How to Smoke Hash: Your Complete Guide

If you know anything at all about Nasha, it’s that we’re on a mission to revive the ancient art of hash-making. But while our unpressed hash and pressed hash “temple balls” bring back the incomparable richness and depth of flavor of world-class hashish, there’s one problem: Many people don’t know how to smoke hash.

We’d like to help. In this guide and how-to, we’ll share everything we know about how to smoke hash, including:

• A little hash history
• The different types of hash: pressed and unpressed
• How to select high-quality hash for smoking
• Special equipment: water pipes, chillums, and healthstones
• How to clean and maintain your hash-smoking gear
• The hash smoking experience: what to expect

Are you ready? Let’s begin the journey.

Smoking Hash: The Story of an Ancient Tradition

Hash—or hashish—plays a very special role in history. When ancient cannabis farmers in present-day India and Pakistan discovered the secret of trichomes—the tiny, mushroom-like glands that appear as a silvery powder on high-grade cannabis—they devised a method to separate and collect them, thus creating the world’s first cannabis concentrate.

Unlike cannabis flower, hash is shelf-stable and compact. Soon knowledge of this wondrous compound spread throughout the Far and Middle East, where advances in production techniques allowed it to flourish into a very precious commodity indeed.

While for some, hash may have been superseded by high-tech, solvent-based concentrates, for a certain breed of connoisseur, nothing will ever replace the pure sensory bliss of smoking hash made through ancient, artisanal techniques. Here’s an introduction to the two foundational types of hash, and why you might want to choose one over the other.

Pressed vs Unpressed Hash

If you’ve interacted with hash before now, you’re probably familiar with the brick-like blocks or balls that have captivated smokers for centuries now. That’s “pressed hash,” made from sifted cannabis trichomes and created with nothing more than gentle heat and pressure. We offer a wide range of cannabis strains and types in our signature handcrafted “temple balls.”

But a smaller subset of aficionados are familiar with unpressed hash. Consisting of sifted and unpressed trichomes, it’s a granular, sand-like powder that can be sprinkled on your everyday bowl or joint to add a burst of pure flavor and potency.

How to Select High-Quality Hash for Smoking

Because hash is a concentrated product, what goes into it is absolutely vital in determining what comes out. That’s why we offer several different grades and styles of hash to suit every smoker’s individual tastes.

One of the most important signifiers of hash quality is a given product’s ratio of oil content to plant matter. The higher the proportion of oil, the richer and smoother the smoking experience and the higher the “melt” grade.

Each of our hash offerings is color-coded for easy reference:

Green Label Unpressed Hash: 50% - 65% Melt

As it’s packaged directly after the gentle drying process, the earthy flavor is perhaps most reminiscent of the old-school hash you may have sampled in days past. That’s courtesy of a higher ratio of plant matter to oil in this unpressed hash.

Orange Label Unpressed Hash: 65% - 80% Melt

With an unusually high ratio of oil to plant matter, our premium-grade unpressed hash confers unusual flavor and potency to whatever it’s sprinkled on. Please note that due to its consistency, our Orange Label offering should be stored below 38° F.

Red Label Pressed Hash: 65% - 75% Melt

Our Red Label line features a high ratio of oil to plant matter—a key signifier of potency and purity. Look for a rich, delicious smoke that highlights the individual varietal flavors and aromas inherent to the cannabis cultivar. Depending on its source, the pressed hash may be sticky or chalky in texture.

Blue Label Pressed Hash: 75% - 85% Melt

A true “love letter” to connoisseurs of hash, this grade melts into an unctuous, oily puddle when heated. The exceptionally smooth and flavorful smoke is the signifier of a truly rare grade of hash.

Onyx Label Pressed Hash: 80% - 90% Melt

For our ultra-premium offering we go all out: Choosing only the finest sun-grown cannabis and then flash-freezing it to preserve the highest possible proportion of aromatic terpenes. Inspired by the classic hand-rubbed charas-style hash of ancient India, we leverage our proprietary cold-water technique to produce a hash that has no equal.

