To smoke bubble hash, match the method to the grade. Full melt bubble, 5 and 6 star, dabs clean: a small dab at a low temperature and a slow pull. Lower grades leave residue on a nail, so smoke them on top of flower in a bowl, roll them into a joint, or press them into rosin first.
Bubble hash grade decides how to smoke it
Bubble hash grade decides how to smoke it, because only clean hash melts. Hash makers grade it on a star scale by how it behaves under heat:
| Grade | Under heat | Best way to smoke it |
|---|---|---|
| 6 and 5 star | Melts completely, little or no residue | Dab it or vape it |
| 4 and 3 star | Melts partly, leaves residue | Bowl or joint, or press it into rosin |
| 2 and 1 star | Barely melts, chars | Cook with it |
Can you dab bubble hash?
Yes, you can dab bubble hash, as long as it melts. When dabs first took off, the word meant butane oil, and hash makers like Bubbleman pushed back that water hash dabs too. A 5 or 6 star bubble melts away on a hot surface; a 3 star leaves a crust behind and tastes burnt. That burnt leftover is what Bubbleman calls chaz, and his sign of six star is that there isn’t any. More on what makes hash melt in full melt hash.
How to dab bubble hash
How to dab bubble hash, step by step (the general method for any concentrate is in how to dab):
- Check the grade.
Put a crumb on a hot tool and watch it. If it bubbles and turns to liquid, dab it; if it chars, smoke it another way.
- Set a low temperature.
Bubbleman calls 400 °F (about 205 °C) a low temperature dab. Hotter hits burn off the terpenes; as he puts it, you can taste the destruction.
- Take a small dab.
Pick up a crumb about the size of a grain of rice on your dab tool. Bubble is fluffy, so press it lightly onto the tool.
- Drop it and pull slowly.
Touch it to the hot surface, cap it if your rig has a cap, and draw slowly while it melts.
- Clean up while it’s warm.
Wipe the bowl or banger with a cotton swab. Good full melt leaves almost nothing to wipe.
Bubble hash in a Puffco
You can put bubble hash in a Puffco, and Bubbleman does: he dabs six star in his Puffco and says it cleans up perfectly. Load a small amount, use a low heat setting and wipe the bowl with a cotton swab afterward. People worry that melt will ruin the atomizer; he just swabs it out.
From the archive: Bubbleman on dabbing bubble
From the archive, Bubbleman on dabbing bubble in his own words, from three live Sunday shows. Tap a time to hear that moment.
Season 12, Episode 15, The Edibles Episode, with Marigold Sweets and Space Gems
You can dab water hash, you can dab ice wax, bubble hash, whatever you want to call it. And so we had this like, I’m the bubble hash guy, Matt’s the ice wax guy…
On when dabs meant butane
Season 12, Episode 19, Live from The Reserve, Denver
I dab melt in mine, but I’ve got six star… I see people like, oh, that’ll [mess] up my atomizer. I’m like, how?… You just wipe it out with a Q-tip, and it seems to work fine for me.
On melt in a Puffco
I was smoking some six star in my Puffco yesterday and it did not chaz. It cleaned up perfectly.
On six star that leaves nothing behindI love it because it doesn’t chaz bad. It’s just liquid I can scoop up, which is really… that’s six star, you know.
On what six star does in the bowl
Smoking bubble hash in a bowl or joint
Smoking bubble hash in a bowl or a joint is the best use for the grades that don’t melt. Sprinkle it over packed flower and light the edge, or crumble it along the flower in a joint. Bubbleman’s favorite trick for lower grade bubble is a thick snake of it down the middle of a joint, which is what a hash hole is.
Pressing bubble hash into rosin first
Pressing bubble hash into rosin first turns grades that won’t dab into something that will. Heat and pressure push the oil out through a filter bag and leave the plant matter behind. Most rosin is pressed from 4 and 5 star hash, Bubbleman says, while true full melt presses almost entirely into rosin. The method is in hash rosin.
Questions about smoking bubble hash
Questions about smoking bubble hash, answered short:
Can you dab bubble hash?
Yes, you can dab bubble hash if it melts. 5 and 6 star bubble dabs clean, while lower grades leave residue and are better in a bowl or pressed into rosin.
What temperature should you dab bubble hash at?
Dab bubble hash at a low temperature: Bubbleman calls 400 °F (about 205 °C) a low temperature dab. Much hotter and you burn off the flavor.
Can you dab bubble hash in a Puffco?
Yes, you can dab bubble hash in a Puffco. Bubbleman dabs six star in his and wipes the bowl with a cotton swab afterward.
Can you smoke bubble hash in a joint?
Yes, you can smoke bubble hash in a joint: crumble it along the flower, or roll it into a snake down the middle.
Why does my bubble hash leave residue when I dab it?
Bubble hash leaves residue when you dab it if it isn’t clean enough to melt: the plant matter in it chars instead. Smoke that grade in a bowl or press it into rosin.
Sources for this guide to smoking bubble hash
Sources for this guide to smoking bubble hash:
- Dab vocab: the concentrates glossary, on full melt and the star scale, Leaf magazines
- Hash Church Season 12, Episode 17: Bubbleman on low temperature dabs, Buzzsprout
- Hash Church Season 12, Episode 33: most rosin pressed from 4 and 5 star hash, Buzzsprout
- Hash Church Season 12, Episodes 15, 19 and 25: Bubbleman dabbing bubble hash, linked above
- Full melt rips on a ceramic insert, Bubbleman’s World on YouTube