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Kif, Kef, Keef or kief refers to the loose, dried resin glands (or trichomes) of cannabis which may accumulate on containers, in grinders, or be removed with a kiefing screen or sieve. It is sometimes erroneously called pollen or crystal. Kief can be smoked in a number of ways, including using smoking pipes, bongs, or rolling papers (resulting in a joint). Kief contains a higher concentration of desirable psychoactive ingredients than ordinary preparations of cannabis buds from which it is derived.
The word kief comes from Farsi meaning "bag". The original way of preparing kief (for pressing into hashish) was to beat the cannabis plant against a cloth bag.
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Kief can be collected by brushing dried bud, which is covered with loose trichomes. The trichomes fall from the bud and can be seen as a gold powder, or kief. Another method of obtaining the trichomes is to rub the bud against a fine screen. (Trichomes may be inadvertently combined with small pieces of plant matter breaking off from the bud, reducing relative potency per weight.) Kief powder can be compressed into solid form, creating what is sometimes referred to as hashish which it resembles.
Cannabis may be stored in a container with a fine screen at the bottom. Such containers are often called kief-boxes or kief-catchers. Over time the agitation of storing and removing cannabis in this box will cause kief to accumulate in a compartment beneath the screen, where it can then be collected. Many grinders are also fitted with kief screens.
A vaporizer heats herb material to a subcombustion temperature, about 385°F., protecting against loss of delicate THC and eliminating carbon monoxide and other combustion toxins[1].
If the inner diameter of a screened smoking utensil (one-hitter) is narrow enough (i.d. = 1/4 inch or 6 mm.) and the user draws air slowly through a long extension tube, a minimum burning temperature can be achieved (as little as possible above 410°F.), protecting against waste of delicate cannabinol and preventing health damage. A mesh #40 screen should nest securely in the crater at 3/16th inch /5 mm. depth, permitting 25 mg. servings. This method can be almost as good as a vaporizer while requiring a less expensive device. Kief can, more wastefully, be rolled in a joint with cannabis, tobacco or other herbs. The narrower the joint is rolled, the lower a burning temperature can be achieved.[citation needed]
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