The ice-water filtration technique has quickly become a very popular way to make hash.
This method combines the best of the screen and blender methods, using ice-water to
make the trichomes brittle and agitation to knock the heads off, then straining the mix
through filters for increased purity.
Hash made in this fashion is sometimes called "bubble hash" - because it is so pure that
it bubbles when heated! Well-made bubble hash is a very potent product – a tiny piece
will produce enough billows of smoke to get a small crowd high.
The two main commercial ice-water filtration systems available are "Bubble Bags" from
Fresh Headies and the Ice-o-lator, another product developed by Mila. Both operate on
the same principle of using cold water and filtering bags to isolate trichomes.
You can also make your own kit by acquiring mesh of the appropriate sizes and carefully
sowing it into bags of strong material.
In order to make bubble hash you'll need a kit with filtering bags, two impeccably clean
five gallon pails and a hand mixer. The exact method can vary depending on which system
you're using, but the essentials are the same. The Ice-o-lator uses two filters to screen out
contaminates, leaving the trichomes caught in the second filter. The bubble bag kits from
Fresh Headies contain either three or six colour–coded bags, and allow you to
simultaneously make different grades of hash.
To start with a bubblebag kit, place your skuff into one of your five gallon buckets.
Use up to 100 grams of dry skuff, or double that weight if it's fresh or wet.
Because ice makes the trichomes brittle, add plenty - at least six ice cube trays. Then fill up
the bucket with cold water. Leave a few inches at the top so you don't splash too much when mixing.
Use the hand mixer to blend continuously for 15 minutes to one hour or more. Mixing longer will produce
a higher yield that will be slightly less potent. The mixture will become green and frothy. You should take
breaks every so often to let the mixture settle.
When done mixing, allow the mixture to settle for at least 30 minutes. If the ice has melted, add more.
If possible, put the pail in the freezer, or outside if you live in a cold climate – you want that water to
stay cold!
Now put your "work bag" into your second bucket. This bag should have a screen size between 200 and
250 microns, the one from Fresh Headies is 220. Pour your frothy green mix into the work bag in the
second bucket. Slowly lift out the bag and squeeze out the water. Set aside the work bag with the green
matter for a second rinse.
Now you have a bucket full of green water which contains many trichomes, as well as other contaminants.
Everything that was smaller than 220 microns is in that water.
Arrange the other bags inside of the now empty bucket. Put the bag with the finest mesh in the bucket first,
then place the bags with larger screen sizes inside the first one. With the Fresh Headies three bag kit you
put the 25 micron bag in first and the 73 micron bag inside of it. You'll get fine hash if you just use one bag
with a screen size around 73 microns.
Now you carefully pour the green water into the bucket with the bags. Then you slowly lift out each bag in
succession, being sure to give them time to drain. If you're using a 25 micron bag it will drain very slowly
– be patient. Squeeze out the excess water from each bag after it is drained.
You will now have a brownish sludge at the bottom of the bags. Remove it with a credit card or spoon to
a plastic bag. Blot the sludge with a towel to remove excess moisture, and let it dry out for at least 12 hours.
You might want to wait up to a week for it to fully dry and cure, if you are that patient! Be sure that your
product is entirely dried so as to avoid mold problems later on.
You'll get less product from the 25 micron bag, but it will have a unique and potent affect when consumed.
Bubble bag creator "Bubble Man" speculates that these are the smaller trichome heads – not immature,
but simply the smaller heads associated with Sativa strains. He argues that Indica strains have larger
trichome heads, and that Sativa strains have smaller heads on longer stalks. Crosses between these
two types doesn't produce medium sized trichomes, but rather a mix of the large and small.
This theory seems to be borne out by results, but much more research needs to be done.
Now go back and give the green matter in the work bag a second rinse, to be sure that you get out every
last trichome!
The yield from 200 grams of skuff is around 6 to 20 grams, with an average yield around 10 grams.
The quantity of hash produced depends in large part upon the quality of your original material.
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