@Stunger , it would be my pleasure!; in fact after being accepted into the brotherhood of cob makers, I was charged by Tangwena to "go out and spread the message to the world" and that's what I've been doing ever since.
As a result of this I've been gifted some absolutely wonderful Sativa genetics by cob makers from all over the world!
I've been making cobs now for 3 seasons, both for myself and also for a few friends.
When I first started out, I made the usual beginner's mistake of making them too wet.
I, like brother Tangwena also live in a very low humidity place (mountains of Southern Spain) and if I'm not careful to slow the drying down, I can dry weed to smokeable in about 1 week.
I like to wait until the weed is almost dry enough to smoke, about the time you would usually put it into a jar ready to cure (ie it would still require to be burped daily). You should be able to skin up with it but would need to constantly re light the spliff to keep it going.
If the weed is on the dry side (but not completely dry) it should still ferment, but it will take a lot longer.
The wetter the weed is at the start, the quicker the process will be but also the harder it is to control the process and the consequent results.
Once for buds are sealed up in their vacuum bag, I place them in a controlled temperature environment at somewhere between 35-45c (you can do higher but the process then will happen very quickly and you will have less control over the end result) for 12-24hrs. After this time I open the bag and generally I'll find that there is a noticeable dampness on the surface of the cob from the fermentation. I then let the cob sit in the open air until the surface of it is dry to the touch; this can take up to a couple of days. (There will still be a lot off moisture in the core of the cob.
We now reseal (and vacuum) the cob up again and place it somewhere warm for a week to slowly continue the fermentation. After a week, I take out the cob and smell it. If the smell is really sweet (You'll instinctively know, trust me) and you just want to keep sniffing it, then it done. Now dry it out almost completely, reseal and put away for aging at room temperature.
If however the smell is not quite there, we let the surface become dry to the touch before re vaccing and replacing in the warm for another week before checking again. We continue like this until we get the special fermented smell. It's a special smell that you'll instinctively know is right.
What we're trying to do by reopening and redrying weekly is to slow the ferment down and control it.
If the ferment happens to quickly it will destroy some of the terpines and you'll end up with a very dark, almost black cob. The effects of the dark cobs are more spacey, whereas the lighter coloured cobs are more speedy and retain a lot more terpines.
If the weed is on the drier side when starting out (but still moisture in the stems) then you don't necessarily need to keep opening and drying the cob, just chic the bag somewhere warm and forget about it for several months.
The cobs really come into their peak arbiter about 1 year but are good to smoke at any stage. It's a good idea to smoke a small piece at each stage to see how the effects change over time.
This morning breakfast cob.
50mg for Mrs DM, 0.35g for me and the remaining
5g will be put in a jar for using over the next couple of weeks.
