The cannabis plant is covered in resinous glands called trichomes, which contain THC, CBD, terpenes, and other compounds. Trichomes look like crystals. When these trichomes dry and break off of the plant, they become kief.

Kief is usually darker than trichomes, ranging from gold to brown. It’s a powdery substance that is somewhat sticky, though less so than trichomes on a bud. Another name for kief is “pollen.”

The powder is commonly collected in grinders, which are used to break down cannabis into small, even pieces for rolling or to pack bowls. Grinders usually have a separate chamber at the bottom called a kief catcher for this purpose.

Kief can be added to bowls or joints for an added kick. It can also be pressed into hash.

Sprinkle kief onto a bowl of cannabis:

Also known as “crowning a bowl,” this is the most common way to use kief, and it will increase the potency of any bowl.

Corner your hits to get the most out of a kief-topped bowl, which entails burning a small quadrant of the bowl at a time as opposed to the whole thing, so you can enjoy multiple hits.

Sprinkle kief into a joint or roll a twax joint:

When rolling a joint, blunt, or spliff, you can pepper your mix with a healthy pinch of kief. This is a great way to use pollen for an extra kick.

You can also “twax” a joint—dampen the outside of a joint with a lick and roll the top 1/3 of the joint in some kief.

Make hash from kief:

Hash is one of the oldest forms of cannabis extract. To make hash, collect kief pollen and press it into bricks.

You can also roll kief into balls, called charas, and smoke it.

Pressing kief usually darkens its color, and the more pressure you apply, the darker the hash becomes.

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