How to Smoke Hash: Equipment

If you’re new to smoking hash, we have some good news. Not only does smoking hash offer an unbelievably potent and flavorful sensory experience, but it doesn’t strictly require specialized equipment. While we use this section to describe traditional and modern hash-smoking accessories, it’s completely fine to shave off tiny chips or shards of hash with a knife and add them to a standard bowl or joint.

That said, for maximum enjoyment, you may want to consider a small investment in a piece of purpose-made hash smoking gear. Here are some favorite options.

• The Hash Pipe: While similar to a standard hand pipe, this device features three small holes at the bowl's rim instead. That’s because hash tends to disintegrate as it burns. The hash pipe design prevents precious material from falling through the bottom of the bowl as it burns. You’ll enjoy maximum flavor and potency with little to no wasted product.
• The Chillum: First popularized in India some 300 years ago, the chillum spread to Africa and then west to the Americas, where it’s an essential part of Rastafarian rituals. Essentially a ceramic or stone “one-hitter,” the chillum adds an exotic and pleasurable twist to your hash smoking routine.
• The Water Pipe: Known throughout the ages as a hookah or shisha, the simple water pipe is believed to have originated either in Mughal India or the Safavid Dynasty of Persia around the 17th century. Simple and easy to use, it’s an elegant way to cool, purify, and inhale tobacco, hashish, or cannabis smoke.
• The Healthstone: This modern implement is designed to be used with a special miniaturized dab rig. While it’s essentially an inert stone on which to place a small amount of hash, its pumice-like texture allows melted hash to permeate the surface, making it easier to pass the miniature dab rig around (and share the joy of artisanal hash with your friends).

Maintaining Hash Smoking Equipment

No matter which of these options you choose—or even if you smoke from an ordinary hand pipe or bong—we’d love for you to be able to experience the full range of flavors and aromas in our premium offerings. That’s why we recommend you clean your smoking devices regularly.

If your smoking device becomes gunked up with resin, heat it gently and carefully scrape the resin with a bobby pin, wire brush, or similar implement (remember, glass can scratch!). If your device requires deeper cleaning, we recommend sealing it in a plastic baggie with appropriate tools and solvents, such as isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol—90% or higher—or plain white vinegar and a tablespoon or so of coarse salt.

Once the bag is sealed, gently swish the liquid and salt around your device, scrubbing gently with your fingertips until it’s clean once again. Rinse and carefully dry it, and it should be as good as new.

The Hash Smoking Experience

If you’re an experienced cannabis smoker, the experience of smoking hash shouldn’t catch you off guard, though there are a couple of key differences. For one thing, hash as refined as ours will deliver distinctly elevated aromatics and flavors, resulting in a uniquely powerful sensory experience. Depending on the specific varietal you’ve chosen, you’ll feel a compelling mix of relaxing, body-centered sensations or experience a more cerebrally stimulating “head high” that can invite you to ponder the very nature of the cosmos if that’s your thing.

A word on potency: Our chemical-free and proprietary cold-water process yields hashish of unusual purity, flavor, and potency. While the strongest cannabis flower tops at around 30-35% THC, hashish can reach potencies of 50% - 60% THC. As a result, the experience can be more intense than with even the highest potency cannabis flower.

Take your time to savor our hash, and remember: You can always have more hashish, but you can’t have less!

Explore a New Age of Hash with Nasha

At Nasha, we’re on a mission to bring back the ancient art of hash-making. If you’re interested in smoking hash, we’d love to introduce you to our exquisite handmade pressed hash “temple balls,” unpressed hash, and other artisan-grade products.

Of course, hash this good starts with the finest possible cannabis. That’s why we keep our supply chain short—it extends just 80 miles, encompassing California’s fabled “Emerald Triangle.” It’s an honor to partner with farmers who live and work close enough for us to call them neighbors, and we believe you can taste it in our exceptional pressed and unpressed hash. Find us at your local dispensary and start the journey today.