Hashish
Types Of Hash
based on work by ZeroZero
Hashish produced in countries like Nepal, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and areas that surround the Himalayas has traditionally been produced primarily by rubbing live marijuana flowers with hands or other implements.
The aim is to get the soft and sticky resins to stick to a surface that can be taken somewhere to be processed. It is usually dark brown to black on the surface with a lighter colored interior. It can be adulterated with almost any type of oil including coconut and palm oils.
Middle East hashish from countries like Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon is produced using the sieving process. The hashish is usually harder and drier than rubbed hashish. It can vary in color from yellow to red to brown.
If you break a piece open, you should see the very small granules of resin that make up hashish made by sieving. It can be adulterated with a variety of things like henna, tarmac, and can even include sand and tar extracts.
You can usually tell rubbed and sieved hashish apart by the color and how pliable it is. Rubbed has a black or dark brown exterior and is more pliable when fresh. It also has a strong smell. Sieved hashish is golden yellow to red or light brown in color. It is drier (less pliable) than rubbed and the smell is subtle (less strong).
Depending on where you live, you may have limited access to hashish. In most parts of North America, rubbed hashish imported from areas that surround the Himalayas is more commonly available. Smaller amounts of sieved Middle East hashish are occasionally sold.
If you have the option of choosing, rubbed hashish is almost always superior to sieved. However, good sieved hashish should be chosen over low quality rubbed hash. Hashish can be mixed with other chemicals (usually oils) to increase its weight, but this decreases potency. Dealers do this to increase their profit.
Depending on how much mixing is done, the hash you buy might be nothing like the original product. Hash rated potent in the list below will have a THC content of 20%-30% or more (in fresh samples). Really potent hashish can have a THC content over 30%. But remember that THC is not the only cannabinoid in hashish, there are various others such as CBD and CBN which all add to the effects.
Type: Afghan/Afghani (Afghanistan)
Cultivation: Hashish has been produced practically everywhere in and around Afghanistan. The best kinds of hash originate from the Northern provinces between Hindu Kush and the Russian border (Balkh, Mazar-i-Sharif).
Production: Rubbed, the plants which are used for hash production are usually Cannabis afghanica (a subspecies of Cannabis indica that originated in or near Afghanistan). Cannabis afghanica is a short plant that will only grow to a maximum height of about 6 feet.
In Afghanistan hashish is pressed by hand under addition of a small quantity of tea or water. The hashish is worked on until it becomes highly elastic and has a strong aromatic smell.
In Afghanistan the product is stored in the form of hash balls (because a round ball has the less contact with air), however, before being shipped, the hash is pressed in 100g slabs.
Good qualities of Afghani are signed with the stem of the producing family. Sometimes hash of this kind is sold as Royal Afghani. Sieving also has a long (but limited) history in Afghanistan. Traditionally, sieving has not been employed in areas that surround the Himalayas, Afghanistan is an exception in this respect.
Color: Black on the outside, dark greenish or brown inside. Can sometimes look kind of grayish on the outside when left in contact with the air.
Smell: Spicy to very spicy.
Taste: Very spicy, somewhat harsh on the throat. Afghani can induce lots of coughing in inexperienced users.
Consistency: Soft, can be kneaded very easily.
Effect: Almost narcotic, produces a very physical and stony high.
Potency: Potent, sometimes very potent. It's easy to underestimate the potency of Afghani since the high may take about 5 minutes to reach it's full potential.
Availability: Can be hard to find, especially good qualities.
Various: The softest Afghani isn't always the best, coconut or other oils are often added in the originating country. There has been some hash oil produced from Afghani, usually the quality is excellent. Beware: Turkish hash is sometimes offered under the name of Red Afghani.
Type: Charas (India)
Cultivation: Cannabis can be cultivated nearly everywhere around India.
Production: Rubbed, in India hash is produced by carefully rubbing the female buds between the hands. The resin is rolled in hash balls, before shipment it's pressed in the usual slabs.
