This is one of my favorite topics! And the answer is “no”, you don’t have to grind. It’s all about your expectations. If you change them a little, you might find stronger, tastier sessions with whole nugs.
Smoke or vape, doesn’t matter
Whether you smoke or vape, a grinder is not essential. Roll a blunt with hand torn weed. Pack a vape with whole nugs. All you need to do is alter what you expect, and you’ll dig it.
Whole nugs are tastier
You know what you leave behind in that grinder of yours? Lots of flavor. There are a lot of terps in that dust in your grinder, stuck to the sides and on the teeth. Everything in there could have made your session better.
Dare I say nugs are more potent?
For now, this is anecdotal, but I swear my sessions with whole nugs are a little more intense. But I’m talking about the end result. And it makes sense, for the same reason the sessions taste better. There’s a lot of goodies in that grinder that could have gotten you higher.
Change your expectations
This is key. If you’re addicted to that first big hit, then grind away. But if you prefer tastier, longer sessions, cram that nugget in there. With conduction vapes, you can just pack it full and tight. With convection vapes I like to manage things a little more. Either way, get ready for a few wispy hits at first, instead of just one or two. But the flavor will last longer, to make up for it.
The method
As I said, with conduction vapes, you can fill the oven with a nug and get to work without any more fuss. But with convection vapes, we have to direct the air flow into the nug, and crush it up as we go. I usually start by completely filling the oven so no air can work around the edges of the nug.
After a couple hits, if the vape is configured right, I like to flip the nugget over to freshen up the taste. After one or two more hits, I’ll take the nug back out, crush it up, and put it back in. But get ready…the next hit will be intense! From there it’s a normal session to the end.
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