Many of us have found themselves with leftover terpenes, pondering what to do with them and whether or not it would be too barbaric, or even productive, to smoke them directly in some way. Opinions on this matter may vary, but what is surely the more elegant, efficient, and creative approach to making the most out of your leftover terpenes is to add them back to a concentrate.
Why?
Terpenes contain the essence of a plant’s taste and flavor. Capturing them during extraction where they would otherwise be lost and adding them back to a finished concentrate is a fast and efficient way to intensify its taste and flavor profile, or even give it one altogether. Adding leftover terpenes can even heighten the extract’s medicinal properties as well, since it has been-established that terpenes and cannabinoids work synergistically together in what’s been termed the “entourage effect”.
Take caryophyllene, generally the most common sesquiterpene, encountered in cannabis, for example. It has antimalarial effects, it’s also a gastric cytoprotective and has been used for treating duodenal ulcers in the UK. But what stands out about caryophyllene the most is that it’s a selective full agonist at CB2 receptors, meaning that its powers lie entirely into the therapeutic realm and can be harnessed in physiological and dermatological applications.
How?
When extracted, terpenes will take the form of oily, aromatic, liquid chemical compounds which can be reminiscent of magic potions when placed in little flasks. And who’s to say they are not.
The most popular companion of leftover terpenes is wax. You start by putting the extract in a new container. Think of the terpenes as tabasco or something else that’s very spicy that’s being added to a recipe– add cautiously and smell often to gauge the new concoction. You can always add more terpenes (as long as you have some) but taking them away would be harder. Try to distribute the terpenes as equally as possible and close the container to shake it often. Basically, just like cooking a meal. The consistency should be even throughout. One of the safest way to make sure of that is time – at least five hours, possibly more if you have the patience.
In the end, even though extraction has grown into sweet science, mixing leftover terpenes back into your concentrate has not, meaning that the creation’s beauty is in the eye of the dabber. Only you can say for yourself whether the result is good or bad, and just like pizza, even bad blends of concentrates and terpenes are hardly ever truly bad.
Mixing leftover terpenes back to concentrates is a matter of personal taste, and similar to cooking food, with some experimentation, practice, and a lot of sniffing, you will find which combinations work for you and maybe even discover a new niche hobby.