Color: Black on the outside, dark greenish/brown inside.
Smell: Spicy to very spicy. Distinctive aroma.
Taste: Very spicy, somewhat harsh on the throat but definitively less so than Afghani.
Consistency: Very soft, can be kneaded easily like Afghani. Sometimes quite powdery though always dense.
Effect: Very stony and physical high. Cerebral.
Potency: Potent to very potent. Like Nepali, Charas is almost always good smoke.
Availability: Very rare, from time to time very small quantities become available. Most hash of this kind is imported by private travellers to India. As expected the price is very high, in the range of Nepali. Charas is usually sold as a 'finger', which is a sausage shaped piece of hash.
Type: Kashmiri (Kashmir/India)
Cultivation: No information available.
Production: Rubbed, good Kashmir hashish is produced by hand like in Nepal and Afghanistan. Usually the producers in Kashmir aren't able to press the slabs decently. Sieving has recently (20th century) been used after being introduced by westerners. This has resulted in a lower quality product than the traditional hand rubbed type of hash.
Color: Black on the outside, brown-greenish inside. White lines (mold) sometimes present.
Smell: Very spicy and aromatic.
Taste: It's not one of the best tasting types of hashish. But it certainly isn't bad, and it is not harsh on the throat.
Consistency: Somewhat harder than Afghani with less resin content. Natural oils are often added to render the hash soft.
Effect: Physical and stony high.
Potency: There are some good batches of Kashmir, but in general most Kashmir is not as good as other types of hashish.
Availability: Very rare.
Type: Lebanese (Lebanon)
Cultivation: The most important cannabis fields are located in the valley of Baalbek. The fields are cultivated on very large scale, many of them using modern machinery. The production is very industrially oriented, tradition is not very involved in the hash business.
Production: Sieved, the cannabis plants are left on the field until they are nearly dry. By this time they will have acquired a brown-reddish color (some chlorophyll is destroyed by the uv-rays of the sun). Finally the plants are brought in a barn to be dried completely.
Hashish is produced in the same way as in Morocco, basically the buds are carefully rubbed over a fine silk cloth, the resulting powder can be pressed together. The finer the mesh used, than better the resulting hashish.
The hash powder is stored inside 35kg plastic bags, in this form it can be kept for a long time without losing much potency (because the resin glands are still closed).
In the winter months the pressing begins. Hash powder is put in linen or cotton bags and pressed under great pressure. On the surface of the hashish the structure of the tissue which was used can be clearly seen.
Usually the hash is pressed in slabs of 100g, 200g (usually) or 1000g (1kg). There is some hash which is pressed by hand like in Afghanistan, unfortunately it is kept by producers for personal consumption, and usually not exported.
Color: There are two kinds of Lebanese hash: Blond Lebanese, which is yellowish in color and Red Lebanese which is reddish-brown in color (very similar to standard Moroccan). The Red Lebanese is made from riper plants that have dried in the field.
Smell: Spicy to very spicy, refreshing smell.
Taste: Very spicy, harsher than Turk or Morocco. Some Lebanese hash is harsher on the lungs than Afghani, especially when smoked in a Bong.
Consistency: Usually the slabs are very thick (about an inch) and not elastic. However when you cut it, you can clearly see that it contains big quantities of resin and that it can be cut easily. Some kinds of Lebanese, like Afghani have the family stem on them. Very good Lebanese can be re-pressed by hand like Afghani due to the high resin content.
Effect: Compared to most other hash types, the high is quite cerebral. But it is more stony than hash from Morocco or Turkey. Of course, the yellow kind produces a more cerebral high than the red kind (which is riper and contains more CBN than THC).
Potency: Usually not very strong, somewhat stronger than Moroccan. However, there are very good batches of hash from Lebanon that are very strong. As already mentioned, the high resin content of the better batches can be re-pressed by hand.
