Medicinal and recreational weed is catching on hard in America these days. Pretty soon, the entire country will be covered in green.
If you’re living in a state that’s already legalized the herb, you may be thinking of new ways you can enjoy marijuana.
Well, why not try some weed tea? We see it as a pretty legit way to get the high you want, and it’s really simple and easy to make.
Read on to learn how to turn your next hot drink into a delightful cannabis experience.
How the Ancients Did It
You didn’t think cannabis tea was just now a thing, right?
This beautiful greenery has been around for millennia, pleasing the people in every way that it does for us today.
This is especially true of its use in India and China, where the drink was well known for its calming and spiritual effects, as well as medicinal capabilities.
They were very fond of mixing weed with their tea to create a warm, mildly psychoactive drink that they would even give to their kids to calm them down (talk about a lucky bunch of youngsters).
To this day, weed-induced tea is still the official drink of the Holi Festival of Colors each spring. Jamaicans have also had their fair share of the tea, making good use of it’s healing properties.
Seems like the only person missing is you. Time to get you caught up.
How to Make Weed Tea for Yourself
The great thing about marijuana tea is that after you learn the basics, there are a ton of different combinations you can make for good tea and a good high.
That being said, you have to learn these basics to get anything at all, or else you’ll end up with some really bad tea.
The two most popular ways to make cannabis tea is using stems and using flowers. Why not try them both and see which one works for you?
Using the Stems
Right now you’re probably saying, “Use the stems? You’ve gotta be joking.”
We’re totally not joking.
Stems are usually not your go-to when you think about getting high, but there’s a lot more to these stems than you think.
To keep things simple, the smaller the stem, the more cannabinoids, which means the more psychoactive effects you’ll feel from it.
All in all, cannabis tea made from stems is a lot milder than tea made from flowers, making it perfect for those who are sensitive to THC (or who just don’t want a weed-induced trip to the stars).
If you choose to make marijuana tea with this method, you can basically just whip it up the way you would any other basic cup of tea.
First, you’ll need to heat up a pot of water for your weed (a pot for your pot… get it?) while getting the other materials (like sugar and creamer) ready by placing them in your cup.
Make sure to crush up the stems finely or put them through a blender before adding them to the hot water. Stir the pot for 5 to 7 minutes so all the flavoring can get into the water.
After that, place a filter over the cup and pour the hot water into it. The filter should catch the stems, leaving only tasty weed water in the cup.
Grab a spoon, stir it up with a dash of honey (if you’re into that sort of stuff) and Voila! You now have a perfectly good cup of cannabis tea.
Using the Flowers
If you’re looking for the next level of high, then you should definitely go for the buds.
Using flowers is definitely more potent than using stems, but there’s a little problem that you need to take care off first.
Cannabis is naturally made up of a compound called THCA. As long as it’s in this form, you won’t be getting that ultimate psychoactive effect you’re craving.
That doesn’t mean you have to be stuck with a low-grade high. All you need to do is decarboxylate the weed.
Let’s take a walk through the details, shall we?
For those who don’t know, decarboxylation is when you take the non-intoxicating compound THCA and turn it into THC, which is much more potent and psychoactive.
This process is natural when you smoke or vape weed, so there’s no effort needed on behalf of the user.
Edibles are almost as easy: all you need to do is drop the cannabis in with some oil or butter before you heat it up, giving you the THC you crave.
When it comes to drinks, however, it’s a whole different story. You can’t smoke the weed down to THC (obviously) and water alone isn’t enough to break it down.
The best way to do this while keeping the integrity of the weed is to mix it with butter or some other type of oil-based ingredient to help break the cannabis down (about 1/2 teaspoon should be fine).
Because this can be a time-consuming process, the best way to do this is to have a premade batch of cannabis butter ready for when you need to whip of some tea in the future.
Since you’re most likely starting from scratch, take some ground up buds and mix them with the butter.
Take a tea bag, cut the top and empty out the contents, and place the weed butter in the bag. You just need something to hold and filter the butter, and tea bags are about the cheapest and best way to do it (coffee filters work too).
After the water gets to a decent temperature (don’t let it reach boiling point) place the bag into the water and let it simmer for about half an hour, then remove the bag and place the water into your cup.
Add some honey or sugar for extra flavor, and you’ve got yourself the best tea in town. Why not share with your friends?
All the Ways to Get Your Best High (Legally)
Weed tea is a pretty great way to get high, but trust us, there’s a lot more where that came from.
We know all the best ways for you to get high – legally, of course. There are a number of ways on how to get the most out of your legal cannabis, as well as fun facts on Kava, Kratom, and ways you can get high without the plant.