How to use a cannabis grinder?
What is a Grinder?
If you’d like to use raw cannabis flower, you will need to break it down so you can load a bowl or vaporizer or roll a joint. A cannabis grinder makes it easy to break down flower for any of these uses. Grinders are typically stainless steel, cylindrical in shape, and made up of four pieces with three different working parts. Some grinders are made of different materials and some are only two or three pieces.
Three Parts of a Grinder
1. Grinding teeth—the lid connects to the bottom teeth of the grinder by a magnet in the center of the lid. This allows you to rotate the lid, causing the sharp teeth to break up the flower into fine, consistent grounds.
2. Cannabis trap—as the cannabis is ground by the teeth, it falls through the holes and collects on top of a screen in the trap. Be sure to keep this part securely fastened while grinding so it does not come apart, spilling your ground cannabis.
3. Kief trap/scoop—the kief trap collects the tiny trichomes that fall through the screen. Kief is a powdery substance that is abundant in THCA. Many grinders come with a scoop to help scrape kief out of the trap. Kief can be added to ground cannabis, increasing its potency, or used for other purposes.
Steps For Use
- Break down the buds of flower into pea-sized pieces.
- Remove the lid of the grinder and place the broken up pieces into the teeth. Then replace the lid.
- Rotate the lid until it turns easily in both directions. Then carefully unscrew the trap to access the ground flower.
- Replace the cannabis trap, then unscrew the kief trap if you want to access the kief (it will accumulate over time).
Tips for Cleaning
Cleaning your grinder is essential to keeping it working properly. As you grind cannabis, the oils and trichome residue build up and become sticky, making it hard to smoothly grind your flower and open the different compartments. To clean the teeth, use a bristled tool or implement to sweep or scrape any kief away. Sweep this kief into the kief trap to save for later.
Tip: If the grinder is too sticky or hard to turn, use a cotton swab dipped in oil (coconut or olive) and lightly swab the inside of lip of the lid and all the threading of the screw-on sections.
Disclaimer: This is an educational document and is not intended to be taken as medical advice. Please consult your medical provider if you have questions related to your healthcare.
Updated August 4, 2023
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