Availability: Quite rare, good qualities are very rare. Unfortunately most of the Lebanese which is sold is quite old and dry, fresh and resinous Lebanese is very rare.
Various: I'm told that the best Lebanese hash is called Zahret el Kolch.
Type: Manali (India/Himalaya Region)
Production: Rubbed, the hash is produced by hand like in Afghanistan and Nepal.
Color: Black on the outside, greenish-brown inside.
Smell: Similar to marijuana.
Taste: Similar to marijuana.
Consistency: Hard to very hard (when older).
Effect: Not as physical and stony as the other black kinds.
Potency: Medium to potent.
Availability: Very rare. When available usually in the form of sticks, unfortunately often quite old.
Type: Moroccan (Morocco)
Cultivation: Cannabis is cultivated in the Northern regions, especially in the province of Ketama. In 1992 Morocco cultivated at least 30,000 acres of cannabis. This produces about 15,000 tons of hashish.
Production: Sieved, the hash is produced by sifting mature cannabis flowers through a series of sieves.
Color: Greenish to brown. Due to the relatively short growing season the plants retain a greenish color at harvest.
Smell: Lightly aromatic, not spicy.
Taste: Compared to other kinds of hash the taste is very mild.
Consistency: Quite variable, however generally quite hard. Usually Moroccan is sold in slabs less than a half inch in thickness.
Effect: Compared to other kinds of hash it produces a quite cerebral and active high.
Potency: Light to medium, only rarely potent. Even very good Moroccan can't be called particularly strong.
Availability: Moroccan is the most common kind of hash on the European market, not as common in the US and Canada.
Type: Moroccan Hash Oil.
Cultivation: Moroccan hash oil is made from unpressed resin obtained by sifting mature cannabis flowers through a series of sieves.
Production: Made from dissolving unpressed hash powder in solvents like ether and alcohol. Plant matter is removed and the solvent is allowed to evaporate. The substance that remains is a concentrated form of cannabis known as hash oil.
Color: Dark brown as an unwarmed solid. When spread on white rolling paper, it looks yellow or brown.
Smell: Very little smell. If it smells strongly of anything, just say no.
Taste: Slightly acrid, not pleasant unless disguised.
Consistency: When frozen will shatter, at room temperature is a sticky thick oil, when heated gently will drip from a pin, when it cools after being heated it quickly solidifies to a sticky thick oil again.
Effect: Variable depending on the quality of the hash it came from.
Potency: Again, same as the hash it came from, though the oil is always more potent than the original hash.
Availability: Not usually available.
Type: Nepalese (Nepal)
Cultivation: There are small cannabis cultivations in the Highlands of Nepal.
Production: Rubbed, the hash resin is collected by carefully rubbing the live marijuana plants between both hands. Later, the collected resin is pressed to homogenous hash balls. Before shipment these balls are pressed into slabs.
Color: Black on the outside, dark brown inside.
Smell: The aroma is very spicy, heavy and quite sweet. It is particularly potent if a piece of hash is broken up.
Taste: Highly aromatic and sweet, more so than Afghani but less harsh on the throat.
Consistency: Usually somewhat harder than Afghani but still soft enough to be kneaded at body temperature.
Effect: Very physical and stony high.
Potency: Potent to very potent.
Availability: Very rare.
Type: Nether-Dope (Netherlands)
Cultivation: This hash is produced from cannabis plants grown in the Netherlands. Plants are usually cultivated indoors but there are also small outdoor and greenhouse growers.
Production: The manufacture method varies with the producer. Most of the hash is produced by sieving, like in the Middle East. There is also a small quantity of hand rubbed hash produced (which of course is much better). However only a very small quantity of marijuana is transformed in hashish.
Color: Usually quite green, however this varies with the kind of marijuana used and the producer.
Smell: Usually like skunk like, but depends on the kind of marijuana it came from.
Taste: Same as above.
Consistency: Varies depending on the producer.
