It’s really starting to get chilly now and we are about a week or something away from Christmas. My favourite things about cold weather are wearing big jumpers, socks that have no business going that high up my legs, drinking red wine, and enjoying a hot drink with a little something extra in it. I mean hot drinks already create a general sense of wellbeing in your tummy but add to that a touch of the very best plant and you have something that will make you forget all about the fact that the world is imploding around you. Christmas is usually stressful for most of us, but again this year we have ended up with a sturdy reminder that the pandemic is far from over. Instead of thinking about that, let’s just go through some recipes for absolutely yummy hot cannabis drinks to enjoy this festive season. This will be the first of a two-parter as we will be going into detail about how to create your cannabis bases.
Cannabis Hot Chocolates
So the easiest way to make weed hot chocolate is to make a whole bunch of weed milk. Then you can add any hot chocolate you like to it to create what may definitely be the ultimate winter drink. Personally, I like peppermint hot chocolate the best, so dang festive.
Cannabis Milk
In order to make cannabis milk or whatever milk substitute you like, you’re going to need a minimum of two grams of weed per 500ml of milk. Whatever type of milk you’re using it’s best to use full fat as the cannabis bonds best to fat. Feel free to make a few batches at once as you can use cannabis milk for pretty much whatever you like. Here we are looking at hot chocolate but you can use it in tea, coffee, maybe a cheeky White Russian.
The first step is decarboxylating your weed, as usual. If you haven’t done this before you will need to break your weed into small chunks and pop them on a baking tray covered in baking paper. The oven shouldn’t be much higher than 105 degrees C and you should only put the weed chunks in for 30 – 40 minutes. After about half the time make sure you move the buds around so they don’t burn. Once they are done you should grind the weed up nice and fine to really release all that lovely THC.
Then you’re going to put your milk into a pan with all of that lovely decarboxylated weed. Keep them on low heat and simmer them together for a further 30 – 45 minutes. This will allow the THC molecules you’ve brought out in decarboxylation to bind to the fat in your milk. Again make sure it doesn’t burn and keep a constant eye on it.
Once it’s done let it cool before straining it. The best method is to use cheesecloth because it won’t let any of the tiny fine bits of cannabis slip through. Then that’s it, you have your milk that you can add some hot chocolate powder to. Maybe some marshmallows, whipped cream, get creative with it. Then get ready to enjoy the most relaxing hot chocolate you’ve ever tasted.
Cannabis Herbal Tea
If you aren’t much of a milk person do not fret, there are plenty of other ways to infuse cannabis into your favourite hot drinks. Just like with the last recipe you need to decarboxylate your cannabis. However, if you don’t want to use any dairy then you might need to purchase or make a cannabis tincture. I’ll go through how to make one just in case you’re feeling it.
Tinctures are fantastic for all sorts of cannabis cooking and they make adding weed to drinks and so on extremely easy. Once you have your tincture it will last for ages as you only need a few drops per use. You’ll need around 3.5 grams of weed for a basic tincture as well as 120ml of high proof alcohol like Everclear.
Grind up your decarboxylated weed and put it into a glass jar that can be completely sealed. Pop the alcohol in, seal it, give it a shake, then pop it into a cool dry place to do its thing. I would recommend leaving it for at least a day and making sure if you leave it longer you keep shaking it. When it’s done you need to strain the mixture through a cheesecloth just like the milk, but you want to do it twice this time, and store it in dark dropper bottles. Now you’re ready to make your tea.
It’s really as easy as choosing your favourite time of herbal tea and just adding 2 – 3 drops of your tincture before stirring carefully. However, if you also want to make tea from scratch I have a great recipe.
This is an immune system boosting tea, so perfect for not only this weather but the old pandemic.
You’ll need:
- Dried Elderberries
- Rosehips
- Cinnamon Chips
- Ginger Root
All you need to do is place your herbs into a jar and fill the jar with boiling water. Then just cover the jar and allow it to steep for about 45 minutes. Once it is infused you can strain out the solid herbs and you will have a delicious tea that’s amazing for your immune system. Then just take a few drops of your tincture, stir it in, and there you have another cosy cannabis drink perfect for winter. There are loads of amazing homemade tea recipes online and it’s fun because while you’re making them you get to feel like a witch or an old-timey herbalist. I suggest wearing a cape or at least some sort of lovely shawl.
That’s all I can fit into part one, see you for part two when we will have a look at coffee as well as a few alcoholic hot drinks that you can also add weed to if you’re feeling extra.
Written by Tasha Porritt.
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