What is Kief?

Kief is a concentrated product that is made up of the trichomes of the flowering cannabis plant.  These trichomes, also known as the resin glands, are tiny structures on the surface of marijuana buds and leaves.  If you take a close look, you may notice small hair-like growths covering the surface of the plant.  You may have also noticed that marijuana bud is covered with “frost” or crystals, and you may have tried to collect these crystals from your grinder.  These crystallized hairs are the trichomes of the plant, and what you have tried to collect is kief.

A trichome is made up of two key parts: the gland head and the stalk.  The stalk plays a structural role, supporting the trichome and shuttling nutrients to the gland head.  The gland head is the factory, producing the initial molecules that will later become cannabinoids and terpenoids.

Since kief is made from these trichomes, kief is highly concentrated with THC and can serve up a more potent experience than regular weed.  Kief typically contains somewhere between 20-60% THC, and because of this heightened THC concentration, kief is often added to weed to produce a more intense high.  Kief can also be smoked alone, but users should be prepared for a strong high.

Unlike hash, kief is not processed in any way and is easy to obtain.  Simply put, the kief is the dry sift that separates from the bud when using a grinder.  You can collect kief more easily with a three-chamber grinder, which allows the bottom chamber of the grinder to catch those precious crystals.  You can use a small tool to help scrape out the powder, making sure none of it goes to waste.

The colour of the sift provides a good indicator of the level of purity.  In general, a pale colour indicates a higher concentration of trichomes and therefore a higher purity of kief.  If the dry sift is quite greenish, that simply means there is still a reasonable amount of plant matter in the kief and it will not be as concentrated.