When you use a dry herb vaporizer to vape cannabis, you get a lot of vaporizing benefits compared with smoking a joint. Your sessions are stronger in terms of THC and CBD effects, and will taste better and smell less.
Another big bonus of vaping marijuana, compared with smoking weed, is that you can even use the leftovers from a vaping session.
Vaporized cannabis is called already vaped bud (AVB) or already been vaped bud (ABV). And it can be used for tons of things, from cannabutter to capsules, coconut oil for cooking edibles, or just eating it in a peanut butter sandwich.
Why should you eat AVB in a sandwich and why not on it's own? Well, eating ABV just doesn't taste that great. Even covering it up with peanut butter, ice cream, or yogurt might not be enough for some people.
Does already vaped bud taste bad?
Many people dislike the taste of AVB, it often tastes bitter and burnt, and can ruin your recipes. But if you still want to be able to eat your ABV without the unappetizing taste, there's a solution! It's called water curing.
We already published an article all about how to use already vaped bud, which explains the basics of water curing AVB. But water curing is such an important aspect of using ABV, that we wrote this more detailed guide about how to water cure your ABV.
What is Water Curing AVB?
Water curing is a process where you soak cannabis in water for a duration of time. You'd think this would be bad for marijuana, but water cured weed is just as strong as before. Cannabinoids (like THC and CBD) aren't water soluble, so they stay in your herb instead of being washed away.
What will be lost is terpenes, the compounds that give cannabis their aroma and flavor, as well as other effects. But when it comes to AVB, the terpenes already got vaporized when you vaped your herb.
Water curing will remove the flavors from your herb completely, but none of the THC and CBD. That means for ABV, your water cured weed will be flavorless, and not have any of the nasty smell and taste that AVB can sometimes have.
Also, there are some people who experience stomach cramping issues when eating AVB. If this happens to you, water curing your ABV is worth trying, as many cannabis enthusiasts report that it helps with stomach cramping.
Should I Water Cure AVB?
Water curing already vaped bud takes time. Like, lots of time.
So if you haven't tried the taste of ABV yet, you should definitely just see what you think, before starting to water cure it. The flavor of AVB weed will vary according to your strain and how you vaped your herb, so it doesn't all taste the same.
If you vaporize your herb heavily and to a crisp every time, your AVB will not have much potency left. And the taste will definitely be bitter, and not fun to eat. So in this case, water curing really improves the flavor of any edibles, cannabutter, or coconut oil you make.
If you vape on a low heat, or avoid using your dry herb vaporizer's maximum temperature settings, your AVB is going to taste better and be stronger. You might not extract as much THC and CBD during the vaping sessions, but the potency of your ABV will increase a lot.
How to make AVB (already vaped bud) taste better
Everyone has their own ideas of what flavors work best to mask the taste of ABV. You can experiment! You can probably can think of a bunch of delicious or flavor-rich foods you can mix it with.
Popular choices include sprinkling AVB in a peanut butter or Nutella sandwich, or mixing it with ice cream or yogurt. But the options are limitless.
It's best to combine ABV with food with some fat content like oil or butter. Cannabinoids bind to fats, so they'll help your body absorb THC and CBD.
Putting AVB in a gel capsule
Another option you can explore is making your own AVB capsules.
Just buy some gelatin capsules and fill them with already vaped bud. It doesn't take long, and then whenever you feel like eating AVB, just swallow a capsule!
Effects take time to kick in with AVB, so go low and slow with your dosage. Or else, you might be surprised with a strong trip that arrives unexpectedly hours after you ate it.
Water Curing Already Vaped Bud
If you've decided to water cure your ABV you're going to need a few things:
- already vaped bud - around 1 ounce, to make it worth your while
- cheesecloth
- large bowl
- large baking sheet, pan, or casserole dish
You can also use a french press, or a different strainer instead of cheesecloth. We'll talk about how to use these as an alternative to cheesecloth as well.
Using cheesecloth to water cure AVB
The most common water curing method involves using cheesecloth to strain vaped bud with water.
First, cut yourself a piece of cheesecloth. The size of the piece of cloth will depend on how much ABV you're using. Each piece of cheesecloth can contain 50 grams of AVB, at least.
Spread out the cheesecloth on a table, and dump your ABV in a pile in the middle of it. Then wrap up the AVB in the cheesecloth, like a giant tea bag. Tie the top of the bag to keep it secure and from pulling open.
Then, wrap it in a second piece of cheesecloth, the same size cloth as the first, and wrap that around the tea bag to form a second layer. This is to keep AVB from escaping the bag.
Change the Water, Rinse and Repeat
Now, place your giant AVB tea bag in the bowl and fill it with room temperature water. Make sure you completely cover it with water.
Let it sit for a few hours, then come back to check on it. By now, the water should have turned a dark color, likely brown. It probably also doesn't smell that great. Take the AVB cheesecloth bag out of the bowl and drain the water. Get rid of the rest of the dirty water.
Now add fresh water, again at room temperature, and put the AVB back in the bowl a few more hours.
