Hashish has lengthy been judged on the level of cultivation. Genetics, lighting, vitamins, and environmental controls dominate the dialog. But the ultimate character of the plant, its taste, stability, and industrial worth, is set after it leaves the develop room.
David Sandelman, CTO and co-founder of Cannatrol, has spent his profession working in industries the place that actuality is taken as a right. Wine, cheese, and dry-aged meats are outlined by post-harvest self-discipline. Hashish, he argues, continues to be catching up.
“A vineyard is principally all about post-harvest,” Sandelman mentioned. “That business spends 90 plus capital on constructing a vineyard post-harvest. After which we get into hashish, and it’s an afterthought within the closet fairly often.”
That imbalance is starting to shift as authorized markets mature. The buyer is changing into extra discerning. Operators are dealing with tighter margins and the science behind drying, curing, and storage is transferring from instinct to repeatable programs.
Meals Science to Hashish
Cannatrol’s origin story sits exterior the normal hashish arc. Sandelman and his group started as engineers working in meals science.
“We initially developed a know-how for the cheese business, which then moved into charcuterie and dry aged meats,” he mentioned. “It was that aha second. Gee, would this work for a hashish flower?”
The underlying ideas translated immediately. Shelf stability, moisture migration, and water exercise govern whether or not a product holds its high quality or degrades. Hashish flower presents the identical variables, simply in a special type issue.
The primary prototype was a check, however the response was instant.
“And every week or two later, they mentioned, ‘That is a few of the best flower they ever produced,’” in keeping with Sandelman.
That suggestions triggered a deeper dive into the mechanics of post-harvest hashish. Terpene retention, trichome integrity, and yield preservation turned measurable outcomes, eschewing anecdotal claims primarily based on style assessments solely.
Controlling the Variables
Conventional hashish drying depends on environmental biking. Air conditioners and dehumidifiers take away moisture in bursts, typically overshooting the goal. Operators intervene manually, transferring product, burping containers, or adjusting situations to keep away from overdrying or mould.
Sandelman sees that course of as essentially unstable.
“Each time they cycle on, the vapor strain drops, it removes moisture from the product, and that’s a steady course of,” he mentioned. “If you happen to go away the flower in a room with air conditioners and dehumidifiers, it’s going to dry it to mud.”
Cannatrol’s strategy facilities on sustaining fixed vapor strain. As an alternative of forcing moisture out, the system permits the flower to achieve equilibrium.
“What we do is we keep a relentless vapor strain within the house in order that it’s continually drying till it will get to equilibrium after which stops drying as a result of it’s at equilibrium,” he defined.
The Economics of Moisture
Hashish, like cheese and meat, is bought by weight. Each proportion level of moisture misplaced past the optimum vary is product that can’t be bought.
“If you happen to overdry the product, you degrade the standard… and likewise you’re dropping income,” Sandelman mentioned. “That’s cash coming proper off your prime line.”
That is the place engineering and economics merge. A managed dry and remedy course of protects each the sensory profile and the underside line. The business is beginning to acknowledge that connection, significantly as margins tighten and competitors will increase throughout mature markets.
Rethinking Requirements
One of many extra technical, and consequential, debates in hashish regulation facilities on how product stability is measured.
Most jurisdictions depend on % moisture. Sandelman argues that metric is inadequate.
“Undoubtedly the % moisture ought to be finished away with, and it ought to simply be about water exercise as a result of it’s water exercise that determines when mould and microbes can develop,” he mentioned.
Water exercise measures the provision of free water that may assist microbial development. It’s a customary used throughout meals science. In hashish, it gives a extra correct image of shelf stability.
“What we’re discovering and studying is that the % moisture will differ primarily based on the cultivar,” he added.
That variability creates danger. A one-size-fits-all moisture goal can result in underdrying in a single pressure and overdrying in one other. Water exercise gives a constant benchmark throughout cultivars. As authorized markets mature, these sorts of technical changes are more likely to form each compliance frameworks and product high quality.
The dialog round post-harvest inevitably loops again to the business’s origins. Earlier than legalization, high quality management was inconsistent at greatest. Storage situations have been unknown and contaminants have been widespread.
“Let’s return to the previous days once you have been getting bricks out of Mexico with stems, seeds, twigs, and every part else,” Sandelman mentioned. “Who is aware of what sort of chemical compounds they have been utilizing… you had no concept.”
Legalization has launched testing, traceability, and baseline requirements. The product is cleaner, safer, and extra constant.
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Extending High quality to Retail
Packaging is just one step in post-harvest. Storage on the retail degree is rising as a important management level.
“You’ll by no means manufacture ice cream after which ship it to a retailer who leaves them out on the shelf in a non-refrigerated house,” Sandelman mentioned.
Hashish has traditionally finished simply that. Product strikes via distribution and sits in dispensary vaults underneath inconsistent situations. By the point it reaches the buyer, the unique high quality has degraded. Managed storage programs are beginning to shut that hole.
“Once I purchase the identical flower from the identical producer at different dispensaries, it isn’t pretty much as good as once I purchase it at your dispensary,” Sandelman recalled from buyer suggestions.
That commentary reframes the retail atmosphere as a part of the manufacturing chain. High quality is maintained, or misplaced, all the way in which to the purpose of sale.
A Extra Knowledgeable Shopper
For years, the hashish market has been pushed by a single quantity. THC proportion dominated packaging, advertising, and buying selections. That’s lastly starting to vary.
“The buyer goes to get away from, ‘give me your highest THC,’” Sandelman mentioned. “Individuals are going to begin understanding the terpene profile, taste, style, much more.”
This shift aligns with broader traits in meals and beverage. Customers are transferring towards complexity, nuance, and expertise. Hashish is following an identical trajectory. Put up-harvest performs a central function in that evolution. Terpenes are risky and taste is fragile. With out managed drying and storage, these attributes degrade shortly.
As shoppers change into extra educated, the market will reward operators who can protect these traits.
Scaling Throughout Markets
Cannatrol’s latest enlargement into Europe, partnering with Dutch Backyard Provides highlights adaptability as one other dimension of post-harvest know-how. Germany’s social membership mannequin favors smaller-scale cultivation. Different markets could lean towards medical manufacturing underneath strict GMP requirements. Every framework requires completely different infrastructure.
“Every nation goes to be completely different how they roll out,” Sandelman mentioned.
The widespread thread is consistency. Whether or not the system is serving a house grower or a pharmaceutical-grade facility, the expectation is identical. The product ought to carry out predictably.
That expectation is pushing the business towards standardized processes, whilst rules differ throughout jurisdictions.
