Cannabis Vintage: An explanation

Most dispensaries in California today limit the shelf life of flowers to three months. That is three months from the packing date—not from harvest. It is said that the customers do not buy “out of date” weed. 

Perhaps the retailer did not store the flowers properly, perhaps the flower has been cut and bucked in an uncool room or was packed. The product will no longer sell after three months of being in the shop. It’s possible that the true reason was improper handling during the course of the supply chain. The retailer may have just been trying to remove it from the shelf. Some customers won’t buy flowers for up to four months following harvest.

Whatever! I don’t think cannabis flowers are ready for smoking until at least four to five months after harvest. Most of the NorCal OG growers that I speak to agree. Frenchy Cannoli probably would have been in agreement, as well. We would often talk about the different taste and effect of hash made from vintage or old cannabis. 

Back in the Hippie days, we never got fresh green weed—even after it was dried and trimmed, it always took several months to get here from Mexico, Colombia or Thailand. When you finally bought the lid to smoke, it had been aged for several months. We had to remove the seeds and stems, but the smoke was just as good to relax or inspire, similar to the finest Acapulco Gold sticks, Thai or Thai Red, or the Panama Red.

We are now in 2022 drying cannabis flowers from two to one month, depending on the size of our timber-frame wooden barn. The Doug firs that shade the barn all year keep it cool. In the Emerald Triangle, the autumn air is usually dry. This can help maintain the ideal humidity and temperature in the barn.

This is only the first step in the process that leads to vintage marijuana. The process is complex and not completely understood. 

Cannabis that is well-aged has many benefits 

The pungent smells in fresh dried flowers can mask the more subtle layers beneath. Small-batch cannabis that is of high quality has been carefully dried and aged under controlled conditions. Slow aging broadens the aroma profile by reducing the intensity of the spikes, and allows for subtler scents. The biological stabilization of the wine takes approximately four to six months after harvest. In some cases it can take even longer. 

Within the buds for the next 6-12 months, there is a mysterious, magical process that allows the flower to reach its fullest potential. Vintage is the new name for this sacred herb! The sacred herb is now Vintage!

The flowers best suited to be aged for vintage cannabis are biologically—not chemically—grown in living soil, out under the sun, the way the Gods and our ancestors intended them to be. They must have been harvested at their peak, then dried, manicured, aged, packaged, shipped and stored in optimum, climate-controlled conditions. 

The flowers will retain their full quality as long as they are stored in an ideal container.

Cannabis Compounds: The Changing Compounds

What is the secret? Vintage cannabis takes a long time to make.

Cannabis flowers mature can produce up to 1,000 different compounds. The testing laboratories only report on the top 150 cannabinoids. 

In the living plant, the main cannabinoid is the so called precursor CBGA molecule, which transforms into the other cannabinoids, such as CBD, presenting in the mature female after harvest. The harvested plant may technically be dead but is still alive biologically for a while, due to the moisture that remains in its leaves, stems, and flowers.

The CBGA in harvested flowers can change into THCA, and THCA, to THC, through heat, light, age, or both. CBN also increases as the time from harvesting grows. It is believed that this is due to THC degradation. Most likely, the gradual degradation of different cannabinoid molecule in CBN is what will happen.

There are many volatile and aromatic compounds. Some volatile or aromatic compounds can only be produced by the live plant, and they begin to fade away as soon the plant has been cut. The most prominent are the terpenes, out of 50 possible terpenes. These are the ones that produce the strongest smells. Scientists have discovered a number of other volatile substances in cannabis that together form the “nose” on the flower. 

In addition to terpenes, which account for perhaps 25% of the fragrance, there are other “aromatics” such as flavonoids, phenols, thiols, esters, ketones, benzaldehydes, alcohols and one of the more recent discoveries: volatile sulfur compounds. It has been suggested that sulfur compounds are the volatiles responsible for producing the skunk and gassy odors of cannabis.

Many things happen as the moisture from the flower evaporates. Several mono terpenes are released, while others become polymerized into longer chains to form bi-terpenes (or sesqui-terpenes) that do not easily volatilize. Slow drying and ageing is done to stabilise the changes that occur in the terpenes. By drying the flower and stabilizing it, many aromas are preserved.

A third change is “oxidation” which occurs as the molecules of chlorophyll break down by opening the links of carbon at the top of the rings, allowing oxygen molecules to attach. After a long process of three steps, the chlorophyll will no longer “flourish,” or glow green. It’s the same thing that happens every fall to leaves and cannabis.

Genes and the True Potential

If it’s known that the major cannabinoids, the terpenes and chlorophyll are all slowly changing after and during drying, then one should also expect that many other compounds will also be changing. This is especially true for volatiles. The biological activity also decreases with the decrease in residual moisture until three to five month after harvest, when the flower stabilizes.

At this stage, the flower has fully realised the genetic potential and adapted to its terroir. Vintage Cannabis Flower is the only flower that truly fulfills her destiny of serving, healing, entertaining and inspiring those who consume it.

Select your most favorite flowers and stash them in a dark container for one year. Keep it in a dark cool area. Finally, your Vintage Cannabis is ready to be smoked.