Ice Water Hash: A Pure, Simple and Solventless Cannabis Concentrate

Not all ancient products have stood the test of time. You don’t see many hourglasses or feather pens these days, for instance. But others have not only endured but even improved. And we believe that hashish is one of the tastiest examples around.

At its core, hashish is a pure and simple cannabis product, but in today’s modern cannabis market there are many different ways to prepare and enjoy hashish. Today we’ll break down one type of hashish: ice water hash.

Whereas hash was the world’s first cannabis concentrate—a durable and shelf-stable product that spread westward from India and Persia to become a legend of the ancient world—ice water hash is a modern-day refinement. By using a gentle cold- water process to separate the potent trichomes from cannabis flower, a far higher proportion of flavorful terpenes are retained. The result is a product of incomparable flavor—and the fullest expression of a centuries-old art.

If you’ve been wanting to know more about ice water hash but haven’t known where to begin, you’re in the perfect place. In today’s post, we’ll answer such questions as:

• What is ice water hash?
• How is ice water hash made?
• How do you distinguish among grades of ice water hash?
• How do you use ice water hash?

Are you ready? Let’s begin.

The Story of Ice Water Hash

Ice water hash—sometimes known as “cold water hash” or “bubble hash”—is a simple solution to an age-old problem. When the ancient farmers of present-day India and Pakistan began growing cannabis many centuries ago, they found that the plant didn’t stand up well to the long journeys needed to bring their crops to far-off trading centers.

And yet centuries before the invention of the microscope, they suspected that the secret of the cannabis plant’s potency lay in its trichomes, the tiny glands that appear as a layer of silvery dust on high-quality cannabis flower. Once they’d learned to separate and concentrate those tiny glands, they created hashish, the world’s very first cannabis concentrate.

When this process was discovered, roughly 1,000 years ago, those trichomes were hand-rubbed into spheres called charas, which are the inspiration behind our signature “temple balls.” Later, around the 15th century, the introduction of dry-sifting changed hashmaking forever. For the first time those trichomes could be collected, sieved, and stored for later use. Soon the production of hashish had spread throughout the Far and Middle East and beyond, becoming an important commodity in the process.

Still, it took a very modern-day insight—that using cold water could improve the extraction, purity, and flavor of traditional hash—to bring this timeless product into the modern age.

How Is Ice Water Hash Made? A Close-Up Look

If you’re curious about cannabis concentrates, you may have learned about the two primary means for making them: “solvent-based” and “solventless” extraction. And we humbly believe that the proprietary cold-water method we’ve developed here at Nasha is the best way yet to produce the purest and most flavorful of hash without the use of any chemical solvents whatsoever. Here’s how it works.

While cold water hash is functionally similar to traditional pressed hash, there’s an important distinction. Using cold water to separate the trichomes from cannabis flower preserves an unusually high proportion of terpenes, the aromatic compounds that contribute the majority of a given cannabis strain’s characteristic flavors and aromas.

It’s an elegantly simple process: When it’s sufficiently chilled by ice water, the trichome head—where the cannabis plant produces the majority of its potent cannabinoids and terpenes—separates more easily from the stalk than it normally would. From there, a series of very fine filters removes the bulk of the lipids, plant matter and other unwanted compounds. The result is a hash of incomparable flavor and purity.

Is Ice Water Hash the Same as Bubble Hash?

The terms ice water hash and bubble hash are often used interchangeably, but where does the name “bubble hash” come from? When it’s heated and melts, bubble hash releases tiny bubbles—a visual clue that it’s an especially potent and purified product.

Ice Water Hash: Understanding Grades

Not every hashmaker offers different grades of hash, but here at Nasha we offer several different grades, each distinguished by the concept of “melt.”

In simplest terms, melt refers to the proportion of a hash product that vaporizes into smoke when heated. The higher the melt, the greater the purity. When it comes to hashish, purity refers to the ratio of oil to plant matter. Less plant matter means higher purity and a higher melt, with less plant residue left behind when it’s enjoyed. The higher the melt, the higher the grade.

While we stand behind all our hash products, for those seeking a premium experience we recommend our superior grades: Blue and Onyx Pressed, or Orange Unpressed. You can learn all about them at our Hash Grades page.

How to Use Ice Water Hash

If ice water or bubble hash is an unusual product in some regards, in others it’s refreshingly straightforward. That’s because it can be enjoyed in all the ways traditional hash and unpressed hash can be consumed. Here are a few of the most popular.

The Hash Pipe: Similar to a standard hand pipe, this device is optimized to prevent precious material from falling through the bottom of the bowl.

The Chillum: First popularized in India some 300 years ago, the chillum is essentially a ceramic or stone “one-hitter.”

The Water Pipe: Known throughout the ages as a hookah or shisha, the water pipe is an elegant way to cool, purify, and inhale tobacco, hashish, or cannabis smoke.

The Vaporizer: This modern implement heats hash or other concentrates to the point at which the cannabinoids and terpenes are released into a cooling mist rather than potentially irritating smoke. On that note, we produce our own exquisite hash rosin pens here at Nasha.

Want to deepen the journey? Learn more at our explainer on Hash Consumption Methods.

Enjoy California’s Favorite Hash from Nasha

As we hope we’ve made clear, ice water hash is a refinement of classic hash that’s worth seeking out. Making use of a simple and elegant cold-water process, it preserves a higher-than-average proportion of flavorful terpenes. The result is a product of truly exceptional flavor, purity, and potency.

If today’s post has sparked your curiosity about cold water hash and you’d like to see what all the fuss is about, we’d love to help! Whether it’s our pressed and unpressed hash, live and cured rosin vapes, or our new ultra-premium Onyx Label pressed live hash, each boasts an incomparable richness and depth of flavor, and you can find the closest retailer by using our handy Store Locator. And don't forget to sign up for Nasha Rewards so you can earn rewards on any Nasha product you purchase in California!

Want to know more about hash’s historic journey? Visit our blog, where you’ll find in-depth articles on topics like Solventless Extraction, Kief vs Hash, and the intriguing Story Behind Live Rosin.