How is CBD Made From Seed To You

How is CBD made – There is more involved then you might think or have been told. Many people seem to think that it is grown extracted, mixed with a oil and dumped into a bottle to sell.

Let’s start at the seed.

A farmer needs to use the correct seed so it grows with an under 0.3 THC amount. But if you are in a legal state you may grow it with a little higher amount and then just blend it later to drop the THC amount to under 0.3. You would have to see each state’s laws for that

So after it is grown it is harvested. Harvesting time is around Oct and the first part of November each year. Some CBD flower the buds you see people smoking are grown year-round inside greenhouses or buildings. Growing like this keeps pesticides away making for a better smokable plant and experience.

The hemp needs to be dried out after harvest the best way is by hanging it upside down.

Most hemp that is used for making CBD is what many call biomass. The flower parts are cut off trimmed and sold for smoking and other products. The rest of the plant is stripped down and sold in large bundles.

Who is buying it?

Farmers can sell it in many ways or work with it themselves. Here are a few examples

• Framer grows it and sends it to an extraction company to be turned into an oil and then the farmers try to sell the oil on the open market.
• Famer has a deal with an extract company that buys it all and then the extraction company turns it into a oil to sell on the open market.
• The farmer sells it to a buyer who then shippes it to an extraction company and then they take the oil and sell it or use it to make products they sell.
• The farmer has a deal with a manufacturer and they buy it all and ship it to an extraction company to be made into oil. Or they may do it themselves. They then use the oil to make products they sell and to be sold for many different brands they work with creating products for them.
• The farmer has his own extraction equipment and extracts their own oil and sells the oil or makes their own products with it t sell.

For the farmer to be able to sell the hemp to a buyer most any buyer will want to see a full lab report. This lab report needs to be a full report that shows not only the CBDa and other cannabinoids but a pesticide test and metals test and many times a soil test.

So most quality growers are growing a good product as they need to have the tests to show to be able to sell it.

It has no CBD in it

Many people do not understand that the hemp plant when it is grown has no to very little CBD in it. It has to be turned into CBD later on. The plant has CBDa its the CBDa that needs to be turned into CBD.
Just like THC in the plant it has to be turned into THC. To do this it needs heat we will get into that later.

How do they extract the CBDa out

Once the plant is at an extraction ficility a few different things can happen based on what extraction method is going to be used.

Let’s talk about decarboxylation or decarb for short

So what is decarp? Well decarp is what needs to be done to turn the CBDa in the plant matter into CBD . Depending on what extraction method is used this can be done before or after extraction.

To decarb you need to heat the plant matter up to around 240 degrees for around 20 to 45 minutes. This creates a chemical reaction that changes the CBDA into CBD. This can be done by placing it into an oven or cooking it with an oil after extraction.

If they are using Ethanol Extraction this can be included in that process. If it is CO2 extraction it needs to be down separate before or after extraction.

It needs to be winterized.

What the heck is winterized and why is it needed. Based on the way the extraction is done it may need to be winterized.
If CO2 extraction is used after that is all done you are left with a very waxy mess of an oil. Most websites that like to talk so great about CO2 extraction never seem to talk about what has to happen after the CO2 extraction. The CO2 extraction process leaves in the most waxes, lipids and plant matter than most any other way of extracting. So this needs to be cleaned up to create a quality oil to be used. Some companies may sell the oil bottled without winterization being done but you will be getting a very poor quality oil full of wax making it a very week, not clean CBD oil. This is not something we at Stella naturals would ever sell or use or even buy for that matter.

So to do winterazation they take the extracted oil and poor Ethanol into it. It is then mixed up and placed into a freezer that is why it is called winterized or winterization. After 24 to 48 hours the oils separate from the waxes and other junk. It is then filtered many times to remove all the excess wax and fats you just do not need or want. Then it still has the Ethanol in it so that has to be filtered out down to a low point and then slowly cooked to evaporate it all off. At that point, you then have the oil ready to use.

If using Ethanol extraction It uses heat and the new versions also use sub-zero temps to take the Ethanol down to around -40. So the plant matter can be decarbed as it is being made and it can be winterized as part of the same process. And at the end, the Ethanol is extracted back out so it can be used many times.

The three main ways CBD is extracted

propane extraction

The best way but not used a lot due to some limitations is propane extraction. With propane extraction the gas binds to the plant’s cannabinoids much better than most any other extraction method. It produces some of the best quality CBD you can get as it will pull out more cannabinoids and CBD and less of the wax gunk that has to be removed later.
The problem with Propane extraction is it only works in smaller batches at a time. This is great for a small company that has the space and can afford to invest in this system. For when they only need to make small batches for themselves to use for their own products. It can produce a good amount just at the levels the larger extraction companies need it can not keep up. In many ways, it is not practical as your business grows you will not be able to keep up at some point. But it is a great way to produce a wonderful product.

