights

Some growers use additional UV lighting in their grow room as a way to enhance the trichome production of their plants. Although the jury is still out as to whether this method is wholly effective, the idea here is that the UV rays cause enough stress for plants to react by increasing trichome production as a form of protection.

• Increase flavour with nutrients

Nutrients also play a key role in your weed’s eventual flavour. Although opinions differ here among cultivators, it is generally thought that natural and organic nutrients contribute to more flavourful cannabis as opposed to synthetic nutes. One such natural source of nutrients is blackstrap molasses, which feeds the beneficial microorganisms in the soil. Blackstrap molasses is especially effective if you administer it during the last few weeks of your plants’ flowering phase.

• Additives for more flavour

In grow stores, you will also find a plethora of additives, such as bloom boosters, that contain vital nutrients to optimise the performance and aroma of your plants. These products can be a potential option if you don’t see good results with completely “natural” growing methods.

Conversely, there is also a theory that depriving plants of nutrients during late-flowering can result in a better-tasting end product. The idea here is that you avoid having nutrients like nitrogen tainting the taste of your buds. Of course, you don’t want to go overkill: this method is really only utilised in the final weeks of flowering before the flush.

HOW TO ADD FLAVOUR TO CANNABIS AFTER HARVEST

You can also add extra flavour to your buds after harvest. These methods can be a bit risky since they may increase the likelihood of mould formation in your jar. For this reason, it can be a good idea to experiment with these methods on a handful of buds first, instead of your entire haul.

Adding extra flavour to your buds is easy when you use aromatic products such as essentials oils, spices, fruits, and even beverages like wine or whiskey.

Take a cotton ball and put some of the essential oils, wine, or whiskey on it. Hang the cotton ball from the lid of your curing jar. Make sure you air out your jar often to decrease the risk of mould.

You can also add fruit peels to your jar. Orange, lemon, or grapefruit rind can add some fantastic fruity flavour to your stash. It works best if you first dehydrate the peels in a dehydrator or at low heat in the oven. With dried fruits, the risk for mould growth will be lower. Place the finely cut peels in pantyhose, tie a knot, and hang your fruit net from the top of your jar. Make sure it is not touching your buds.

You can also use spices such as cinnamon, vanilla bean, or nutmeg, or aromatic herbs such as rosemary or camomile to spice-up your weed. To do this, put your spices/herbs into tea bags and place them among your buds in the curing jar.

WHAT NOT TO USE

Do not use anything that contains sugar to flavour your weed. This is because the sugar will just burn with an unpleasant carbon taste when you smoke your flavoured stash. So avoid maple syrup, soda pop, molasses, and anything else that contains sugar. Fruit peels and natural flavours are best.

FLAVOURFUL CANNABIS STRAINS

Want to start out your grow on an extra-flavourful note? Check out these particularly aromatic and flavourful cannabis strains:

• Choco Candy

Choco Candy is a dream for all those who have a sweet tooth! This ultimate chocolate sativa is beloved by weed connoisseurs not just for her fruity yet sweet flavour. The girl also shines with very good yields; and thanks to 21% THC, she is also quite potent.

• Blueberry

The popular Blueberry will likely not need an introduction for many cannabis lovers. The award-winning mostly-indica is one of the tastiest and fruitiest out there. No wonder she has so many dedicated followers who have been won over by her explosion of berry goodness.

• Bubblegum

Zamnesia’s Bubblegum is another super flavourful cannabis strain that will make your mouth water. Get ready for awesomely sweet candy notes sprinkled with earth on top. This sativa girl doesn’t just taste incredible, but also has a nicely balanced effect that is both relaxing and uplifting.

Steven Voser

Steven Voser is an independent cannabis journalist with over 6 years of experience writing about all things weed; how to grow it, how best to enjoy it, and the booming industry and murky legal landscape surrounding it.

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