Rinse and repeat, and change the water for a fresh batch every few hours. With every cycle you'll be improving the quality and flavor of the final product.
Using a french press to water cure ABV
Some people like using a french press to water cure their bud. AVB can leave behind a taste in your french press, so be sure to rinse it thoroughly with hot water once you're done water curing.
You'll also have your press tied up for days when you water cure your ABV. So if your french press is your main coffee source and you're a caffeine fiend, you might want to go with the cheesecloth method.
Using the french press is a similar process. Put your vaped bud in the press, then fill it with room temperature water. Give the herb a bit of a stir to make sure it's all getting exposed to the water. Then let it sit for a few hours.
Once the water has become dark, it's time to drain it and refill it. Push down on the plunger to filter out all of the water, then pour it out. Squeeze hard so you're getting as much water as possible out of the bud. Then, refill the press with fresh water and let it sit again.
Repeat the process for as many days as you like, up to a week.
Any fine mesh strainer will also work, but the french press has the benefit of being really easy to squeeze the ABV when you're draining the water.
How Long Should You Water Cure ABV?
The water curing process can take as long as you like. If you're feeling impatient you can stop after a day. Some people water cure their AVB for a week. Somewhere in the middle, like 3-4 days, is probably a reliable spot for good quality water cured AVB.
As you water cure your AVB weed, you'll notice the color of the waste water getting lighter and lighter. Eventually the color will get quite light, and then you'll know it has a much improved taste than when you started water curing.
If you go a full seven days, you'll end up with even better tasting ABV, but watch out for the development of mold. Seven days is safe, but longer might not be a good idea.
Stop the water curing process
Whenever you've decided you've repeated the water curing process enough times, it's time to dry the AVB.
First drain your cheesecloth bag of AVB as much as possible. Then open it up, and empty out the wet AVB onto a large casserole dish or a baking sheet.
If you're going to cook with your AVB right away, you can stop here and just start using it in your recipe. Otherwise you're going to want to dry it out more fully, to keep it from developing mold as you store it long-term.
How to dry the AVB in a pan in the oven
To keep water cured ABV from developing mold, bake it for a bit in the oven after the water curing process is over. Preheat the oven to about 200° F (95° C), and put your casserole dish, baking tray, or pan onto the center rack.
Don't use a higher heat, you don't want to lose any of the cannabinoids. You just want your ABV to dry out so there's no water left in it.
Stir the AVB in the pan every half an hour or so. It'll probably take about two hours for it to dry to a good level. If you find you think it needs longer in the oven, dry it further.
What To Do With Water Cured AVB
Now that you've got your AVB cannabis water cured and tasting less nasty, anything you make with it will be more delicious.
The most popular ways to use AVB are making cannabutter or coconut oil. Then you can add the butter or oil to any recipe you like, or just drop some in your tea or coffee.
Making cannabutter for edibles
If you want to make cannabutter, put water and butter into a pot on the stove, and let it simmer. Once the butter has melted, then add your ABV.
Let the pot simmer on a low heat for about three hours, stirring once in a while. Make sure it doesn't boil. Then pour the AVB-infused cannabutter into a container, using cheesecloth as a filter to keep the ABV out. A coffee filter also works as a strainer.
After that, remove your cheesecloth, cover up the container, and let the cannabutter harden in the refrigerator. The butter will eventually separate from the water.
Keep the butter and store it in an airtight container. You can throw out the leftover AVB water.
Coconut oil from Already Vaped Bud (AVB)
Making coconut oil is a similar process. First, combine ABV and some melted coconut oil inside a mason jar. Be sure to completely cover the AVB.
Put your mixture inside a crockpot or double boiler on very low heat. Let it heat for about three hours, and stir it up occasionally. And don't let it boil.
After three hours, strain the ABV from the oil, using cheesecloth. And you're done! You can now use your AVB cannabis coconut oil in any recipe.
For example, try making brownies using your favorite recipe, but swapping in AVB coconut oil to replace the regular oil. It'll be delicious.
Which Dry Herb Vaporizer is Best for AVB?
Not every dry herb vape is created equal, and some will do a better job than others in terms of producing potent, reliable AVB. Above all, you want a vaporizer with precise temperature control and great airflow, so that your herb is evenly heated.
This will get you both the best results in your vaping sessions, and give you more consistent and effective AVB.
Furna is a portable vaporizer that features precise temperature control, and excellent airflow. Its vapor pathway is made of metal and ceramic parts that won't alter the flavor of your cannabis, and it will produce high-quality AVB. But that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this innovative vape.
The benefits of swappable ovens
Furna also features a very convenient oven-swapping system, which lets you load multiple ovens and swap them whenever you like.
This is really helpful because when you're vaping on the go, it's not always easy to clean out and reload your vape. With swappable ovens, you can instantly swap a fresh oven for a used one. No waiting! The ovens are insulated so they're safe to handle right away.
Furna also has cannabis concentrate ovens, and 510 oil ovens, all of which are just as easy to swap in and out. Check out the Furna dry herb vaporizer to learn more.