Effect: The kind of high depends from the strain of weed that was used. However, usually the high is quite active and cerebral.
Potency: Potent to very potent, this stuff is better than any other kind of hash available to the average user. It even beats most Nepali's and nearly every kind Afghan.
Availability: Very, very rare outside the Netherlands and surrounding countries.
Type: Hash Oil
Cultivation: Hash oil can be produced from any kind of hash. So the cultivation method varies depending on the country of origin.
Production: Hash is soaked in a solvent, any plant material is removed, then the solvent is evaporated. what remains is hash oil.
Color: Extremely dark green to nearly black.
Smell: Highly aromatic and spicy.
Taste: Highly aromatic and spicy. The taste varies considerably with the source material.
Consistency: Hash oil (even a highly pure one) is quite thick and hard at room temperature. At body temperature it becomes extremely sticky, when heated it becomes a liquid.
Effect: Very physical and stony high. The most stony and physical high you can find.
Potency: Potent to very potent.
Availability: Quite rare but becomes available from time to time.
Various: I should add something about the solvents, nearly always some form of alcohol is used as solvent. While this works quite well (especially if the source material is already good) there is a lot of chlorophyll and other inactive substances in the product.
A purer form of hash oil, usually called honey oil, is produced by extracting the potent material from marijuana or hashish with butane, petroleum ether, or some other non-polar solvent. Unfortunately in many hashish producing nations, usually only low quality marijuana or hashish is used in the production of hash oil.
It is also quite easy to be ripped off when buying oil, since it's very easy to adulterate.
Type: Pakistani (Pakistan)
Cultivation: Cannabis is especially cultivated in the North-West Frontier Province, which isn't under government control. This region is considered tribal area.
Drugs of every kind are produced, as well as weapons. Every man is permitted (and should) bear a firearm. The best hashish is produced in the regions of Citral, Swat, and Khaibar. Many of the fields that once produced marijuana (that was made into hashish) have been converted to opium fields.
Production: Rubbed, the hash is produced by hand like in Afghanistan.
Color: Black on the outside, dark brown inside. Sometimes even greenish color hashish can be found.
Smell: Spicy to very spicy.
Taste: Very spicy, quite harsh on the throat (like Afghani).
Consistency: Soft, like Afghani.
Effect: Very physical, somewhat stonier than Afghani.
Potency: Medium to potent.
Availability: Very rare.
Various: Until 1979, when the Islamic Rule (of life) was introduced, one could purchase opium and hash of various qualities in the so called government opium shops.
Type: Turk (Turkey)
Cultivation: Cannabis is produced in the rural regions like Anatolia.
Production: Sieved, the manufacture method (and the resulting product) is very similar to Moroccan.
Color: Greenish-brown.
Smell: Slightly spicy.
Taste: Not especially aromatic or spicy, very soft on the throat.
Consistency: When pressed correctly Turk is hard like a rock. Sometimes it can look like over aged Moroccan hash. Sometimes Turkish hash is encountered as brittle thin wafers which crumble and powder easily.
Effect: Highly cerebral compared to other kinds of hash. Probably the most cerebral high of any type of hash.
Potency: Light to medium, rarely potent.
Availability: Very rare.
Various: Turk can be recognized by the typical crack sound it makes when a slab is broken. Hashish use isn't very common in Turkey. Hash is available, but you need to have contacts and be very careful, or you will end up planning your own midnight express (slang term for a prisoner's escape attempt).
Books Hashish
Over 350 very well researched pages about the history, consumption, production, and other aspects of the substance known as hashish. The book is easy to read and the only book to get if you are interested in making, using, or learning about hashish.
The first 300 pages thoroughly trace hash history, methods of consumption, pressing, storing, and cultures. The last 50 pages go into great detail about traditional and modern methods of making, hashish.
Well illustrated with dozens if not hundreds of black and white images and graphs, with 16 full page, full color images. Appealing to hashish and marijuana users and history lovers.
Hashish
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