Chances are if you’re not a cannabis sommelier, your ability to taste the subtle differences in strain flavoring might be fairly rudimentary. While growers can take steps to breed certain strains that have a particular flavor profile — on account of the plant’s natural terpenes, or aromatic molecules — a new technology is now revolutionizing the process to customize the flavor of weed and enhance its taste.
Technology company Yofumo offers a product that enhances the curing process for cannabis. Curing is the final step before the cannabis is cultivated and is the time when the bud’s natural flavors are enhanced.
Yofumo’s weed storage units provide a controlled environment in which to dry and cure cannabis, as well as to bring out its natural terpenes through a process of “air infusion” and environmental controls. Curing is the second part of the drying process in cannabis, reminiscent of the process of aging wine. Aging is a sign of finest cannabis that can be cultivated, says a representative for Yofumo. The kind of weed that wins Cannabis Cups is cured, he says, adding that curing allows the flavors inside the bud to develop, while reducing harshness.
The Yofumo storage units are designed to rid the curing process of mold, fungus, yeast, or bacteria once the plant has been harvested and hung to dry. They also offer cultivators the opportunity to enhance the already existing terpenes in the bud, or to integrate new flavors in this final stage of cultivation. For cultivators who want to pair some grape, coconut, pineapple, berry, or earthy flavors to their bud, now they can.
“Our technology gives growers and consumer the tools they need to bring craft cannabis to the same level as the best wine cellars in the world,” says Alfonso Campalans, CEO of Yofumo. Cannabis cultivators can now bring the same nuance and flavor sophistication to their bud as others do with coffee, wine, and craft beer.
In the right humidity, without the risk of mold or bacterial infestation, cultivators can add natural terpenes to the bud. Terpenes can either be extracted from cannabis, itself, or from other plants like pine or lemon.
Focusing on the plant’s terpenes and flavor profile not only affect the taste of the bud, but also its effects. Thanks to the entourage effect, the synergistic relationship among all the chemicals in cannabis, terpenes and cannabinoids (chemical compounds) alike, different ratios and interactions bring out different medicinal properties and ways the plant might impact the user.
