How to Make Edibles with CBD: Homemade CBD-Infused MCT Oil

Making your own CBD oil at home can feel like a daunting task, but trust us - it's not! With our easy set of step-by-step instructions, the process is sure to be simple and may even be fun. We'll even help you to calculate the potency of the oil!

If you're not familiar with CBD edibles, we think you'll find that they are an efficient and cost-effective way to extend the life of your flower, as the effects of ingesting CBD can last quite a bit longer than the effects of smoking or vaping. In fact, many of us use both in our daily regimens.  

Of course, if we can offer any tips and tricks along the way, please feel free to reach out to us!

First off - why use MCT Oil?

MCT oil has a very high fat content (it contains about 90% saturated fat), so it's very efficient at absorbing cannabinoids. Plus, it contains caprylic acid which helps the cannabinoids infused in it to bypass the stomach and go straight to the digestive tract. Once there, they can be absorbed at a much higher rate than they would be in the stomach!

Now, onto the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 14g of ground hemp flower (you can use full flower, small buds, or simply some shake)

• 1 cup of MCT Oil

Note: We're using a conservative amount of hemp flower in this recipe to produce a low-strength oil. If you're an experienced user, we encourage you to increase the amount of flower you use to 28g. 

Materials Needed:

Directions:

1. Grind the flower! Remember, you don't want the material to be too fine, otherwise it may filter through the cheese cloth and end up in your oil.

2. Combine the flower and the oil in your double-boiler, slow cooker, or saucepan.

3. Heat on low for a few hours. This will allow the cannabinoids to decarboxylate (i.e. "activate"). Make sure to not scorch or burn the mixture. This can destroy the cannabinoids! Ideally, the temperature of the oil should never go above 240°F (tip: use a meat thermometer to measure the temperature). 

If you want to reduce the cannabis odor emitted by your cooking project, make sure to keep a lid on your slow cooker, saucepan, or double-boiler. A lid with a rubber lining is the best option!

Cooking Times:

• Slow Cooker - heat hemp & oil mixture for 4-6 hours, stirring occasionally.

• Saucepan - heat hemp & oil mixture for at least 3-4 hours, stirring often. This method is most likely to produce burned/scorched material, so make sure to keep an eye on it!

• Double-boiler - heat hemp & oil mixture for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally.

4. If you plan to store your oil in a tincture bottle, which we recommend, you'll need to place your funnel into the top. Then, lay your strainer on top of the funnel. If using cheesecloth, make sure it covers the entire funnel. Ideally, there will be extra cheese cloth hanging over the sides.

5. Strain and store the oil! Note: if using cheesecloth, do not squeeze it! That will only add more chlorophyll to your oil.

6. Store in the refrigerator to ensure a longer shelf-life!

And there you have it! You've just made your very own CBD oil! Now, let's talk about how to calculate the potency of the oil. 

If you purchased your hemp flower from us, you'll have test results handy. If you can't find them, don't stress! You can always visit the product page of the flower you purchased and look at a digital version. 

How to calculate potency:

Let's start with an easy number and say that your flower contains 10% CBDa.

• When cannabinoids are decarboxylated, about 87.7% are activated. To be conservative, let's say that 80% are activated in your CBD oil. So, if the flower contains 10% CBDa, that means that each gram will yield about 80mg of CBD.

• In this recipe, we used 14 grams, so 14 x 80 = 1120mg.

• We infused the flower into 1 cup of MCT oil which equals about 240ml. So, each ml of oil should contain around 4.6mg of CBD.

We hope that helps! Let us know if you have any questions.