CO2 Extraction

CO2 Extraction is a great way to extract the plant’s CBDa and other cannabinoids. But it has its downsides too. For one it costs a lot to set up and it uses very high pressure for the extraction that can be dangerous. Many websites like to claim that CO2 extraction is the best but in reality, it is no better than other ways and not as good as Propane and it is not a complete process as after the extraction you still need to do more work to clean up the oil.
The CO2 is turned into a liquid and then a mist that is at that point a harsh chemical as that is what is needed to extract the plant. This mist is blasted into the plant over and over for many hours to extract the plants components. This also takes a massive amount of electricity making it the most costly way of extracting and less ECO-friendly. But it can extract a lot more than the propane version making it a better choice for large corporations that are working with thousands of pounds coming in every day.

Ethanol Extraction

Ethanol extraction is one of the oldest ways for extraction for many things from plants it has been used for many many years. This is the same way that many things people eat or take every day are extracted. Many CBD websites like to say that ethanol extraction is a chemical-based extraction but is it no worse than CO2 extraction as CO2 extraction still needs to be winterized in Ethanol after it is extracted. Also, Ethanol extraction can be one process that covers everything in one. Ethanol can also be expanded so it can handle very larger amounts. Ethanol is also great for any large extraction company. It can be very safe as it never uses high presser and uses much less power than a CO2 system costing less to operate.

So is that it? well No or maybe

Now after extraction – Form whatever version you have your oil that is decarbed into CBD and winterized to be cleaned up.

If you do nothing else this is what is called Full-spectrum oil and it can then be used to mix with MCT or Hemp seed oil to make bottle of oil tinctures or used in many other products.

But it can still be not very clean having a darker color and still having a good amount of slush wax and plant matter still in it.
Some people love using it just like this as it still has all the other plant matter in it. They like to think it is much better for you because its part of the plant that grew that way.
But that is kind of not true as the plant did not grow with the CBD in it and the plant particles and cannabinoid ratios are nothing even close to how the plant was grown. At this point, the plant has been decarbed/cooked, went into extraction and then winterazation and then massive filtering.
But many still believe this somehow preserves the plant’s natural cannabinoids so that this super blend is what creates the Entourage Effect. But one thing to think about is when you have more wax left in the oil and you place it under your tongue part of the wax can block the absorption of the CBD and other cannabinoids into your system.

What can be done to make it better you ask?

We do have a next step it is called distillation. Like making moonshine. The oil is distilled in a special process and when this is being done they can remove the THC making a THC free version called Broad Spectrum. It still has all the good cannabinoids in it so it is still a Full Spectrum with just the THC removed and a lot more of the unwanted waxes and fats making it now 75 to 85% more pure.

Different cannabinoids like THC can be taken out at different boiling points. They can also make a distilled Full Spectrum that still has a small amount of THC in it just a cleaned-up better quality oil.
Also after it has been distilled by removing the extra wax and fats it makes the oil more stable so it will last longer. The oil will have a much cleaner look a lite yellow light green look no more dark green and brown look to it. It will also be very clean and clear.

It is also stronger with more amounts of the main good cannabinoids in it. When you take out the stuff you do not want it then creates higher levels of the good stuff you do want.

The distilled versions are what is also used for vaping as it needs to be clean so the extra wax is removed otherwise it can clog up a vape system and the waxes and fats can burn the device.

But wait we have one more – what about CBD Isolate?

We have to add in CBD Isolate. Isolate is made by taking everything a bit farther by taking out all the other cannabinoids and plant matter leaving only the CBD.
This is the purest form of CBD, Most Isolate powders are in the 97 to 99% pure CBD.

Isolate is an amazing product as it can be used for many things including making oils. Skin creams and products, vapes, or you can just smoke the powder as is, and hundreds of products.

It can also be sprinkled on top of Hemp flower to smoke to get a higher dose of CBD.
It can be added to an oil bottle like 500mg to add more CBD to it making the oil a stronger dose. Lots of people make cooked products with it and even bath bombs. The list is endless.
CBD Isolate is a powerful pure CBD that is can be used as needed for many applications.

Stella naturals sell many CBD Isolate products including selling CBD isolate by the gram so you can buy it and use it any way you wish.

So now you have it – this is how CBD is made and the most popular ways it is done and versions.