Pollen Press: What is it & How to Use a Pollen Press?

The constricted and stigmatized world of cannabis has broken every barrier to come forth as a winner, whether it is in the recreational field or being deemed as a medical miracle. Not only does cannabis offer multiple strains with a varied effect, but also entails so many unique ways to consume the green herbs that you would never cease to be amazed. And with every type of consumption comes forth innovation, and creativity in terms of technology and equipment. 

In this article, I will be tackling the world of pollen presses, going into detail about how they are used, and the benefits they entail. Let's get started. 

What is Pollen Press?

Before we understand what pollen press is and it's usage in the world of weed, we need to understand what trichomes and kief. 

If you have ever got your hands on a fresh bud, you might have noticed it has a layer of sticky, white covering that gives it a heavenly look. Well, it's not all just aesthetics. The white covering is known as trichomes, and they are recognised to be potent, containing an enhanced amount of THC and other cannabinoids. Naturally, while picking and plucking the buds, the trichomes are often dusted off or lost when you grind your precious herbs. But nothing is wasted in the world of green buds, and therefore, the stoner's came up with another innovative way to enjoy the sticky trichomes. 

Trichomes and Kief terms are interchangeably used in the 420 area. Kief is generally addressed to the collected potent material when you grind your herbs. This is usually found in the corner of the grinders; or if you're using one with a kief catcher, it is filtered to the last compartment. Either way, what you encounter when it is collected is Kief or Pollen. The trichomes when extracted from the plant, either manually or mechanically, are referred to as Kief or Pollen. The collected pollen is used to make Hash/hashish. 

Now that you understand that Pollen, Kief, and Trichome are the same things, often addressed as different things, we can move forward to understand what a pollen press is. 

Pollen press is a compact device made out of high-grade material that converts your ground herbs or Kief into hard disks, coins, or pellets. It compressed the plant material into a more compact and solid-state, either manually or with hydronic technology. This is done for a variety of purposes, with the most common being ease of storage. 

The design of the pollen press is usually that of a t-handle with two end caps and a place to insert the raw material. The best part; you only need pollen/kief, a pollen press, and a few spare hours to convert your stash of potent powdery material into a solid piece. 

| Read More: What is Kief: How to Collect & Use It? |

How to use a Pollen Press?

Pollen Press are simple devices that are available in the manual or hydraulic form. Of course, each hydraulic pollen press has its own set of unique designs which can only be understood with the help of specific user manuals. Some entail the application of pressure in an upward manner, others like the downward pressure or simply even side pressure. 

Pollen Press is mainly used to convert the kief into hash, which is basically just a heated and compressed kief. Doing so alters the chemical consistency of the material, making it more convenient to handle and consume. 

The first thing to know when you're trying to use a pollen press is to have enough kief or Pollen to start with. If you use your grinder regularly, keep collecting until you have a stash of white crystals, just enough to be moulded into a solid form. Make sure that the trichomes are dry so that your hash doesn’t mould and get ruined.

Once you have collected enough trichome, pour the material into the open end of your pollen press. Place the pin on the designated place and tighten the end caps with your hands which will help to create the pressure. Avoid using any manual tools to increase the pressure since the pollen press is not designed to be used with them. It can hamper your equipment and render it useless. You can screw the ends with your hand, tightening it every hour to compress the crystals as much as possible. 

Let your grounded material sit in the press for 8 hours (you can tighten it every hour), allowing the kief to come together as a disc or pellet. Following the Moroccan Hash making practice, you can leave the press outside in the sun, which makes for a mean batch of hashish. 

After 8 hours, what you encounter is a pretty solid piece, ready to be topped on a bowl, smoked in a joint, or simply consumed whichever way you like. 

| Read More: Hashish 101 - What is Hash And How is it Used? |

Advantages of using Pollen Press

The popularity of the pollen press stems from their various advantages and features. This also depends on whether you're pressing loose Marijuana leaves or Kief. 

Benefits of Pollen Press 

• Kief is a powdery form which can easily be spilt over or blown away by the wind. Compressing it into Hash coins or pellets allows it to be more convenient to handle and prevents any unnecessary wastage.  
• The same amount of Hash is another form that takes up more space, but compressing it into a disk or other compact design reduces the amount of storage space. 
• It increases the lifetime of the product as hash can be stored easily in an air-tight container when they are in the form of coins or disk. They can be placed in a dry location, away from direct sunlight, thereby enhancing their shelf life. 
• The compact version of the hash can be stamped with a brand logo or image, allowing companies and consumers to recognize their preference with much ease. 
• Pressed coins and pellets are much easier to be packaged and shipped when compared to loose powder. 
• Hashish can be blended with other ingredients which makes it better to be portioned in coin form. Moreover, the potency is much more easily and efficiently preserved when the Hash is converted into a disk. 

The Benefits of using pollen press for loose-Marijuana leaf is also similar to that of the Kief ones. A compact ground marijuana leaf not only reduces the size of the stash but also makes it easier and more convenient to use and store. 

This brings us to the end of our article on Pollen Press, their usage, and benefits. I hope this was helpful and informative. For more such articles, keep watching this space or follow us on Instagram (@Olivastu).