Curing: What Happens After a Hemp Flower Has Dried

A freshly dried CBD hemp flower has not yet completed its development. After drying comes another step: curing. This period allows moisture levels to stabilize and the flower’s aromatic characteristics to gradually develop.

Things to remember

• Drying quickly reduces the water content in the plant; curing then takes place to gradually stabilize the material.
• Burping is the practice of regularly opening the container during aging to refresh the air and remove excess moisture.
• The curing time varies depending on the flower and storage conditions.

Drying and curing are two different steps

Drying takes place immediately after harvest and is intended to gradually reduce the plant's moisture content so that the material is dry enough to be stored.

Curing, on the other hand, takes place after this initial phase. In French, this is generally referred toas “affinage.” At this stage, the flower may appear dry on the outside, but its moisture content is not necessarily distributed perfectly evenly throughout the various parts of the plant material. Curing then allows moisture exchange to continue gradually within the stored product.

What is this famous “burping”?

The term “burping” literally means “letting the container burp.” During curing, the flowers are stored in a sealed container. The container can be opened periodically to refresh the air and allow some of the moisture that has accumulated inside the container to escape.

The frequency of ventilation depends, among other things, on the condition of the flowers, their moisture content, and storage conditions. If the flowers are still relatively moist, the need for air exchange may be greater. As the balance stabilizes, ventilation can become less frequent.

How long does the curing process take?

The duration depends on many factors: variety, flower structure, moisture content after drying, storage conditions, packaging, and the desired result. The aging process can last several weeks, and some traditional methods take much longer.

Curing is therefore not simply a period defined by a schedule. In professional production, measurements of moisture content and water activity, along with microbiological analyses, provide much more reliable information than a simple number of days when determining how long this stage should last.

What's going on with the flavors?

After harvesting, the aromatic compounds present in the plant may change during drying and subsequent storage. Drying too quickly or improper storage conditions can lead to the loss of certain volatile compounds.

During curing, the flavor profile can therefore gradually change. Certain particularly pronounced vegetal notes may become less prominent, while the aromatic characteristics specific to the variety may manifest differently.

But curing does not create new flavors; rather, it primarily facilitates the chemical and physical changes that occur in the fruit after harvest.

How does this affect combustion?

Curing is also often associated with a change in the way the flower behaves when smoked.

A flower that has been properly dried and stabilized may burn more evenly than one that still contains too much moisture.

Conversely, a flower that is too damp may burn poorly, go out more easily, or produce smoke with a higher concentration of particles resulting from incomplete combustion.

A flower that is too dry can also cause other problems because it becomes brittle and can burn very quickly.

I would like to remind you, however, that combustion itself produces undesirable compounds, regardless of curing. Curing therefore does not make combustion safe. It can only alter the physical properties of the plant material and its behavior when burned.

Curing is no substitute for proper storage

Once the aging process is complete, the work isn't entirely finished, as the flower remains sensitive to its environment.

Moisture, heat, light, and oxygen can continue to gradually alter its properties during storage. Using a suitable container that is properly sealed and stored under stable conditions helps minimize these changes.