Cultivating high -end cannabis isn’t just about how you grow—the steps you take once the plant has been chopped down are as important, if not more important, than the growth process itself. That is why our 7ACRES team is so dedicated to our post-harvest process, as our flowers must be treated with the utmost care and diligence. This is another component in our ongoing quest to produce the best possible cannabis for our community. We call this the ‘finishing process’ also known as post-harvest and processing. We go above and beyond during this final process—making decisions that are more costly and require more diligence- but which ensure our resulting product delivers uncompromised experiences!
The drying process is a critical step during post-harvest and is directly correlated with the end quality of our product. High-end cannabis isn’t just correlated with how you grow it. If this step is done hastily and without sincere care, the resulting cannabis quality can be negatively affected. If you’ve ever tasted cannabis that smells and tastes like hay, grass or other unpleasant aromatic notes, it is likely the drying process was rushed.
At 7ACRES’ Kincardine facility, drying cannabis is a natural process; one that we know takes time and careful effort to get right. We know that in order to retain its pungent aroma and robust flavour, the cannabis finishing process needs to take it slow.
As you likely know, tray drying and hang drying are the two most common cannabis drying methods. Many other producers tray dry their cannabis flower in as little as three days. 7ACRES whole plant hang-dries our plants for a minimum of ten days. Whole plant hang drying is a natural curing process that allows the plant to dry slowly and consistently. This method provides the entire harvest the space, air flow, temperature, humidity, and time needed to dry and allow the plants’ moisture levels to balance. The whole plant slow-dry process (done in cold temperatures) helps to retain the plant’s volatile terpenes, and breaks down sugars in the plants; which improves the aroma, flavour and quality of smoke. Temperature and humidity greatly influence drying times. Our hybrid grow facility has meticulous environmental controls that help to maintain terpene growth in our flowers. Some terpenes degrade at high or even moderately high temperatures. We ensure every drying room is temperature and moisture controlled to ensure a consistently cool temperature and balanced humidity.
Terpenes are truly fascinating creations of nature in their ability to express complex aromas. 7ACRES is dedicated to processes that protect our precious terpenes, and we understand that this takes substantial time and requires consistency. Our team is always considering the terpenes during the drying process: as it is during this stage wherein the terpenes define themselves The most common terpenes found in our cannabis are as follows:
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- Myrcene: also prominent in hops and lemongrass, it has spicy, herb-like, earthy, musky aromatics
- Caryophyllene: it gives a spicy, peppery kick to some cannabis cultivars, it is also found in other plants like cloves, rosemary, oregano, and black pepper
- Limonene: it has clean, fresh, citrusy aromatics, it is also found in the rinds of citrus fruits and ginger; and is the prominent terpene in cannabis cultivars that have fruity aromas
- Myrcene: also prominent in hops and lemongrass, it has spicy, herb-like, earthy, musky aromatics
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Terpenes offer cannabis its unique variety of aromas, whilst also playing a role in affecting therapeutic and mood-altering effects in the cannabis user. The terpene yield of a plant depends on numerous factors such as whether it is an indoor/outdoor grow, growing methods, light exposure, temperatures, nutrients, harvest times, etc.
Terpenes are integral to high-end cannabis. They give the flower its pungent aroma and full-bodied flavour, and they essentially maximize the experience of the plant. The pungent aroma and high-quality taste which you recognize as a high-end cannabis cultivar, is a result of terpenes. The Terpene profile (among other factors) also characterizes a specific cultivar and phenotype.
Once our plants are sufficiently dried, and our terpenes preserved, we move on to trimming. At 7ACRES, we stay away from wet trimming and quicker drying methods. After we have completed the whole plant hang dry process and removed flowers from their stems, they are ready to be trimmed. While we do utilize a light machine trim – part of our ongoing challenge to balance scale and quality – every single one of our buds goes through a stringent Quality Assurance inspection to ensure it stands up to our relentless quality standards. We never wet trim, as when you put scissor gashes in fresh flowers, it causes them to have multiple places to oxidize prematurely (i.e. dry out). This releases chlorophyll on the flower, which can result in grass-like aromas that in turn affects the quality of the buds.
After passing our rigorous QA inspection, our beautiful buds are hand polished to ensure they are carefully manicured, and free of any extra leaf or plant material. Yes, it takes us a lot more time and energy to hang-dry and hand polish, but this is all part of a process designed to Respect the Plant. Our flower is then packaged as quickly as possible to ensure maximum freshness for our beloved community who await their trusted 7ACRES cultivars!
When we say we Accept Nothing Less, we aren’t just talking a big game. We truly Respect the Plant by ensuring that we never rush any part of production. Not only do we take it slow —patiently waiting for our beautiful buds to dry naturally and evenly–we pay attention to every little detail at every stage of the finishing process. As a passionate cannabis producer, we have become trusted for the careful processes we enact. And we are continually assessing, innovating, and improving them—all for our cannabis community and the future ideal of the plant.
