Hash is cannabis resin: the plant’s tiny, sticky resin glands, called trichomes, collected and pressed or worked into a solid. The main types are sieved hash from Morocco, Afghanistan and Lebanon, hand-rubbed charas from India and Nepal, and bubble hash, which is washed out in ice water. Each method leaves its own mark on colour, texture and aroma.
This guide covers how each type is made, how it looks and feels and where its name comes from, plus yellow hash, pollen and stamped hash. Double and triple filtered hash has a guide of its own.
What are the main types of hash?
Most hash is made in one of three ways: sieved from dried plants, rubbed by hand from living ones, or separated in ice water. Traditional names usually point to where a style comes from.
Moroccan hash
Moroccan hash comes mainly from the Rif mountains in northern Morocco. Dried plants are beaten over a fine cloth stretched across a basin, and the resin powder that falls through is heated and pressed into slabs.
It is typically light to mid brown, sometimes with a greenish or golden tinge, and ranges from hard and brittle to soft. The aroma is usually mild and herbal, gentler than most other styles. Locally, kif is the Moroccan name for cannabis itself.
Afghan hash
Afghan hash is sieved first, then warmed and kneaded by hand, often with a splash of water or tea, until the resin turns soft and pliable. The result is dark: near black on the outside and brown or greenish inside, with a soft, slightly elastic feel.
The aroma is rich and spicy. Traditional Afghan hash comes from plants grown around the Hindu Kush mountains, a region closely tied to indica. Our guide to indica, sativa and hybrid labels explains the link.
Lebanese hash
Lebanese hash comes from the Bekaa Valley. The plants are dried and sieved, and the powder is pressed in cloth bags into thick, firm slabs that are brittle rather than bendy.
It comes in two colours. Red Lebanese is made from plants left in the field until they ripen to a reddish brown, while yellow Lebanese, also called blonde, is made from plants harvested earlier. Both tend to have a spicy, fresh aroma.
Charas
Charas is hand-rubbed hash, and the local name for hashish in North India and Nepal. Instead of drying the plants, makers rub the living flowers between their palms and gather the resin that builds up on their hands.
It is dark brown to almost black, soft and sticky, and closer to modelling putty than a pressed block. Because the plant is never dried, charas tends to keep a rich, spicy aroma, sometimes with sweet or floral notes. In India it is often rolled into sticks, while Nepal is known for glossy, hand-rolled temple balls.
Bubble hash
Bubble hash is made with ice water. Plants are stirred in icy water so the trichomes freeze, turn brittle and snap off. They sink and are filtered through a stack of ever finer mesh bags, which collect the resin before it is dried.
It ranges from pale blonde to brown, with a texture anywhere from dry and sandy to soft and fudgy, and it is often very aromatic. The name comes from the way good bubble hash bubbles and foams when heated, and the cleanest grade, known as full melt, melts away almost completely.
Dry sift
Dry sift is sieved resin in its simplest form. Dried flower is rubbed over a series of fine screens until mostly resin glands are left, and the golden powder can be kept loose or pressed into hash. Its aroma follows the strain it was sifted from.
The name is literal: it is sifted dry, with no water or solvents. Loose dry sift is the same material many people know as kief, which our guide to moon rocks and kief covers in more detail.
What is yellow hash?
Yellow hash is a colour description rather than one fixed type. It means a pale, golden hash, and the classic example is yellow Lebanese, also called blonde, made from plants harvested before they fully ripen. The term also covers other light sieved hash, such as fresh dry sift and the finest Moroccan grades.
The pale shade points to fresh resin, little plant material and gentle pressing, as air, light, heat and firm pressing all darken hash.
That makes colour a clue, not a grade. A darker block is not automatically weaker, and how hash was made and stored matters more than its shade.
What is pollen hash?
Pollen is a name for soft, light brown hash that has only been gently pressed, usually in the Moroccan style. The word is also used loosely for kief.
Despite the name, it contains no pollen. Like every hash, it is made from resin glands, so botanically speaking the name is simply wrong.
Why is some hash stamped with a logo?
Some hash is sold pressed into slabs that carry a stamp, such as an emblem, a number or a copied logo. Traditionally the stamp was a maker’s mark, a way for producers to show whose batch a slab came from.
Today a stamp says nothing reliable about quality. The marks are not standardised, they change from season to season, and a design can be copied as easily as it is pressed. The type of hash, how it was made and how fresh it is tell you far more than the picture on top.
How do the types of hash compare?
| Type | How it is made | Look and feel | Aroma |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moroccan | Dried plants beaten over cloth, then heated and pressed | Light to mid brown, hard to soft | Mild and herbal |
| Afghan | Sieved, then warmed and kneaded by hand | Near black outside, soft and pliable | Rich and spicy |
| Lebanese | Sieved, then pressed in cloth bags | Red-brown or yellow, firm and brittle | Spicy and fresh |
| Charas | Rubbed by hand from living plants | Dark brown to black, soft and sticky | Rich and spicy, sometimes sweet |
| Bubble hash | Separated in ice water through mesh bags | Blonde to brown, sandy to fudgy | Often very aromatic |
| Dry sift | Rubbed over fine screens, kept loose or pressed | Golden powder or a pressed block | Follows the strain used |
What does hash smell like?
Most hash smells spicy or herbal, with sweet or floral notes in some styles. Those scents come from terpenes, the same aromatic compounds behind the smell of flower, and our guide to cannabis terpenes explains the main ones.
How should you store hash?
Keep hash in an airtight container somewhere cool, dry and dark, and out of the reach of children and pets. Air, heat and light all darken hash and dull its aroma over time.
Common questions
What is the difference between hash and kief?
Kief is the loose powder of resin glands. Hash is resin that has been pressed or worked into a solid. Our moon rocks and kief guide goes deeper on kief.
Is charas the same as hash?
Yes. Charas is a type of hash, made by rubbing resin from living plants by hand rather than sieving it from dried ones.
Why is some hash darker than others?
Hand-rubbed and kneaded styles such as charas and Afghan are naturally dark, and any hash darkens with firm pressing, heat, air and age.
What does double or triple filtered mean?
It tells you how many times the resin was sieved before pressing. Our filtered hash guide explains the difference.
Where does the word hash come from?
Hash is short for hashish, which comes from an Arabic word for dried grass or hemp.
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