Transforming A 5,000-Year-Old Craft: How Weed Companies Use Data To Make Hash Without Losing Its Art

For thousands of years, hash has been made through a simple process involving the mechanical removal of trichomes—the tiny, resinous glands found on cannabis plants. These trichomes are then pressed, amassed and cured into a concentrated form of cannabis. While the process hasn't changed, the way it's tracked also remains equally outdated.

Even with access to state-of-the-art equipment, modern hash labs often rely on paper notes—just as hash makers did 5,000 years ago. 

In an exclusive interview with Benzinga Cannabis, Chase Sater, co-founder of Hashy, explains how the company is transforming a 5,000-year-old art of hash making through real-time data analytics. By integrating modern technology into the craft, Hashy enables labs to optimize processes, maintain quality and efficiently scale production.

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Expanding Hash-Making With Science

Hashy's core mission is to bring scientific precision into hash-making with its platform that can track multiple variables in real-time, such as wash cycles, biomass and temperatures. 

These metrics provide crucial insights that were once either lost or hard to capture with traditional methods like paper notes, clipboards and spreadsheets. These outdated methods waste time and lose data, driving Sater to co-create Hashy.

By using this data, hash makers can adjust and fine-tune their processes—whether it’s the length of a wash cycle, water temperature, or how freeze dryers are used—leading to higher yields and better product quality. 

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This data is crucial for building statistical models, finding correlations and projecting yields. Hash makers can test different methods, track productivity and measure sensitivity to changes in variables like temperature. With big data, they can optimize resources, ensure batch consistency and even forecast demand to align production with trends. 

The Secret Sauce

For the first time, hash labs can capture precise data from every part of the extraction process, which enables them to refine their processes systematically. 

Sater said that many hash makers rely on anecdotal knowledge, but now with Hashy they can know with certainty what works and what doesn’t. He stressed that Hashy’s goal is not to replace traditional methods but to enhance craftsmanship. “We're marrying craft with industrial scale,” he told Benzinga Cannabis. 

Data-driven insights can now surpass what spreadsheets and anecdotal knowledge achieved by identifying patterns that were once difficult to detect. 

In Cannabis Cups, where hash is judged on flavor, aroma, texture, potency and clarity, AI can analyze these parameters to predict optimal hash recipes. By correlating variables like trichome quality, environmental conditions and wash cycles, AI can unlock new possibilities for crafting superior hash.

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IoT And Data: Revolutionizing Hash Labs

A critical aspect of Hashy's technology is its integration of IoT (Internet of Things) devices, which automate the process of data collection. This is especially beneficial for hash labs, where equipment like freeze dryers, rosin presses and wash vessels play a vital role. 

Instead of manually recording information like temperatures and yields, Hashy's system automatically captures this data, reducing errors, saving time and boosting efficiency.

MSOs Meet Craft Hash 

Hashy’s tools don’t just streamline production, they provide compliance solutions, which is crucial for large-scale operations like multi-state operators (MSOs). 

As Sater explained, many MSOs are already using Hashy’s technology to ensure consistent quality across different locations. Each facility can have slightly different environmental conditions or technical staff, leading to variability in hash products, even when the same procedures are followed.

One of the standout features of Hashy is how it integrates compliance with innovation. 

Sater points out that many traditional cannabis software systems focus exclusively on compliance reporting but fail to offer deep insights into process optimization. 

Hashy flips this paradigm, placing equal emphasis on both, ensuring that while operators stay compliant with regulations like METRC, they also have the tools to improve yields and reduce waste.

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